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EDM Production Workshop (Ableton Live)

Umbrella Sound Studio Presents:

QUICK-LEARN | HANDS-ON | PROFESSIONAL OUTCOMES

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CO-HOST "WAX THIEF"

Ready to Start Producing Your Own EDM Tracks?

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Don’t wait to turn your ideas into fully realised tracks!

 

Join Josh Potter and Wax Thief for this hands-on, four-week EDM production workshop and gain the skills, workflows, and personalised feedback you need to produce with confidence.

 

Secure your spot today and start creating music that stands out.

DATES

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Start Date: Saturday 21st February

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Duration: 4 weeks

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Schedule: Saturdays  - (18 hours total)

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​PRICING & CAPACITY

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Price: $1,800 + GST

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Capacity: Limited to 8 students

 

LEVEL

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Beginner → Intermediate

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Software: Ableton Live

LOCATION​

 

47 Edward Street, Brunswick , VIC

Umbrella Sound Studio, Brunswick

Umbrella Sound Studio, Brunswick

Your Classroom, a Professional Studio

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Hosted at Umbrella Sound Studio, a 5-star, fully equipped production hub where artists record, mix, and master tracks released on major labels. Learn hands-on in a space built for real-world music creation—no long lectures, just practical, professional experience, guided by instructors who know their craft inside out.

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Course Overview

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This hands-on EDM production workshop is designed for producers who want to confidently start electronic music projects in Ableton Live and understand how professional tracks are built.

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Across four weeks, students learn how to start tracks from a blank session, make strong sound and arrangement choices, and build the technical foundations required to continue growing their mixing and mastering skills.

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Tom delivers the creative and production side across Weeks 1-3, focusing on workflow, sound choice, musical decisions, and arrangement.

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Josh delivers Week 4, covering mixing and mastering fundamentals in one focused, practical session.

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Each Session Includes:

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  • Live demonstrations

  • Guided practical work

  • Real-world examples and reference tracks

  • Q&A and group feedback

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+ Additional One-On-One Mix Review

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Each participant receives a free one-on-one mix review with Josh on a track they've been working on, including personalised feedback and clear next steps.

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What You Will Walk Away With

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  • Tools and confidence to start EDM tracks competently from a blank Ableton session

  • A clear understanding of arrangement fundamentals

  • Strong foundations in sound choice and musical decision-making

  • Practical production workflows

  • Core mixing techniques to improve clarity and punch

  • An introduction to mastering concepts and tools

  • Personalised mix feedback

  • A repeatable process to continue producing independently

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Your Instructors

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Meet Wax Thief and Josh Potter—two industry professionals with 35+ years of combined experience shaping, mixing, and performing music across EDM and beyond. They’ll guide you through every step of creating your own EDM tracks, sharing practical skills, insider knowledge, and personalised feedback to help you produce with confidence. Learn hands-on, gain insider tips, and walk away ready to produce tracks like a pro.

Wax Thief Performing Self-Produced DJ Set

Wax Thief – Producer, DJ & Electronic Music Specialist

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“local garage powerhouse… with big room weapons like ‘Top Killa’… sure to evoke the filthiest bass face from all graced in his presence.” - The Toff

 

Wax Thief is the creative alias of Melbourne-based producer Tom, a rising force in the UK Garage and house music scene. With a decade of experience producing a wide range of house genres, Wax Thief found his true musical voice during the Melbourne lockdowns of 2020, when he immersed himself in the UKG revival and began crafting his signature sound.

 

Influenced by classic UK Garage, Speed Garage, and early 2000s bassline house, Wax Thief’s productions are driven by infectious grooves, rich textures, and a love for vinyl-sourced samples. Since his arrival on the scene, his 2024 breakout track Top Killa gained nearly half a million streams and earned support from some of dance music’s biggest DJs, including Interplanetary Criminal and Sammy Virji at Park Life’s main stage, Job Jobse at Dekmantel, DJ Seinfeld at Lost Sundays, Yung Singh at Boomtown, Benwal at Intercell x ADE, and local legends like Bella Claxton at A3.

 

Since then, Wax Thief has continued to grow with releases on labels such as In The House Records—earning plays from Malugi for his Resident Advisor mix—and WATTAH, released on UK label Pressure Records, which received plays from Marco Carola and Michael Bibi at Pacha Ibiza. His unreleased tracks have been supported by Ollie Lishman, X Club, Prozak, TS7, Bullet Tooth, Silva Bumpa, and more.

 

Wax Thief is also making waves as a DJ across Australia’s largest clubs, playing headline and co-headline shows at Therapy in Perth, Glamorama in Melbourne, Electric Circus in Adelaide, and Chinese Laundry in Sydney, while collaborating with promoters such as Home Bass, Slack Sound System, Bubble UKG, Taste Club, and Novel. He is quickly becoming the go-to local support for UKG’s biggest international acts, performing alongside Dr Dubplate, Bushbaby, Auramatic, Skeptic, DJ Q, and local artists such as Osmosis Jones and Isgwan, and is set to play his debut festival set in January 2026.

 

Wax Thief brings this deep production and performance experience to Weeks 1–3 of the course, teaching students how to start tracks from scratch, make intentional sound and arrangement decisions, and build the technical and creative foundations to produce professional EDM tracks independently.

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Josh Potter at Umbrella Sound Studio, Brunswick

Josh Potter – Mixing & Mastering Engineer & Studio Founder

 

“Josh and his team are all pro and couldn’t speak more highly of the quality of work they produce. Class A.”
– Rick Butterworth - ONE RPM

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Josh Potter is a Melbourne-based mixing and mastering engineer renowned for his clean, emotional, and impactful sound. Over his career, he has worked across electronic, pop, hip-hop, acoustic, and cinematic projects, helping artists shape records that translate anywhere—from festival stages to major streaming platforms. His work has been released under major labels including Warner Music, Spinnin’ Records, One Love, Central Station, and Teamwrk Records.

 

Josh’s journey began in 2001 as a high school drummer, quickly developing a deep connection to music and performing in bands that toured internationally. Immersed in professional recording studios from an early age, he discovered a passion for the craft of production, blending performance experience with technical precision. This diverse musical foundation gives him a unique perspective when teaching, allowing him to break down complex mixing and mastering concepts into practical, actionable skills.

 

As the founder and hands-on operator of Umbrella Sound Studio, Josh brings both technical expertise and real-world production experience to Week 4 of the course, guiding participants through mixing fundamentals, introducing mastering concepts, and providing personalised one-on-one feedback to elevate your tracks to a professional standard.

Course Cirriculum

Your Fast-Track to DJ & Production Success

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This four-week workshop teaches you proven methods used by working EDM producers. From rhythm and groove, to chords, melodies, sound design, and finishing with mixing and mastering fundamentals, you’ll gain practical, real-world skills to take your tracks from idea to release-ready.

WEEK 1 – FOUNDATIONS & RHYTHM

(WAX THIEF) 11-4pm (1 hr Lunch) 21 Feb

Getting comfortable + learning how music feels

 

Goals

  • Feel confident inside Ableton

  • Understand rhythm as the foundation of all music

  • Build your first strong drum groove

 

1. Introduction & Setup

  • IntroductionsWhat you need vs don’t need

  • Ableton Suite vs Lite/Standard

  • Free tools (Vital)

  • Sample pack structure

  • Course roadmap
     

2. Ableton Foundations

  • Session View vs Arrangement View

  • MIDI vs Audio tracks

  • Clip view, browser, mixer

  • Preferences & audio setup

  • Recording MIDI & audio

  • Automation basics
     

3. Rhythm & Groove Basics

  • Downbeat, upbeat, backbeat

  • 16th-note subdivision

  • Swing & shuffle

  • Why drums define feel
     

4. Writing Drums

  • Kick, clap, hat fundamentals

  • 1-bar → 4-bar → 8-bar loops

  • Groove Pool & swing

  • Velocity & timing

  • Layering drums

  • Drum Buss & grouping

 

Outcome

  • One solid drum groove

  • Confidence navigating Ableton

WEEK 2 – DRUMS, GROOVE & BASS

(WAX THIEF) 11-4pm (1 hr Lunch) 28 Feb

Energy, movement, and low-end

 

Goals

  • Deepen groove understanding

  • Write basslines that move with drums

  • Learn core audio effects

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1. Groove in Practice

  • Ghost notes & syncopation

  • Copying grooves from reference tracks

  • Slice to MIDI

  • What to swing vs what not to swing
     

2. Automation

  • Snare builds

  • Filter automation

  • Building tension with curves
     

3. Core Audio Effects

  • EQ

  • Compression

  • Reverb

  • Delay

  • Sidechain compression (kick → bass)
     

4. Bass Fundamentals

  • Writing bass patterns

  • Sub bass vs mid bass

  • Bass + drum relationship

 

Outcome

  • Drum + bass groove that feels alive

  • First experience shaping energy

WEEK 3 – CHORDS, MELODIES & SOUND DESIGN

(WAX THIEF) 11-4pm (1 hr Lunch) 07 March

Musical storytelling

 

Goals

  • Understand enough music theory to write confidently

  • Create chords, bass melodies, and leads

  • Learn how sounds are built

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1. Music Theory for Producers

  • Notes & octaves

  • Major vs minor scales

  • Relative major/minor

  • Triads

  • Common chord progressions

  • Tension & resolution

  • Ableton Scale & Chord tools

 

2. Bass → Chords Workflow

  • Turning bass notes into chords

  • Pads & stabs

  • Intervals (+5, +7, +9)

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3. Sound Design 101

  • Waveforms

  • Oscillators

  • Envelopes (ADSR)

  • Filters

  • LFOs

  • FM basics

  • Reese bass

 

4. Melodies

  • Counter melodies

  • Call & response

  • Resampling & creative techniques

 

Outcome

  • Musical ideas beyond a loop

  • Confidence creating original sounds

WEEK 4 – MIXING & MASTERING FUNDAMENTALS

(Josh Potter) 11-6pm (1 hr Lunch) 14 March

Clarity, punch, and translation

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Goals

  • Understand the difference between production and mixing

  • Learn how professional mixes are balanced

  • Gain tools to improve clarity and loudness
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1. Mixing Mindset

  • Creative vs technical mixing

  • Mixing in context (not solo)

  • Monitoring limitations

  • Environment & playback realities

 

2. Balance & Gain Staging

  • Faders before plugins

  • Headroom

  • Static balance

 

3. EQ Fundamentals

  • Masking & competing frequencies

  • Subtractive EQ

  • EQ as an extension of balance

 

4. Compression Fundamentals

  • Attack, release, ratio

  • Compression as ADSR

  • Punch vs glue

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5. Space & Width

  • Reverb vs delay

  • Panning

  • Stereo widthMid vs side (conceptual)

 

6. Sidechain Compression

  • Kick → bass

  • Creative sidechain uses

 

7. Mastering Basics

  • Loudness vs level

  • LUFS

  • Compression vs limiting

  • Clipping

  • Referencing masters

  • Export settings

 

Outcome

  • Cleaner, louder, more controlled mixes

  • Clear understanding of what mastering actually does

  • Confidence continuing to improve independently

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