Indie dance production is having a moment, and Brunello is the name driving a lot of it. CamelPhat, Chris Stussy and Adam Ten all play his records. What makes him work is not one clever trick. It is a small set of repeatable sonic moves, wrapped in a world people recognise on sight.
In this breakdown Leo takes a track apart in Ableton and shows both halves of the formula: the branding logic first, then the five sounds that carry the groove. The project comes from the Indie Dance sound pack Surge, written against a Brunello reference.
Build the world first
Brunello started Mellow Circus Records in 2023, and it is not just a label. The records, the artwork and his own party series all carry the same name. Look at the discography as a grid and it reads as one piece of work, not twelve separate releases.
The visual rules are strict and simple: naive outsider-art characters, flat loud colours, thick outlines, a character on every cover. The same discipline runs through the music. He commits to one sonic palette and varies inside it, which is the balance most producers miss. They either repeat themselves exactly or sound like a different artist on every release.
Takeaway: think in a series, not in single releases.
Percussion keeps people moving
The first thing you hear is the groove, and the groove is percussion, not the kick. Bongo, conga and a perc layer each sit on their own lane so the parts complement each other instead of competing for the same step.
Key settings:
- Bongos and toms for the organic low end, shakers and tambourine for the movement on top
- Tune every percussion hit to the key of the track, never leave it at the sampler default
- Spread the layers across the bar so two hits rarely land on the same position
- Offbeat hats and the sixteenth pattern go on last, they carry less than you expect
Build the bass around the groove
The bass is not written first. The percussion groove already exists, and the bass borrows its rhythm. Rhythm first, note choice second.
Key settings:
- Single saw in Serum 2 with the filter closed down
- Add the fifth, seven semitones above the root, for instant power chord weight
- Sine underneath for the sub
- Envelope 2 to filter cutoff, very short, that snap is the whole character
- In A minor: A anchors the line, a drop to G and the E on top create the movement
Plucks are the signature
The plucks carry the melody and push the rhythm at the same time. They are a square wave, not the saw everyone reaches for, and that harder edge suits the circus world far better.
Key settings:
- Square wavetable with unison at 1, so the sound stays sharp instead of washed out
- Classic minor triad, fifth dropped an octave so it plays the lowest note
- Second pluck for the breaks: a fast LFO to fine tune, a second LFO to volume
- Band pass filter on that second pluck, not the usual high pass or low pass
- Hold the chord and move only the top voice, A to B to C and back
Ear candy and vocals
The glue is simpler than it sounds. Three small parts do all the work, then a vocal ties the track back to the world.
Key settings:
- The bed: a saw playing the power chord. Boring soloed, it is the floor everything else stands on
- The interest: one wide, washed out chord every few bars, heavy on reverb
- The grit: phase distortion with a sine as the source, low end EQ’d out so it never muddies
- The vocal: one short mantra chop looped into the section, filtered dark, never riding on top
Get the sounds
Everything in this breakdown comes from Indie Dance – Surge: 10 fully produced Ableton projects, 415+ samples, and 60 Serum 2 presets with matching MIDI. Open the project, solo every layer, and rebuild the groove in your own key.
Watch the full breakdown
Reference tracks
Typical reference tracks for this style are:
- Brunello – Ghost Dance
- Brunello – Iluzja
- Blond:ish, Darco, Broken Hill – GOAT
- Nico de Andrea – I’m Here
- Max Styler – Inferno
- Hugel, Mydoz – Pull Up
- Romain Dary – Really That Simple
- Andruss – Active
- Jon.K – Moet
- Notre Dame – No Rules
