Kooldrink
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Kooldrink From the heart of southern Africa’s thriving music scene, Kooldrink has been making waves with his unique fusion of Amapiano and Pop music — something he calls ‘Pop Piano’. His distinct production style has earned him collaborations with top artists and a growing presence on the global stage. As a dedicated FL Studio user, he continues to innovate and shape the sound of these impactful genres. We’re thrilled to recognize him as a Power User—discover more about his journey below! Aluna, Prettyboy D-O & Kooldrink – Nowhere to Hide Tell us about yourself and how you got into music. I’m Kooldrink, a producer from Southern Africa and the father of the Pop Piano genre and movement. When I was 10, my friends and I had a competition to see who could get more songs on their phone. One of my friends had La Roux’s “In For The Kill” before me, and being the competitor that I am, I rushed home and downloaded it. That’s when I stumbled across Skrillex’s remix of the track and my world was changed. I didn’t understand how he could put those sounds together to make such captivating music. It was then that I realized I needed to learn everything I could about music and production. How did you start using FL Studio & what does it mean to your productions? After that Skrillex moment, WikiHow pointed me in the direction of FL Studio. I downloaded FL Studio 9 and was hooked. I spent all my time remaking my favorite songs and really trying to work on my craft. It obviously took me years to hone in on my sound, but I spent the majority of my teens behind the screen, consuming as much production information and experimenting as much as possible. I can remember going through all the FL Studio Power Users on the Image-Line website and reading their biographies while dreaming of the day I would become one. FL Studio has been with me for over half my life — I started on version 9 and am now working on the latest version. It is part of my everyday life, and my songs are centered around the tools and plugins I can utilize with the software. I can’t imagine my productions without FL Studio’s piano roll and having access to the best saturator in the market, Fruity WaveShaper. Tell us about your work and some of the artists you have worked with. Over the past 15 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with incredible artists like Sho Madjozi, Major Lazer, and Masego. In 2019, I began experimenting with the emerging amapiano genre and developed Pop Piano — amapiano through a pop lens. During this process, I collaborated with Tyla, who became the first artist to help bring my vision to life. This led to Ed Sheeran tapping me to remix ‘Bad Habits’, followed by working with Aluna on two songs. |
Tyla – Getting Late ft. Kooldrink While writing this, I’m working on my debut EP and can’t wait for more exciting collaborations in the future (shout out to Skrillex if you are reading this!). Tell us about your production environment and the gear you use. My production environment is always changing and evolving, but I have two primary setups—one vintage monitoring setup in South Africa and a more modern one in Los Angeles. Studio 1 (South Africa)
Studio 2 (Los Angeles)
Kooldrink in the Studio What is your top FL Studio tip for up-and-coming producers? Honestly, the best thing I ever did for my learning was to remake songs I liked. The best way to learn is by replicating. Drag the waveform in, and try your best to copy everything—from drums to mids to leads. Save the project, and try again tomorrow with another song. |
