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For the debut of our new Essential Toolkit series, What So Not details the plugins behind “Dancing in the Leaves” from their EP The Quiet That Hurts. The focus stays on speed and restraint. Each tool serves a defined purpose, supporting the idea without heavy processing chains or excess layering.
Five plugins shape the session:
- FabFilter Pro-Q 4 handles spectral EQ on field recordings and unstable sources so the arrangement forms quickly.
- RC-20 Retro Color adds motion to an 808 line through light modulation.
- Soundtoys EchoBoy builds the vocal space with stacked parallel delays, supported by AlterBoy and Crystallizer for pitch and harmony effects.
- Decimort 2 reshapes sampled chords and percussion by restoring edge after large pitch shifts.
- VISION 4X guides low-end decisions during mobile work with a visual reference in untreated rooms.
“Dancing in the Leaves” began with a short video recorded beside a pond in the Netherlands, where a sudden encounter with ducks shifted the mood of a long travel day. That clip became the starting point inside Ableton and led to a track built from lo-fi loops, guitars, and simple melodic parts. The song appears on The Quiet That Hurts, a collaborative EP with Buunshin shaped over several years of writing and travel. This breakdown shows how a focused plugin setup supported the path from quick sketch to finished release and it’s all in the artists’ own words.
Note From The Artist
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It’s funny doing a plugin walkthrough on ‘Dancing in the Leaves’ as whilst there’s some incredibly intricate records on ’the quiet that hurts’ EP, DITL is definitely the simplest, BUT I think there’s an important message in this; don’t overcomplicate things!
If a song feels right, leave it alone! (& maybe only worry about those clever techniques on that final 10%)
FabFilter Pro-Q 4
Literally EVERYWHERE, my go-to for regular, linear & spectral EQing.
The track actually began as a video of an encounter with a flock of ducks (if you listen carefully, you hear this even in the final master). Trying to score the feeling of being swamped by these cute animals, speed became critical to staying in flowstate & capturing the moment.
Most of the idea came about within 1hr, so spectral EQ was the quick answer to control a field recording and keep moving (it also helped to have the cute little duck running around on screen as i worked!). I love using this also for problem areas on volatile sounds where transients/dynamics are not so critical.
RC-20 Retro Color
It’s not rocket science, if cute, wonky & lofi is on the agenda, im throwing in RC Color.
I think this is literally the initial preset, with some timing adjustment on the wobble. I used this to bring some life to a stiff 808, moved on & never looked back.
I turned it off and on just now, it's night and day different & points to a totally different type of record without it.
Shop XLN Audio RC-20 Retro Color here
Soundtoys EchoBoy
My go-to for any lush vocal beds.
A great engineer (thanks Tyler Scott!) once told me, the key to a lush yet intimate vocal is letting your lead seem dry, raw & forward, with all your lush effects on a parallel bus. I like to use 3 or 4 varying delays: some provide a slap, some a rhythmic ¼ note, some a wash, all with their own EQ flavour, saturation & region of the mix they sit in.
By leaning heavily into delays rather than reverbs, you can get far more control over the rhythm & spatial spread in particular frequency areas. AlterBoy for harmony/formant exploration & Crystaliser for granular type delays & pitch shifting also need honorable mentions under the Soundtoys banner!
Decimort 2
Percussion pieces, lo-fi synths, anything i’m looking to put in a chamber & get a bit of hiss & crunch, Decimort is my go to.
The main chord loop is actually a sample, pitched down 20 semitones, then Decimort to bring it back to life with brightness and boxyness, using the filter to focus on the exact weight the sample would take up in the mix.
Shop Decimort 2 Here
Shop D16 Group Decimort 2 here
VISION 4X
VISION 4X is a lifesaver for producing on the move (thanks, Noisia!). Even in the most horrible of reflective spaces, I can see what’s going on in the low end & ensure the energy is right to rip it on a club system.
Half the time I'm just working out the laptop speakers, to understand the ‘listener’ perspective, whilst visually analysing the lowend.
The Biggest Takeaway From What So Not’s Toolkit?
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The clearest takeaway from this breakdown is that the track worked because the process stayed tied to the moment that started it. A short field recording set the direction, and every plugin choice prioritized speed, control, and commitment over revision for its own sake.
Spectral EQ kept the raw material usable, modulation and distortion gave static parts motion, parallel delays handled space without blurring the vocal, and visual low-end tools made mobile work practical.
The result shows how a small set of focused tools can protect an initial idea and carry it through to a finished release without drifting away from what made it worth starting.
