How to Write Rawstyle Songs

You want a track that punches through sound systems and makes people lose their minds. Rawstyle is brutal, emotional, and theatrical. It borrows the stomp of hardstyle and adds grit, rage, and cinematic mayhem. This guide gets you from idea to club ready with practical steps, weird metaphors, and exactly the tools you need to sound like you know what you are doing.

Everything here is written for artists who want results fast. Expect step by step sound design for kicks and screeches, arrangement templates that DJs love, mixing shortcuts for massive low end, vocal and lyric tips for aggressive hooks, and a release checklist so your track ends up in playlists and sets. We explain every technical term so you stop nodding and start producing.

What Is Rawstyle

Rawstyle is a subgenre of hardstyle that leans into abrasive sound design and darker tones. It typically sits around 150 to 160 BPM. The track identity is the raw kick drum and violent lead sounds often called screeches. Lyrics if present are punchy chants or single lines repeated until the crowd screams them back. Rawstyle is less about pop polish and more about visceral impact.

Real life scenario

Imagine you are at a warehouse party. The lights cut. The first drop hits and it feels like someone just slammed a door on your chest. That is the rawstyle promise. Your production job is to design that moment and make it repeatable for DJs and crowds.

Rawstyle Versus Hardstyle Explained

Hardstyle is the parent. Hardstyle often has cleaner kicks, melodic motifs, and euphoric builds. Rawstyle keeps the tempo but chooses distortion over sheen and attitude over sweetness. Where hardstyle might make you cry with melody, rawstyle makes you throw a hoodie at the speaker and smile while you do it.

Key differences

• Kick character Rawstyle kicks are distorted, jagged, and sometimes pitched to create a perceived bass growl.
• Lead design Raw leads are abrasive, metallic, or almost vocal in shape. The popular term is screech.
• Arrangement Rawstyle drops are shorter and heavier. There is more emphasis on hit and repeat than on extended melodic passages.

Core Elements of a Rawstyle Track

To build a rawstyle track you need a short list of essentials. Master these and your productions will stop sounding like practice sessions and start sounding like weapons.

• Raw kick The physical core. If the kick is weak the track collapses.
• Screech or lead The hook that cuts through the mix.
• Sub and bass Low end that translates to systems without muddying the kick.
• Percussion and groove Hats, claps, and fills that keep the track moving.
• FX and tension elements Risers, impacts, reversed sounds, and silence to control crowd energy.
• Vocals or chants Minimal phrases that people can scream back.

Must Know Terms and Acronyms

We explain the stuff producers throw around so you look smart without sounding like a bot in a forum.

• BPM Beats per minute. This is the speed of your track. Rawstyle commonly lives between 150 and 160 BPM. If someone says 155 BPM they mean how fast the song pulses.
• DAW Digital Audio Workstation. This is the software you use to make music like Ableton Live, FL Studio, or Logic Pro. Think of it as your studio on a screen.
• LFO Low frequency oscillator. This is a slow repeating signal that you use to move things like volume or filter cutoff. Imagine a slow hand nodding the volume up and down.
• ADSR Attack decay sustain release. This controls how a sound behaves over time when a note is played. It is like how you open and close a faucet for water flow.
• EQ Equalizer. You use this to cut or boost parts of the frequency spectrum. Think of EQ like taking a sculpting tool to sound clay.
• LUFS Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. This is how loud your track feels to streaming platforms. It is not the same as how physically loud the club feels, but both matter.
• ISRC International Standard Recording Code. This is a unique code for your track used in digital distribution and royalties. It is like a social security number for your song.

Designing the Raw Kick Step by Step

The kick is the difference between your track vibrating headphones and making a crowd collapse into a pile of smiles. Here is a practical, repeatable method to craft a raw kick.

Kick design workflow

1. Choose a strong sample Start with a clicky template. Use a full frequency kick with body. Think of this as the skeleton.
2. Layer a sub Add a clean sine or triangle wave under the kick for pure low end. Keep it mono. This is the organ that keeps subs audible on systems that filter midrange.
3. Add distortion Route a copied kick to a distortion chain. Use tape or tube style saturation then a hard clipper to get aggression. The idea is to create harmonic content so the kick is heard on smaller speakers.
4. Pitch envelope Automate a fast pitch drop on the transient for punch. Short attack and decay for a smack. Picture a whip crack leading into a throat punch.
5. Transient shaping Use a transient designer to sharpen or soften the attack. For rawstyle you often want a narrow but very present attack.
6. EQ surgical Cut around 200 to 500 Hz if it muddies. Boost presence around 1.5 to 3 kHz for click and definition. Gentle low shelf for sub energy under 100 Hz.
7. Sidechain and routing Send the bass and low elements to sidechain to the kick so the sub hits clear. Keep the kick mono under 120 Hz and allow stereo above that if you use wide textures.

Relatable example

Think of the kick like a car crash that you still want to look cool. The sub is the engine noise under the crash. Distortion is where the metal bends. You tune each piece until the crash sounds glorious on a gravel road and in a living room speaker.

Screeches and Lead Design

Screeches are short abrasive leads that feel like a siren with teeth. They often carry the melodic identity of the drop.

How to build a screech

1. Start with a wavetable synth Use Serum, Massive X, or Vital. Pick a bright wavetable with harmonic content.
2. Use filters creatively A bandpass plus formant filter creates vowel like shapes. Modulate cutoff with an envelope for movement.
3. Apply an LFO Shape the LFO to be tempo synced and use it on pitch or filter for wobble feelings. Short, snappy LFO shapes create that scraping energy.
4. Resampling Bounce the screech to audio, warp it, reverse parts, and re-import. Layer granular textures or vocal chops to add character.
5. Distort and razzle Use multiband distortion and a post EQ to carve space. Automate formant shifts for vocalist like changes.
6. Perform humanly Play with pitch bend and micro timing. Humanize by nudging notes or using portamento for slides.

Real life scenario

Imagine scratching a glass bottle but it sings instead of hurts. That is the sound you are sculpting. Keep it aggressive without making listeners abandon the tune out of pain. Balance is art and science.

Sub and Low End Management

Rawstyle needs sub power without chaos. The trick is separation and mono discipline.

• Mono sub Keep everything under 120 Hz in mono to prevent phase cancellation on club systems.
• Notch EQ If the screech fights the sub, notch a frequency out of the screech and let the sub own it.
• Sidechain Use a fast sidechain to duck the bass under kick transients. This clears the low end and keeps punch.
• Multiband compression Use gentle multiband compression on the sub to control peaks while keeping weight.

Drums, Groove, and Percussion

Rawstyle percussion holds the track together. Small rhythm devices make big differences in perceived energy.

Punchy hats and grooves

Use short, tight hi hats for clarity. Add groove or swing to the hat grid to avoid mechanical feel. Layer percussion with different transient shapes so every hit has unique texture.

Fills and transitions

Fill patterns are your crowd control. Use roll fills with increasing speed before drops. Reverse cymbals and short gated white noise create tension. Keep fills short and impactful.

Arrangement and Energy Curves

Structure is not a prison. It is scaffolding that allows the crowd to know when to scream. Rawstyle tracks are often DJ friendly and should give DJs clear cue points.

Reliable rawstyle structure

• Intro 16 to 32 bars with DJ friendly beat and motif
• Build 16 to 32 bars with rising tension and vocal tease
• Drop 16 to 32 bars heavy kick and screech
• Interlude or breakdown 8 to 16 bars with melodic or atmospheric content
• Second build 8 to 16 bars faster and tighter
• Final drop 16 to 32 bars with variation and maximum impact
• Outro 16 bars for DJ mixing out

Practical tip

Place the first full drop within the first 60 to 75 seconds so DJs can play it quickly. Provide a clean intro and outro for mixing. DJs will love you for it and play you more.

Vocals, Lyrics, and Hooks

Rawstyle vocals are not pop for the sake of airplay. They are calls to arms. One line repeated with conviction is often stronger than a full verse. Keep it singable and easy to shout.

Writing rawstyle vocal hooks

1. One core promise Write one line that describes the feeling or command. Example: Take the pain. Own the night.
2. Make it chantable Short words and strong vowels are easier for crowds. Vowels like ah ee oh work well on big systems.
3. Place it on the drop Repeat the line on the downbeat with a long note if possible. Simple is unforgettable.
4. Process aggressively Use distortion, pitch shift, and formant to match the raw palette. Double it and add a wet reverb send for depth.

Real life scenario

Think of the vocal like the referee who slaps a buzzer at the right moment. It signals the crowd to move. If the referee whispers instead of shouting the energy dies.

Mixing Tips That Save Hours

Mixing rawstyle is about managing chaos and preserving impact. Here are targeted shortcuts that get you closer to professional sound quickly.

• Gain staging Keep headroom. Aim for peaks around minus 6 dBFS before the master chain. This gives the limiter room to work.
• High pass non essential tracks Cut everything under 40 to 60 Hz that is not the kick or sub. This removes rumble and creates clarity.
• Use reference tracks Load a commercial rawstyle track and compare levels for kick, lead, and vocal presence. Match perceived loudness not meter numbers.
• Parallel compression on drums Send drums to a bus, compress hard, then blend in for weight without losing attack.
• Stereo imaging Keep low end mono. Use width on mids and highs to create large spectator fields without losing power in the center.

Mastering and Loudness Targets

Mastering rawstyle is tricky because you want volume and impact without destroying dynamics. Here is a conservative approach that works for club releases.

• Pre master headroom Export your mastered mix to about minus 6 dBFS peak. This prevents the limiter from working too hard and keeps transients alive.
• LUFS targets For club masters aim around minus 6 to minus 8 LUFS integrated. This is louder than streaming targets but acceptable for DJ use. For streaming upload a version normalized to platform targets then provide the club master for DJ downloads.
• Limit gently Apply the limiter to taste. Avoid crushing dynamics to the point where the kick loses attack. A little asymmetry is better than a brick wall factory setting.
• Dither Apply dither on export if reducing bit depth. It reduces distortion and is the last step in polishing.

Plugins, Tools, and Gear We Recommend

You do not need $20,000 of gear. Here are practical software choices that get you to pro results fast.

• Synths Serum, Vital, Massive X, FM8. Vital is free and powerful for screeches.
• Distortion FabFilter Saturn, Soundtoys Decapitator, CamelCrusher. Use multiband distortion to control tonal balance.
• Transient shaper SPL Transient Designer or Native plugins in DAWs. Useful for kick attack control.
• EQ FabFilter Pro Q 3 for surgical correction and dynamic EQ if needed.
• Limiter and meter iZotope Ozone or FabFilter Pro L for final limiting. Use LUFS meters like Youlean Loudness Meter to measure integrated loudness.
• Free options TDR Nova for dynamic EQ, TAL-NoiseMaker or Vital for synths, Klanghelm Saturator for distortion.

Songwriting and Emotional Design

Rawstyle is not just noise. It is emotion with spikes. Decide early whether your track is angry, triumphant, or cathartic. That choice shapes everything from melody to tempo and vocal content.

Write with scenes not feelings

Instead of writing I am angry, write a scene. Example: The light above the stage burnt out, and the crowd raised their phones like little beacons. That image gives a songwriter something to hang sounds on.

Micro prompts to write a hook

• Pick three verbs that feel violent or just intense. Make a one line hook using one verb twice.
• Describe a single object and what it does on the drop. Make the object a motif.
• Write a 10 second story and compress it to three words that sing well.

Arrangement Templates You Can Steal

Template A raw drop first

• Intro 16 bars with DJ friendly beat and a short motif
• Pre 8 bars with vocal shout and riser
• Drop 16 bars raw kick and screech
• Breakdown 8 bars atmospheric with a melodic hint
• Build 8 bars with snare roll and vocal tease
• Final drop 16 to 32 bars with variation and extra percussion
• Outro 16 bars for mixing out

Template B melodic break

• Intro 32 bars with melodic hook
• Build 16 bars with rising saws and reversed vocal
• Drop 16 bars gritty and fast
• Mellow section 16 bars with emotional chord
• Climax drop 32 bars with full aggression
• Outro 16 bars

Testing Your Track in Real Environments

Producers often mix for headphones and fail in clubs. You must test on different systems and in a DJ context.

• Car test Cars behave like small clubs. If the kick makes your teeth vibrate but the vocal disappears, adjust levels.
• Phone and laptop Check if your hook is audible on tiny speakers. If not, add midrange presence to the lead.
• Club test If possible, send your track to a DJ friend and ask for feedback on the intro, drop, and energy. DJs will tell you if your cue points are usable.

Release Strategy and Distribution

Make two masters. One for streaming platforms that conforms to loudness normalization and one for DJ pools and radio that keeps the full club punch. Upload both and label them clearly.

• ISRC codes Get ISRC codes when you distribute. They track plays so you get paid.
• Metadata Fill artist name, track name, and composer fields correctly. Wrong metadata kills playlists.
• Premiere Send to blogs, YouTube channels, and DJs for premiere. A premiere with a known channel increases plays.
• Stems Provide stems to DJs and remixers. Stems help create community and remixes bring more ears.

Common Rawstyle Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Kick and sub fighting Fix by redesigning the kick or moving the sub to complementary notes and sidechaining the bass under the kick.
• Screech is too loud Fix with gentle multiband compression and a resonant notch where the screech crowds the vocal space.
• Mix sounds thin Fix by layering low mids on leads and using parallel compression on drums for warmth.
• No clear cue points for DJs Fix by providing clean intros and outros and a short breakdown before main drops.

Action Plan You Can Execute Today

1. Create a two element idea Pick a kick sample and design a one note screech. Keep the idea under 60 seconds.
2. Make a 32 bar loop Build an intro, a build, and a drop. Keep the first drop simple.
3. Test the kick Listen on phone, laptop, car. Adjust EQ so the kick hits everywhere.
4. Write a chant Create one line and place it on the drop. Record two takes and process them differently.
5. Export a DJ friendly loop Provide 16 bars of intro and outro. Send it to a friend DJ and ask for honest feedback.

Exercises to Improve Fast

30 minute kick challenge

Set a timer for 30 minutes. Build a kick from scratch using a sample, sub, distortion, and EQ. Export and compare to a pro track.

Screech doodle

Spend 20 minutes making screeches in different synths. Save three that are unique and layer them into a drop.

Vocal compression test

Record one shouted line and process it with three different saturation chains. Choose the one that feels raw but intelligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tempo should rawstyle be

Rawstyle commonly ranges between 150 and 160 BPM. Choose a tempo within this range that feels right for your vocal phrasing and groove. Faster can feel more aggressive while slower can feel heavier.

How do I make a rawstyle kick

Layer a punchy sample, add a clean monophonic sub, apply distortion for harmonic content, use a pitch envelope for attack, then sculpt with transient shaping and EQ. Sidechain your bass to the kick so energy stays clear.

What is a screech and how do I create one

A screech is a harsh, high mid lead often created with wavetable synths, filters, LFOs, and distortion. Start with a bright wavetable, add a bandpass or formant filter, modulate cutoff with an envelope, then resample and distort for texture.

How loud should a rawstyle master be

For DJ and club masters aim around minus 6 to minus 8 LUFS integrated. Create a separate streaming master normalized to platform targets like minus 14 LUFS for Spotify. Always keep a little headroom before limiting.

Can rawstyle have vocals

Yes. Vocals in rawstyle are usually short phrases or chants. Keep them direct and process them aggressively with distortion, pitch, and formant changes to fit the raw tone.

Do I need expensive plugins

No. Many free tools do great work. Vital is a free wavetable synth that makes excellent screeches. Use free saturation plugins and learn to resample and layer. Expensive plugins help but skill matters more.

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