Updated 30 Oct 2026
A chase atlantic type beat is dark, lush and cinematic, the kind of alt R&B and pop that sounds like it was recorded at 3am. Everything floats in reverb: big extended chords, a moody saxophone, a Reese bass that growls under the mix, and wavy falsetto vocals soaked in delay. It feels sad and somber without turning into pure horror, and the whole thing is held together by drums that still knock. If you want loops that already carry that lush, spacey movement so you can build the bass, the drums and the sax around them in minutes, the ones below are free and played by hand. Everything here is general dark alt R&B technique you can reuse on any moody beat, so you are learning the vibe, not copying one song.
You do not need a finished beat to start. The Chase Atlantic loops sit in step 1 and again at the bottom, ready to play.
There is no single tempo, but most of these beats live somewhere around 120 to 140 BPM, and a dark alt pop cut in this lane often sits near 125 BPM. The slower, more emo R&B side can drop into the 80s and 90s with a half-time drum feel, which is why so many of these songs feel both laid back and bouncy at once.
The key is almost always minor, with A minor and G minor turning up a lot, because minor gives the pads and the sax that melancholic edge. Take the key straight off your loop and set the bass, the sax and every synth to the same root so nothing fights.
Lock the project tempo to the loop first. If a loop feels too fast for the mood, let the kick and snare play a half-time pattern underneath while the chords keep breathing, and that split between a slow thump and a floating top is a big part of the feel.
The chords are the heart of the sound, and the trick is extended voicings rather than plain triads. Reach for maj7, min7 and ninth chords, and move the notes around so a progression like F maj7 to A min7 to E min7 feels rich and a little jazzy instead of generic and sad.
Layer two pads for depth. Start with a big, cinematic lush pad for the bed, then add a second darker or more textured pad underneath for counter melodies. A touch of EQ to roll off the very top and a spacey echo on the second layer give you that wide, somber wash without it turning harsh or creepy.
Change voicings instead of chords to flip a section. Playing the exact same chords as a second inversion in a pre chorus shifts the whole atmosphere, so you keep the harmony familiar while the feel moves. Keep the strongest idea early and let space, not busy playing, carry the mood.
The low end usually comes from a Reese bass, a saw wave with a stack of voices and a low pass filter, which growls and fills the bottom without stepping on the kick. Layer it with an 808 or a second synth bass for weight, and cut the low mids so the pads above stay clean.
Slides are a signature move. Set a bass patch to a monophonic mode with portamento so notes glide into each other, play them short and tucked against the kick, and you get that gliding, vocal feel under the hook. Pitch a few notes up an octave and leave gaps so it never becomes a wall.
On top, dark plucks, reverse melodies and granular textures add movement. Print a pad to audio and chop it, reverse it or run it through a granular effect so it swims and flows, because that constant push and pull between layers is what makes it feel like a real record rather than a loop on repeat.
The saxophone is the single sound most people point to in this style, so leaning into it instantly reads as the vibe. Think of the smooth, jazzy sax breaks that sit near the end of a song with no vocals over them, just a long, melodic solo swimming in reverb.
Keep it moody and simple. A slow, breathy line in the same minor key as your chords, played with space between the phrases, does far more than a flashy run. Drench it in reverb and a touch of delay so it sits in the same wide room as the pads.
If you do not play sax, a loop or a sampled line works fine, and tuning it to your key and adding the same reverb glues it in. Use it as a hook or a transition moment rather than running it the whole time, so it stays special when it comes in.
Despite how spacey the music is, the drums have to knock. Start with a trappy, thuddy kick and a rim shot or layered snare on the backbeat, and add little accent hits around the main snare so the two is not just a single plain hit. The bounce lives in those accents.
Keep the hi-hats sparse in the verses. A chase atlantic type beat often leaves a lot of room up top in the verse and only gets busier with hats, rolls and percussion loops in the chorus, which is what makes the hook feel bigger. White noise percs and a few chopped loops add texture in the gaps.
Sidechain everything to the kick. This is the key: the producer who worked on their records said the drums have to knock no matter who mixes it, and a big part of that is ducking the pads, the bass and every synth under each kick so the low end stays clean and the beat breathes.
The lead vocal is actually drier and punchier than you would expect, built on heavy compression and fast autotune so it stays smooth and smacky. Keep the main vocal fairly dry and let the other layers create all the space around it.
The wavy, swimming feel comes from the background vocals. Sing a loose riff, pile on fast autotune, a harmonizer for width, a long reverb and a phaser or a binaural panner, and filter it so it floats under the mix like texture rather than a second lead.
Add signature delay throws on accent words. An eighth note or quarter note delay with high feedback, printed so it does not ring through the whole mix, gives you those spacey throws that trail off the ends of lines. A vocal pitched a full octave down and widened fills the bottom of the stack.
Every loop on NDA Company is played by hand, no AI, and free as an mp3. Pick one of the dark, lush loops below that already has that moody, ambient movement, drop it in around 120 to 140 BPM, read the key off it and build the Reese bass, the 808 slides, the sax and the knocking drums around it with the steps above.
The loops stream right on the page so you can hear the vibe before you commit. A free account lets you save the ones you like and come back to them, so you are not re-digging every session.
Pick a loop and drag it into your DAW. 808 under it, clap on top, your first Chase Atlantic beat is running.
Browse all loopsTempo, key and mood of the Chase Atlantic loops, straight from our catalog.
| Loop | BPM | Key | Vibe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monkeyball | 140 | Bmin | Dark, Hard, Virtual |
| Nasty | 140 | Cmin | Dark, Hard, Virtual |
| Maiskolben | 140 | Bmin | Dark, Hard, Virtual |
| Selfish | 140 | Cmin | Dark, Vintage |
| Magazin | 130 | Dark, Hard | |
| Ducks | 140 | D#min | Dark, Hyper, Virtual, Hard |
| Skype | 140 | Fmin | Dark |
| You Making me | 85 | G#min | Ambient, Sad |
| Gold | 142 | Cmin | Ambient, Sad |
| Daytime | 130 | F#min | Ambient |
There is no fixed tempo, but most sit around 120 to 140 BPM, with dark alt pop cuts near 125 BPM. Slower emo R&B tracks drop into the 80s and 90s with a half-time drum feel.
Almost always minor, often A minor or G minor, and built on extended chords like maj7, min7 and ninths rather than plain triads. Easiest is to take the key from your loop.
A slow, breathy, jazzy line in your minor key, drenched in reverb and a little delay, with space between the phrases. Use it as a hook or a break, not the whole time.
Use a punchy trappy kick and a layered snare with accent hits, keep the verse hats sparse, and sidechain the pads, bass and synths to the kick so the low end stays clean and the beat breathes.
Keep the lead fairly dry with heavy compression and fast autotune, then build wavy background vocals with a harmonizer, long reverb and a phaser, plus eighth note delay throws on accent words.
Yes, every loop is a free mp3, played by hand with no AI. It is not royalty-free: a commercial release means a 50/50 split with NDA Company.
They are not royalty-free. Free in your own beats; a 50/50 publishing split with NDA Company applies to every commercial release. License Terms
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