How It Was Recorded

Tones and I · The Kids Are Coming, 2019

Dance Monkey

What the sources do and do not say

Both pages of the Sound On Sound Inside Track with producer and mixer Konstantin Kersting were read in full. Programmed drums, synths, mix chain and vocal tracking chain are covered; no guitar gear is named, and no drum samples count as gear here. The EP name is not stated in the article (it says only a six-track debut EP), so the album title is set from general knowledge and should be checked by the reviewer.

Lead vocal

Toni Watson (Tones and I)

Microphone

Miktek CV4

Verified

Large-diaphragm microphone used to record the lead vocal.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. Microphone-modelling plugins only work with their own matched hardware microphone, so there is no plugin to link. Placement and the room matter more than the model.

Input chain

Preamp the vocal microphone fed on the way in.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Solid State Logic SSL Native X-Saturator

saturation

SSL's own saturation plugin, which blends second-harmonic and third-harmonic distortion as this module's drive circuit does; it is not a model of this unit and has no preamp or compressor section.

Equaliser inserted after the preamp while tracking the vocal.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Waves SSL E-Channel

channel strip

Models the SSL 4000 E console channel whose equaliser this module reproduces; it is not a model of the X-Rack module itself.

Also worth a look: Solid State Logic SSL Native Channel Strip 2 (SSL's own channel strip plugin with an E-series equaliser setting, the same circuit family as this module; it is not a model of the X-Rack module itself).

UREI 1176

Verified

Hardware compressor on the way in, used only to contain vocal peaks rather than to add a sound.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

compressor

Models several revisions of the 1176, including the blackface units.

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter (Models two 1176 revisions (blacky and bluey)).

Converter that took the vocal chain into the computer.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A converter, designed to be transparent. Your own audio interface does this job.

Mix effects

Waves Tune

Verified

Pitch-correction plug-in used lightly on a few lead vocal notes.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Hardware compressor inserted on the lead vocal bus, doing very little in limiting mode.

Position
Hardware insert on the lead vocal bus
Settings
Limiting setting, taking off tiny amounts

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Emulation of this unit

Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection

compressor

Universal Audio owns the Teletronix name; this is its own model of the LA-2A.

Also worth a look: Waves CLA-2A Compressor / Limiter (Models an LA-2A from Chris Lord-Alge's collection. Cheaper and runs without UA hardware).

Neve 1073 emulation on the lead vocal bus, pushed into its drive input with the fader lowered to compensate.

Position
Insert on the lead vocal bus
Settings
Set to the drive input, turned up a little, with the fader volume turned down

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Universal Audio Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

preamp and EQ

The current version of the plugin used on the record.

Bass

Toni Watson (played in), Konstantin Kersting (sound design)

Instrument

Moog Voyager

Verified

One of the synths the played-in bass line was run through.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Arturia Mini V

instrument

A Minimoog emulation. The Voyager is the Minimoog's later descendant.

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Made with Moog as a model of the Minimoog, the Voyager's ancestor).

Synth that carried the main bass line, layered with the Voyager and an Arturia emulation.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Arturia Mini V

instrument

Model D is the Minimoog's model name, and this emulates the Minimoog. The source does not say whose Model D was played.

Also worth a look: Universal Audio Moog Minimoog (Model D is the Minimoog's model name, and this is a Moog-approved emulation of it. The source does not say whose Model D was played).

Software Minimoog emulation layered into the bass.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

The plugin used on the record

Arturia Mini V

instrument

The plugin named in the source.

Mix effects

Compressor on the Model D bass track to keep it in place.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Drums (programmed)

Mix effects

Drawmer 1968

Verified

Hardware compressor inserted on the main drums bus.

Position
Insert on the Drums aux bus

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

Waves CLA-76 Compressor / Limiter

compressor

A FET compressor like the original, though without its valve stage; it is not a model of this unit.

Saturation on the main drums bus.

Position
Insert on the Drums aux bus

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Further compression on the main drums bus.

Position
Insert on the Drums aux bus

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Compressor on a parallel drums bus to add impact to the chorus drums.

Position
Big Parallel parallel bus, with a Pro-Q 2 rolling off high end
Settings
Punish mode

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.

Main keyboard part

Toni Watson

Instrument

Synth used for the main piano-like keyboard part, which Kersting thinks began as an actual piano sound before being changed.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Covers this kind of unit

u-he Diva

instrument

An analogue-modelling polysynth with two oscillators per voice and switchable filter types, so it covers the same kind of sound; it is not a model of this unit.

Mix bus

Mix effects

The X-Desk summed into this unit, and the signal went on from it to the passive equaliser and the compressor.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

No plugin suggested. A converter between analogue and digital. Your audio interface does this job, so no plugin is needed.

JLM PEQ

Verified

Passive hardware equaliser on the master bus.

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Universal Audio Pultec Passive EQ Collection

equaliser

Models the Pultec EQP-1A, the passive circuit this module is built on; it is not a model of the JLM unit.

Also worth a look: Waves PuigTec EQs (EQP-1A and MEQ-5) (Also models a Pultec EQP-1A, the passive circuit the JLM follows; it is not a model of the JLM unit).

Hardware compressor on the master bus, doing very little.

Settings
At most 3 dB of gain reduction

Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026

Close match

Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor

compressor

The C1 and C2 are bus compressors in the SSL style. This models the SSL G-series bus compressor, not the Smart unit.

Also worth a look: Solid State Logic SSL Native Bus Compressor 2 (The C1 and C2 are bus compressors in the SSL style. This is SSL's own bus compressor plugin).

Sources

  1. Inside Track: Tones And I 'Dance Monkey' (page 2), Sound On Sound, 2020-01. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
  2. Inside Track: Tones And I 'Dance Monkey' (page 1), Sound On Sound, 2020-01. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
Verified

Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.

Reported

Stated by a reputable secondary source.

Inferred

An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.

Disclosure: plugin links currently go straight to the maker and earn us nothing. If that changes, affiliate links will be marked here. Suggestions are chosen on fit, never on commission, and are kept separate from the recording facts. More.