Inside Poppa Punch Vol. 1: Modern Pop Made Easy w/ Luke Targett
Luke Targett has made his mark on the pop music landscape as a producer known for his distinctive sound and production expertise. With previous success including the breakout sample pack Fiery Hot Trap & Pop, Luke has a talent for fusing infectious hooks with cutting-edge production techniques. His latest release, Poppa Punch Vol. 1, provides modern producers with crisp drums, vibrant percussion, dynamic bass, and melodic elements—a toolkit designed to make chart-ready pop tracks effortlessly.
Our Interview w/ Luke Targett
Tell us about yourself – what led you to production and creating samples?
When I first got into music, I wasn’t interested in production. I just wanted to play a bunch of instruments and be a rockstar. Naturally, I spent the first few years learning drums, guitar, piano, and eventually songwriting. After spending months writing lyrics and chords in a notebook, trying my best to remember how it was supposed to sound the next day, I knew I needed a way to record my ideas—a way to turn the vision in my head into something I could listen to and remember. That’s when I started producing music.
Fast forward a few years and Covid hit. I lost a bunch of sessions with artists I was working with and had no idea of when things would return to normal. It was around this time an opportunity came up to work remotely as a producer, for a sample pack. I jumped head first into the opportunity and found it to be just as creatively fulfilling. And that’s how I got into creating samples.
What inspired you to do a drum focus Pop sample pack this time?
I’m always producing pop music, whether it’s for my own project or another artist. I’m constantly trying to create new sounds and push the boundary of what I can do with samples in a record. Over the years I developed a pretty nice library from doing this, so I thought why not put together a drum sample pack using what was there.
How do you get your drums so snappy and punchy?
I love to layer, but every sound must fight for a place. When making drums, I’m always asking “what purpose does this sound serve in the bigger picture.” It could be a more pronounced mid-range, a snappy transient, a sweeping low end, an atmospheric tail—this and some good standard mixing practices, transient design, EQ, compression, and saturation—and it must work in the context of the song. Sound designing in isolation is great, but the samples I make are literally created in the context of a pop song.
With Pop music being such an industry standard and broad audience to reach, what are some tricks for producers to make them stand out from the rest?
I have two methods that I employ. First, take three songs you (or the artist) love, and make a note of what you like most about each one. It could be the drums in track one, the vocal production in track two, and the guitars in track three. I then blend the different parts into one song to create a soundscape that feels new and completely unique.
Second, modernize old records. I love doing this with the 80s, but I’ve also done it for 00’s RnB and even 70’s Motown. I ask myself, “If this sound was made today, how would it be done?” This can lead to some interesting experimentation.
What makes modern Pop music production so fun?
It’s twofold: the inception of your idea coming to life—making something from nothing, literally creating a world that has never been seen before—and then indulging in the melodies, sounds, and emotions of the song. Living in that world you made is pretty cool. Then seeing how others connect with it, collaborators and fans alike, brings a feeling nothing else compares to.
Poppa Punch Vol. 1 equips modern producers with the tools to craft snappy, polished, and creative pop tracks that stand out. From punchy drums to dynamic melodic layers, Luke Targett’s pack is a go-to resource for anyone looking to elevate their production to a chart-ready level.