What I'm working on right now

Neon Notes — Week [5]

Working on my EP Electric Skyline has made me really think about where I'm heading creatively. I know that with EPs, they're usually just songs that didn't make the cut for an album, but I'm treating them like a mini album. I wanted to see if I could make a small collection of songs that sound a bit more cohesive, like they were meant to go together. I think I've accomplished that goal, but to be fair, I think a lot of my songs have a similar sound, so I think it was easy by default.

But right now, I think I'm in the middle of something new.

Recently, I wrote a song called Don't Look Back that came from losing my mom. I won’t go too deep into it here, but making music has always been how I process things, and this one came straight from that place. Sometimes songs aren’t about chasing a sound, they’re just about getting something out.

The reason I bring this up is that this directly points to what I'm working on right now. Before her passing, my sound started to shift, still retro, but more refined. Creating Don't Look Back really cemented this new sound for me. I love the new dynamics and layers in this new direction. Right now, I think I have three distinctive periods in my very short music career.

The beginning was when I thought I wanted to make pure Synthwave. The songs were pure electronic and very rough. The second period is when I shifted to Retro Pop, a little bit more modern sounding, but still very retro. Someone described it as “Neon dreams for the broken hearted”,  they know who they are.

And now, this period is much more modern pop. Super polished production while still sounding retro. Hints of disco, ’90s freestyle, and ’90s RnB. Obviously, the Retro Pop is still in there, and I still make instrumental Synthwave songs, but this shift is organic just like the last one.

My new sound really started a few months ago. I was experimenting with the way I process and write my drums on an instrumental track I titled Journey. I guess you could describe it as Progressive Synthwave, it's very spacey, but almost has a live band feel. This new sound really hit me, so I started using it in more projects. Then I created a personal remix of Dua Lipa's song Break My Heart for fun, and it just fell into place. Now I'm going for more natural sounding drums, which in turn changes the way I process everything else.

Here's a rough snapshot of what's on my hard drive right now.

The titles of these songs could change, but Drown My Pain and Falling For Your Love have a very prominent disco sound, Release Me has a dark RnB sound.

Been On My Mind has a party vibe. I Surrender has a groovy bassline, very smooth overall, and Dangerous has a very dramatic sound with sexy vocals.

I have a few untitled songs as well as some other songs from my previous sound that I'm working on. I can't guarantee they will all see the light of day, but knowing me, they will.

I don’t know exactly where all of this will lead yet, but I do know I’m excited again. And right now, that feels like exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Now Creating

• Writing new material in this more polished, modern-retro direction

• Experimenting with more natural sounding drums and layered synths

• Letting ideas develop organically instead of forcing them

• Sitting with a few untitled tracks and seeing where they want to go

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If any part of it resonated with you, I’m always happy to hear your thoughts. Whether you’re making music or something completely different, I hope you keep following whatever feels honest to you.

This post is part of my weekly Neon Notes series. Look for new posts every Wednesday.