Neon Notes — Week [6]
When I first started making music again in 2023, it was a whirlwind of excitement and rediscovered passion. I was completely absorbed in the process. Writing, arranging, producing. It took up most of my time and headspace in the best way possible.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I uploaded my first song to SoundCloud after about a week of producing. A few months later, I put it on YouTube. What I did not think about at all was artwork. Suddenly I needed a cover image for every single release.
At first, I took some pretty bad photos and used those. I didn’t care how they looked. I was just proud of the music and wanted people to hear it.
Around that time, I discovered an AI image generator website. I will not name it here, but it felt like an easy solution. I make music, not visual art… right? I convinced myself I just needed something that looked decent so I could upload my songs.
So I started generating image after image. I would edit them in Canva, add my artist name and the song title, and call it a day.
But I was never under the illusion that I created anything.
Whenever someone asked about the artwork, I was honest and told them it was AI generated. I was not pretending otherwise. Still, something felt off. The music was deeply personal. The artwork was not.
To be fair, I did use some real photos on a few releases back then. But most of my covers were AI generated until I did some real soul searching.
I asked myself a simple question. If I can learn how to produce a song from start to finish, including mixing and mastering, why can’t I learn how to create my own visuals? I used to paint. I used to draw. Creativity was never limited to one outlet for me.
So why was I outsourcing this part of my art?
Fast forward to March 2025 and the release of my single One More Time.
When I sat down to write that song, I made a decision. From that point forward, all my cover art would be built from licensed photos or photos I took myself. I would edit them. Shape them. Make them mine.
The working title of that song was A New Beginning.
It fit for two reasons. First, the lead synth in One More Time was the same lead I used in my very first song. Maybe slightly tweaked, but still there. A full circle moment.
Second, it marked a shift in how I approach my visuals. The music was always personal. Now the artwork would be too.
Now I am in the middle of the painstaking process of replacing all of my old AI generated images with real, genuine photos. Even my artist avatar and logo are getting a rebrand soon.
I am not against technology. AI can be a tool like anything else. But for me, it started to feel disconnected from the creative process that I care so much about.
I want every part of what I release to feel intentional.
Not perfect.
Not polished beyond recognition.
Just real.
Now Creating
• Rebuilding my catalog artwork with genuine photography
• Finishing songs for the next EP, Electric Skyline Volume 2
• Exploring new writing techniques
Thanks for taking the time to read this. If any part of it resonated with you, I am always happy to hear your thoughts. Whether you are 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. New posts go live every Wednesday.
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