Introduction:

In the first three months of this semester, my thinking on music production has completely changed, even the content I have been exposed to before is no exception. I no longer only rely on reverb to create a sense of space, but use it to warp and reshape the timbre. I also learned how to make glitch sound effects, and I want to integrate this technique into my own production system, so that it can become a part of composition, rather than just post-production decoration. Now my creative goal is very clear, that is, to create a set of personal voice language with spatial transformation and timbral motion as the core, and to promote structural development and convey emotions by means of space, texture and editing techniques.

Artistic Vision:

My collection of works is a set of spatial music pieces driven by emotion. For me, music production is not just placing instruments in an arrangement, but also shaping dynamics and emotions by space and texture. I hope my music not only has true feelings, but also resonates with the audience. At this stage, I pay more attention to the true expression of emotions than to the pursuit of commercial interests, but I am still trying to find a balance between the two. In terms of auditory style, I like the cold, virtual and slightly surreal texture of internet-born music, but I also want to make my works full of vitality and have a complete story context. The aesthetic system I want to build is a production mode based on rhythm and bearing emotional narrative by timbre and space. This semester, I was deeply influenced by the UK-rooted music style, so I incorporated elements of UK garage, drum & bass and hyperpop into my portfolio. Courses related to glitch aesthetics also prompted me to explore more fragmented rhythms and more personal sound design.

For example, in the track Butterfly, I added a Portal granular effect to the opening synthesizer part, which disrupted the note order and created a more unpredictable rhythm. Then I layered the Valhalla shimmer reverb to create a psychedelic prism texture sound effect. I also used an unconventional delay effect on the hi-hats to break the regularity of the rhythm and make the repeated sections change timbre. In other instrumental tracks, I also cut and reassemble the audio clips to make the works have a deconstructive style, and use timbral transformation and reorganisation to drive progression, rather than adopting a purely linear structure. The aesthetics of glitch techniques also influenced my thinking on rhythm and vocal design. In my opinion, stutter effect is one of the most effective ways to express the glitch aesthetic, because it can turn editing into a means of rhythm creation and make cut points feel musical. This is why many of my works use the stutter effect, especially in vocal processing. From a broader perspective, this has something in common with the internet-born aesthetics: fast micro-editing and detailed processing are often the iconic features of this style.

I also learned a lot from musicians such as Porter Robinson, especially the way he created emotional contrast in different sections. Inspired by this, I often deliberately design a sense of contrast when creating, so that the emotions or styles of different sections of the track form a sharp contrast. For me, this contrast between sections is one of the core techniques to enrich the track and create a sense of narrative.

Process & Development：

This semester, my production method changed from intuition to a more organized iterative problem-solving mode. My aesthetic preference leaned towards timbre, sense of space and saturation distortion effect, so the problem I encountered was usually not a lack of creativity, but how to solve problems after they appear. If the sense of space is too strong, the low frequency is heavy, and the overall arrangement density is too high, it is easy for the track to move from a distinct, textured sound into something murky and lose its core focus. So I think my biggest progress this semester was to establish a clearer production process and learn to find problems in a more systematic way instead of just relying on subjective feelings.

In terms of timbre and density processing, I often use Decapitator and Black Box to add saturation, so that the key sound is more prominent and emotional, without just increasing the volume. However, because I like the heavy feeling brought by saturation, almost all the tracks were saturated at the beginning, resulting in harmonic build-up and excess energy in the middle and low frequencies. After discovering the problem, I began to use these two effects more selectively and strategically-for example, I used Black Box as a subtle glue and used it in parallel or bus processing; Decapitator was only used for a few core tracks, deliberately increasing the color and thickness of timbre. At the same time, I also paid more attention to the functional division of low-frequency parts, and use the methods of sidechain compression, equalizer and rhythm shift to make the kick, sub and bass not conflict with each other and have enough sound space.

In addition, reverb and delay are not only use in the mixing stage, but also the core part of the creative process. However, if the whole track uses the same reverb and delay, it will sound dull and lack movement. This semester, I explored a practical skill, that is, using automation to shape the relationship between sense of space and musical structure. I began to add automation to reverb, delay and even equalizer, creating spatial changes between sections and promoting the development of tracks. For example, in the build-up section or the last bar of the verse, I would use automation to adjust the reverb and delay to create a sense of transition into the next section, so as to avoid the whole track being in one unchanging ambience.

Context：

If I placed my portfolio inside contemporary music production practice, I would say it is a typical in the box approach, in which composition, arrangement, sound design, mixing, and mastering all take place as part of an integrated process. Musical “storytelling” isn’t something you get from just a melody or a harmony – it’s something that could be coming from a space and texture and editing: a way that a sound can be shaped and changed and made to walk around inside of time.

In terms of production thinking, my portfolio reflects a contemporary way of thinking where editing is composition. Week 3 ‘Sound Design as Storytelling’ let me recognise that spatial design and timbral change are not just post-production decoration, but can be used as a tool with narrative value that decides how sections behave and how emotion grows. For that reason, I prefer to build processing chains that are based on what I want to achieve in terms of sounds, so that the timbres already move within a structure of their own without having to rely on harmonic or melodic structures. For example, in ‘Stutter House’ and ‘Task 2’, I used basically one vocal source. Through rhythmic stutter based reorganisation, EQ based timbre shaping, and saturation, I was able to move a full vocal phrase into a lead role for the drop. This allowed the same melodic material developed and expanded even if not fully new. A related example can be found in isoxo’s ‘i promise’, which similarly builds a soundscape around a single core vocal idea that is repeatedly sliced and re-positioned across the track. The slicing changes from section to section, and the leads become more aggressive as heavier distortion and 808s come in later on. The track transforms through various types of slicing rather than in a more traditional song writing format. In this case, isoxo also uses sound design and editing based variation to drive the story of the track forward.

Within a production environment where presets, sampling and resampling are commonplace, it is difficult to avoid the question of how to remain identifiable. I treat presets and samples as a point of departure and locate my authorship in the decisions that follow: the design of spatial frameworks, the stylization of timbre through saturation and coloration, and the use of resampling and editing as a means of writing melodies and structures. This means that my sense of ‘being the author’ is more like a traceable record of the choices about transformations and aesthetic strategies, rather than a claim of absolute originality from nothing.

Evaluation：

Overall, I believe that my portfolio has successfully shown the creative identity I aimed to develop this trimester. Instead of focusing on completing a conventionally structured finished song, I chose to build a recognisable form of storytelling through the sound itself. In the final 15-minute edit of the portfolio, I could see this direction becoming consistent across many sketches: listeners can sense my preference for spatial design and textural detail, and they can also recognise my habit of using chopping and slicing as a sectional language.

What worked：

First of all, my main strength is the consistency in my aesthetic expression of space and texture. I don’t simply regard Valhalla reverb and delay as tools to “create a pleasant atmosphere”, but gradually use them as a core means to shape timbre and build a narrative perspective for different sections. Secondly, I use saturation plugins (Decapitator and Black Box) to increase the thickness and texture of my sounds, which makes the tracks sound fuller and more in line with the aesthetic standards of contemporary music production. Thirdly, this semester, I began to treat editing and micro-rhythm as a core way of writing structure. With the help of the ShaperBox 3 plugin or manual editing, I transformed the stutter effect from a single effect into a form of structural punctuation, so that the track could maintain momentum even if the harmonic or melodic material was relatively simple.

What didn’t： 

At the same time, this aesthetic creation idea also exposes some recurring problems. First of all, when saturation and low end energy accumulate across multiple tracks, the low-mid frequencies tend to get congested. This can make the low end muddy, and the core focus of the track will be difficult to highlight. Secondly, my preference for space sometimes makes the lead too backward in mixing. If the reverb and delay are on multiple tracks at the same time, the section can feel more dreamy, but the lead will become blurred. In the final analysis, these problems all point to the same core demand: my personal creative language has taken initial shape, but it needs more perfect and systematic framework support, in order to maintain recognition while still protecting clarity and listenability.

CMP2:

For the future CMP2, I hope to translate the aesthetic foundations that have been developed this trimester into a more stable and repeatable working system. My main focus is to strengthen the areas of my current approach that feel most fragile, especially low-end clarity and sectional contrast.

First of all, I plan to improve the definition of low-end by establishing clearer role division among kick, sub, and bass, and by treating saturation as a controlled, targeted tool rather than covering every track with the same texture.

Second, I want to address my tendency towards weak sectional contrast. At present, my section changes often depend on timbral change, rather than a clear distinction between arrangement roles. In the CMP2 project, I will consciously design section contrast from more dimensions that I have not fully explored before. In this way, even if the harmonic material is relatively simple, my tracks can present a clearer narrative direction and stronger sectional development.