MMP7C001R~001 25101122 Portfolio.
| No. | Name. | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solace (v32) | 00:00 | 01:30 |
| 2 | Harmony (v49.2) | 01:30 | 02:25 |
| 3 | Unity (v14) | 02:25 | 05:05 |
| 4 | New Resonance (v8) | 05:05 | 06:08 |
| 5 | Liberation (v28) | 06:08 | 09:45 |
| 6 | Over The Moon (v25) | 09:45 | 11:22 |
| 7 | The Rebirth (v13.3) | 11:22 | 15:21 |
MMP7C001R~001 25101122 Critical Evaluation.
Introduction.
In this essay, I’ll be examining my creative development as a music producer through a portfolio of works in progress. This portfolio showcases my evolving artistic identity, technical progression and engagement with contemporary electronic production practices. Rather than focusing on completed tracks, this portfolio focuses on the development process of my creative practice and the critical reflection I undergo to optimize it. Across the portfolio, I explore how high-energy digital soundscapes can coexist with narrative progression and emotional expressivity. A reoccurring focus throughout this project is my pursuit of a consistent sonic identity that aims to work across different musical contexts all while remaining recognisably personal and expressive.
My portfolio consists of 7 works in progress, each engaging with distinct themes and production approaches whilst maintaining a cohesive artistic direction. This reflection will critically evaluate my creative and technical decisions of these projects, addressing both the issues I’ve faced and the strategies I’ve developed to resolve them. This reflection aims to demonstrate how consistent production and critical evaluation shapes my creative identity and guides the direction of my future projects.
Artistic Vision.
Aesthetics & Values.
My musical aesthetic is based on the fusion of various contemporary EDM subgenres and story based scores; combining digital sound design with emotional expressivity. I aim to balance high-energy production techniques with expressive soundscapes and narrative structures so that each track functions as a self contained story. However, working across this wide stylistic range has made maintaining artistic consistency rather difficult, which has led me to prioritize the development of a consistent sonic anchor that defines my creative identity as a producer.
This anchor would become my signature synth lead called The Harmonizer (named after its conception during the production of the track Harmony) which acts as my own personal ‘voice’ as a reoccurring sonic motif across my projects. This lead is designed with heavily textured high frequency content to emphasize melodic timbre and a prominent low to mid range body to maintain presence within denser mixes. In tracks such as Liberation and Over The Moon, I expanded this sound by introducing mid to high range harmonic layers in the form of synth chords that provide a secondary body with more stereo width. The aim of this approach is to integrate the lead more naturally within the rest of the mix to retain its identity.
Influences.
– Sound Design.
My musical style is mostly inspired by electronic producers who combine digital sounds with organic instruments to create unique expressive timbres using creative sound design. Exyl is a key influence in this area with songs like “Save This Wrld” and “Curse Of The Moai”, where he integrates flutes and pianos within electronic frameworks. This influence is evident in Solace where the piano, guitars and vocals provide an organic feel to the song as well as in Liberation, with its flute and piano elements. The result is an effective soundfont that eases the listener into a sense of familiarity while simultaneously providing an expressive and authentic listening experience.
In contrast, New Resonance draws more directly from the deliberately artificial sound design associated with artists like S3RL. In his songs such as “Forbidden” and “Click Bait”, he uses extremely textured synthesized sounds alongside artificial Vocaloid-style vocals. This exaggerated intensity of the lead sounds reflects S3RL’s approach to high-energy electronic production. Equally, Headhunterz is another notable influence in this area with songs such as “Home” and “Dragonborn Part 2”, where he uses heavily processed kicks and densely textured synth leads to heavily lean into the digital soundscape. This creative approach to sound design inspired the first drop in Unity where crunchy hardstyle kicks add more low and mid range prominence to balance out the dense high-end content of the leads in the mix, as well as the final breakdown where The Harmonizer is layered with a thick wide bass drone.
– Melodic, Rhythmic & Thematic Approach.
My melodic, rhythmic and thematic approaches have been inspired by producers who focus on emotional pacing and narrative flow within electronic music. Exyl’s influence extends into my practice for musical cinematic storytelling. In The Rebirth, non-musical elements such as breathing and heartbeats reinforce the emotional and narrative themes of the track, allowing sound design to function as a storytelling device. Additionally, The Ambientalist inspired my practice of using of tension and release as a narrative tool. This is evident in tracks such as Over The Moon and Liberation, where pads and atmospheric layers are used to guide the emotional flow of the composition.
On the other hand, Alan Walker has inspired a more restrained approach to the melodies and rhythm in a couple of my tracks. This is especially evident in Solace, where simplistic rhythmic swing and slower tempo are used to support the tracks emotional themes. Tobu is another artist who similarly focuses on simple and memorable melodic structures in his songs such as “Hope” and “Colors”. In Over The Moon, adopting Tobu’s approach allowed the song to have strong melodic coherence while still preserving the emotional flow.
Finally, Headhunterz has also been a big influence here, most notably through his approach to drop structure and perceived impact in “Oceans Apart”. This influence is evident in the final drop of Unity, where wide bass elements enter a fraction of a second before the lead melody, creating a heightened sense of anticipation while allowing a simple yet effective melody to retain clarity and impact.
Process And Development.
Technical & Creative Shortcomings (And How I Addressed Them).
In earlier works within this portfolio, such as Harmony and Solace, the Harmonizer lead felt overly harsh and isolated from the surrounding mix. This separation caused an inconsistent and often muddy low-end as the relationship between high-frequency harmonic content and low-frequency support wasn’t firmly established yet. To address this, I began introducing more mid-range content into the lead in tracks such as New Resonance and Liberation to create a more balanced mix.
However, this resulted in mixes that felt flat; lacking the contrast I was aiming for. With this, I identified a technical shortcoming in my ability to effectively control harmonic balance across different soundscapes and contexts. To resolve this, I experimented with frequency-based processing across three different buses: low, mid and high. In Over The Moon and The Rebirth, both the Harmonizer lead and its supporting synth chords were routed to the same mid range bus, where compression and EQ was applied to help glue their dynamic behaviour and frequency properties together. While The Harmonizer usually occupies the higher frequency group due to its harmonic content, prioritizing cohesion between the mid and high ranges allowed the sound to feel more grounded within the musical context. This approach resulted in a more solid mix and made significant improvement in my technical execution.
However, even though addressing the technical shortcomings of the sound improved its consistency, I realized that further creative development was necessary to solidify both the mix and my musical identity. And while the Harmonizer functions as a consistent marker of my artistic identity, I aim to avoid relying on it as a static recognisable preset as I personally feel this would be an inauthentic and lazy approach. As a result, my objective was to try to adapt the sound so that it interacts naturally with the musical and narrative context of each track while still retaining a distinct identity across all my songs.
To achieve this, I integrated the Harmonizer into more narrative driven compositions like Unity and The Rebirth and tweaking the sound of it accordingly to better fit the context. This approach required a bit more restraint and contextual awareness which encouraged me to make decisions that prioritized atmosphere over technical perfection. With this, variations of the Harmonizer which were originally technically flawed began to function as expressive tools. For example, in the final drop of Unity, I intentionally reverted to an earlier, harsher version of the lead to emphasize its overbearing presence. This process also influenced my decision to apply additional textures onto the lead melody for the final drop in The Rebirth. These elements were selectively used to frame the lead and reinforce the narrative, allowing each component to coexist without competing for attention.
Context.
How my work relates to wider artistic frameworks.
My work is situated within contemporary electronic music production where sonic identity is increasingly established through consistent sound design instead of traditional performance based features such as being able to play an instrument a certain way or a singers vocal timbre. This approach to music creation aligns with the concept of sonic branding and within this framework, my development of the Harmonizer functions as a repeatable sonic signature.
The sonic design of the Harmonizer reflects broader trends within electronic music that embrace digital artificiality as an aesthetic choice rather than a limitation. To demonstrate this, I’ll briefly explore my first case study called “Fireflies” by Vertile; a re-imagined version of Owl City’s original song. In this track, the heavy use of reverb and saturation of the introductory vocal stages it in a way that makes it feel impossibly clean and grandiose. Then, an extremely textured lead synth melody drowns the vocals out, emphasizing its sheer scale and power. In the drop, the aggressive distorted kick and bass heavily leans into the artificially executed intensity as well as acting as a counterbalance for the leads. The way the different elements accommodate the harsh leads aligns with my approach to not only have an anchored sonic identity through timbre, but also supporting it with complementing sound elements.
In addition to sonic identity, my work engages in narrative driven production practices that makes sound design function as a storytelling method, which is shown in songs like Unity and Rebirth. In modern electronic music, producers use progression and atmosphere to create emotional narratives without the need to rely on lyrics. Artists such as Exyl demonstrate this approach through the hybrid use of digital and organic sounds. This is evident in my second case study “Ping! 2” where Exyl uses a mixture of diagetic sounds such as city ambience, sound effects from the Discord app and bird calls to stage the song into a physical space. The stylistic variations of the music itself also creates a sense of progression that drives the story forward. This contextual framework influences my use of sound design as a narrative tool in tracks such as The Rebirth, where non-musical elements contribute to emotional pacing and thematic clarity.
Evaluation.
What worked, what didn’t and what directions I may pursue for CMP2.
Overall, this portfolio demonstrates a clear progression in both my technical execution and artistic intent. I believe one of the most successful aspects was the development of a consistent sonic identity across stylistically diverse works. Through continuous refinement, I was able to improve the integration of my lead within a mix, resulting in more balance and clarity in later tracks such as Over The Moon and The Rebirth. Additionally, the increased focus on narrative driven composition proved to be very effective, especially in works where sound design and musical progression have been used to support emotional storytelling. Improvements in workflow and dynamic control have also contributed to more disciplined mixing and mastering decisions across the portfolio.
However, a few challenges still remained throughout the process. Earlier works such as Harmony and Solace highlighted my issues with overcomplication, especially in dense arrangements where competing elements led to flat mixes and inconsistent low-end elements.
Unfortunately, attempts to resolve these issues resulted in overly restrained mixes which lacked contrast and impact. Also managing multiple works at once made it more difficult to maintain consistency across projects.
Looking ahead to CMP2, my future development will focus on further refining and recontextualising my signature lead sound so that it continues to evolve without becoming too predictable. I also plan to explore the combination of acoustic and electronic sound sources to introduce more depth and variation, as well as experimenting with spatial audio to improve immersion. Finally, I plan to set myself a limit as to how many projects I’m managing at a single time so that I can apply more concentrated attention to the development of certain projects. Based on the reflective and practice-based approach I’ve made in this essay, I’m very confident that these directions will effectively support the development of both my technical capabilities and artistic identity.
References
Burkovskis, T. (2014). Colors. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/6AoBSeZg9YYt1GKtfcMGkY?si=7f411419ec394fc0 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2025].
Burkovskis, T. (2014). Hope. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/2ej5aQGytuAsd5eNqB7zmG?si=bc22894cc85b4f73 [Accessed 4 Nov. 2025].
Gavril, V. (2019). Mysteries Unfold. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/17hx5JGBKT2cXa0Wr4pB4O?si=3e17d7de6709491b [Accessed 3 Nov. 2025].
Hughes, J. (2016). Click Bait. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/2bPuAWKxIHu7aqatN5BlTl?si=e5fc69938e0541ad [Accessed 30 Oct. 2025].
Hughes, J. (2016). Forbidden. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/7ACUHvY5YQgh7qlTkSrf8r?si=0223ad15c86447e7 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2025].
Mohamed, S. and Ahrens, A. (2024). Curse Of The Moai. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/3yvGyI8LoTrT3oqeZJNI2A?si=16346118a66d4d2b [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].
Mohamed, S. (2022). Ping! 2. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/18fIVCn75aK0rXYtMjg2v9?si=0bc4c1add7744279 [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].
Mohamed, S. (2023). Save This Wrld. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/2qpOzuQGFqTKNn56w7qShx?si=204e2acf7de041f5 [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].
Rebergen, W. and de los Santos, J. (2020). Dragonborn Part 2. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IYy61kMXds [Accessed 30 Oct. 2025].
Rebergen, W. (2019). Home. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/0zolxiS5uiL5towOJrsJi4?si=a3ac056eac4d4f5c [Accessed 30 Oct. 2025].
Walker, A., Osberg Nilsen, K., Brånn, M. and Tungevaag, M. (2019). PLAY. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/4jp4Z02kzzg8gK0NmDGgml?si=b66d557982ae4d17 [Accessed 2 Nov. 2025].
Young, A. (2025). Fireflies. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/3VOVVGkOjszROkZrtmdXwN?si=466ae98a86eb428c [Accessed 25 Oct. 2026].
