Behind the Scenes of "My Satellite"

When I set out to create music, it’s a straightforward process: I start with my hands on the keyboard and let the ideas flow. If something interesting emerges, I chase it down; if not, it’s back to the drawing board.

For "My Satellite," my goal was to step out of my comfort zone and craft something with a bit more energy. To achieve this, I turned to my modular rack for drum sounds, utilizing my Moog DFAM, Mother 32, Roland System 100 clone, and Mutable Instruments Plaits to create something unique.

After settling on the drum sounds, I constructed a pattern that laid the foundation for the track. The next steps involved fleshing out the chord progressions and basic synth parts, crafting a melody, and then the challenging part—finding a lyrical hook that tied everything together. Writing the full lyrics was as demanding as ever.

The recording was done in Apple’s Logic, with my PRS Custom 22 for guitar parts, an Oberheim OB-X8 for the main poly synth sounds, and my ARP 2600 clone for the bass. I also sprinkled in a few extra textures using Arturia’s V Collection.

Mixing was an adventure in itself, done in Universal Audio’s Luna DAW. I utilized UA’s Sound City Studios plugin on the drums for a cohesive and punchy sound, and added depth with Capitol Chambers, Lexicon 224, and the API Vision channel strip across all tracks. The summing was handled by API and Neve, with a few Soundtoys plugins for additional flavor. It was a refreshing change to return to Luna after some time.

Releasing "My Satellite" feels particularly exciting. I believe its upbeat nature and the journey it took from conception to final mix might just give it a wider appeal than some of my more esoteric pieces.