April 5th, 2023 | By: Katherine Foster

What goes into the making of music? The lyrics? An idea for a beat? Through mini interviews with DIY artists music fans are able to gain insight on the creation of music, from start to finish.

As many music fans know, some of our favorite artists will say “New music coming soon!” for what may seem like years on end. Until recently I assumed that this was just to build anticipation. I’ve come to realize this is not always the case, and a lot more goes into the creation of music than what average listeners may think. To get more insight on the full process of making music from start to finish I spoke to a few DIY artists who not only write but also produce their own music. I first reached out to Maddy Davis, an indie pop rock artist who released her EP “MUD” in September.

[KATHERINE:] When I first reached out you mentioned that you co-produce your tracks. How many people work with you during the production process and does it differ from song to song?

[MADDY:] Yes, it definitely does change from song to song because I’m really lucky to be surrounded by a lot of incredible collaborators. However, I usually co-produce with one other person and then pass it on to two other people to finish up the mixing and mastering. I'm always meeting new people to work with and entering new writing sessions, because I’ve met some of the most important people in my life that way.

[KATHERINE:] On your EP “MUD” each song has its own unique sound. While writing did you have a specific vision in mind for each song’s production or was it curated later in the process?

[MADDY:] I sort of crafted the identity of each song while making it. I didn’t even realize I was making an EP until it was done, so I definitely didn’t have any type of sound that I was trying to sought after; it just kind of happened. It was really cool looking back at the writing process too and hearing the different versions of the songs, because I feel like they sound so cohesive together as a project, but that was all unintentional and lucky.

[KATHERINE:] When did you first start writing songs and what made you decide to start recording your music?

[MADDY:] I first started playing around with writing music when I was around 7, because my family is really musical so my sister and I used to write little diddles together for fun. I started writing alone probably around age 10 or 11, and I knew pretty much right away that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I recorded my first original song going into 9th grade and have been at it ever since.

[KATHERINE:] Alongside many other artists you promote your music on TikTok. How important is maintaining a social media presence while creating music?

[MADDY:] Social media is definitely a huge resource and incredible way to both connect with fans and find fans. I’ve been an Instagram user for over 10 years, so Instagram was always an easy platform for me to understand and use to promote myself and my music. Tik Tok was more of a challenge for me, but I recently have gotten into the swing of things and realized how to make it fun for myself.

[KATHERINE:] Lastly, what would you say is your favorite part of the process when it comes to creating music?

[MADDY:] Definitely performing live, if that counts. I’ve always loved being on stage and having such a solid band made up of some of my best friends has only strengthened my passion for performing. I generally just feel most comfortable and have the most fun when I’m on stage than anywhere else. Next I spoke to Cameron Lane, a self proclaimed “bug rock” artist currently studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

[KATHERINE:] You dropped your most recent single “Backseat” in December. How long would you estimate the project taking, starting from the beginning of the writing process to the release date?

[CAMERON:] I started writing Backseat summer of 2021 and did most of the production that August before I left home for college! It went on the backburner as I worked on other projects and got adjusted to living in a new place, but I finally got around to finishing it this past November. The unfortunate truth of my songwriting-to-release history is that it usually takes around a year to a year-and-a-half from when I write a song to when it’s out in the world– kind of a weird funny pattern I’ve been noticing since I started making music! I definitely wish I could go faster but at the same time I’m really particular about everything involved in the process, especially production, and if it takes that long for me to feel like a song is fully cooked then so be it. I could spend actual years tweaking my mixes but then I’d never get anything out haha.

[KATHERINE:] Since studying at Berklee have you found it to be an easier process to produce music?

[CAMERON:] Not in the slightest!! I didn’t realize how much of a comfort zone my childhood bedroom setup was until I lost it. It’s definitely good to get out of that and learn to write/record in different environments but man is it tough. Especially since my apartment now has hardwood floors and really high ceilings– my room is basically unusable for recording vocals. It’s hard to motivate myself to work on anything new when I know my space will affect the sound like that! I’ve also just been in a pretty bad creative rut in general for a while. Good news (?) is I’ve been here before, and this time it’s a little easier knowing it’ll eventually pass. I’m trying not to force anything in the meantime.

[KATHERINE:] You’ve been releasing music since high school. How did you first learn how to produce music?

[CAMERON:] I got started really young. I wanted to be a producer before I even knew what production was– I remember going on the App Store looking up “multi-track recorder” / “audio editor” and downloading a bunch of crappy software on my sister and I’s computer that wasn’t at all what I wanted haha! Eventually I discovered Garageband from a teacher at the studio where I took voice lessons. I didn’t have any experience and was too stubborn to look up YouTube tutorials so it was just trial by fire to see if I could make anything that sounded remotely good. The first full song I laid down literally had piano recorded using an apple earbud mic laying on top of a keyboard speaker.

Despite the general jank-ness (lol) I loved it! No one was telling me what to do so I just experimented with every way I could possibly make sound and started recording demos like crazy. It quite literally absorbed my life; I was so excited about every aspect. We had school assigned tablets at my middle school and I’d sit in the back of the class every day designing my Bandcamp page and daydreaming about when I’d finally release all these little projects and blow up. That did not happen haha! But, eventually, I used some of the demos I made to get into a high school production program where I could get an actual formal education. I finally got a copy of Logic from one of my friends there, so I was using that at home while we used Pro Tools in class, picking up new skills and working steadily on my own projects over the years.

Only recently have I realized how insane this combination of factors that have allowed me to get where I am today is– while the bar for entry into the music industry is right now lower than it probably ever has been, it still takes an immense amount of privilege and luck to have a substantial shot at making it a full-time gig. I am so, so incredibly grateful I got to have the experience and access to gear/software/lessons that I had getting started.

[KATHERINE:] Your music style has changed over the years. Would you say this is due to a greater knowledge of production software?

[CAMERON:] I’ve never thought about it that way! In some ways no and in some ways yes. My first few singles were definitely just me bouncing between different genres to see what fit, partially because I’m a very indecisive person and every time I think something sounds cool I decide I want to embody that thing (right before I recorded Stupid Happy I went on a City Girl kick and thought I wanted to make lofi beats). But also yeah totally, each new project had me learning or trying something new because I was exploring the capabilities of my DAW as a program and myself as a musician!

Creature I think was the culmination of all that growth and experimentation into something I really feel embodies who I want to be as an artist– those songs were the first I ever wrote on guitar and were the first I mixed entirely by myself. I loved that process, I still love those songs (I hope I always will) and everything since then has felt like it’s built upon what I established for myself within that project instead of pivoting in a completely different direction. Maybe one day I’ll decide indie rock isn’t for me anymore but today is not that day!

[KATHERINE:] Lastly, what would you say is your favorite part of the process when it comes to creating music?

[CAMERON:] When I write something or produce something that affects me in a deeply emotional way I can’t not play it. That’s how I know I’ve hit something special. It’s a very weird and special feeling to write a song that takes everything out of me, then go back to the normal world feeling chemically out of whack until I can go home and play the song over and over again. Sometimes to the point where I am just crying and can’t get through it lol. Or I’ll add something earwormy to a production, usually a new melodic line or a set of harmonies, and suddenly it’s all I want to listen to ever. Playing it back full blast until I think I might injure my ears. I have to remember that feeling when the songs get a little older because it does fade, but that initial moment is just the best. I hope music making is, to a degree, always that intense, because that feeling is what reaffirms to me every time I would let myself down by doing anything else. Lastly, I spoke with Eli Trentalange, another Berklee student whose most recent work can best be described as lowfi rnb.

[KATHERINE:] Your most recent single “you’re not” has an almost eerie intro. How long did that take to perfect while producing?

[ELI:] basically me and my friend tanner were trying to figure out how to orchestrate this song because what i usually do is i’ll write the song and sit on it for a while because i’m not sure how i want it to be arranged! I think in around July of this year i brought the song to Tanner (he had been teaching me about synths and such in a new program i had just bought called Serum) and I gave him a reference track to see if we could get as close as possibly to what i was imagining. My inspiration was the synth pads KAYTRANADA uses (he produces for kali uchis, the internet, and many others) and i wanted it to kind of also be a dark vibe, like the Weeknd’s last album (kaytra has also worked with him) so once we had the synth i layed down the bass line (which just took some fucking around tbh i am not a real bassist i just play guitar) and it started to look like what it is today!

[KATHERINE:] Your song “lying” features Lauren Jean. When you first started writing the song did you always know that you wanted to feature another artist?

[ELI:] No ! actually, this song was the first time Tanner and I had made a whole song together, and I hadn’t even written the song before I stepped into the session. I just basically freestyled something over that progression and then Tanner added those absolutely crazy drums. I posted the chorus on TikTok and Lauren Jean texted me telling me how much she liked it, she sent me a voice recording of the verse that’s on the song!! She’s a long time friend and writing partner, I knew I had to have her feature on the song. I wasn’t even sure about releasing it at all, but when she sent me that i knew it was coming together. This song also started this past summer, when I was in summer semester at berklee and all there was to do was make music lol.

[KATHERINE:] Your two most recent drops were only a little over a month apart. Were their releases planned to be back-to-back or was that by chance?

[ELI:] I have to admit, lying was definitely better planned and more in advance than you’re not, but I love my latest single so much I knew I had to put it out as soon as possible. My friends have been telling me to put it out for like 3 months lol! also I am planning on re-releasing both of those songs — probably on an ep :)

[KATHERINE:] In your day-to-day life do you ever experience something and immediately think “this would make a good song” or do song ideas come to you when you’re specifically focused on writing?

[ELI:] Yes lol all the time actually and I’ll go a little bit into my history with writing songs: I started writing to deal with my emotions and it kind of became the only way to express them as explicitly as possible — I can remember writing a full song in like 9th grade I think? either way I never was formally trained in songwriting until I got to berklee which totally changed my perspective on the idea behind songwriting! For example, you’re not: I’ll try and find the journal page but I like had a word bank of things that rhymed with the end of the first verse so I could write the second verse, and also I like to write with what are called song seeds, it really helps focus the idea down. Basically titling the idea you’re going for and brainstorming around the idea— looking for synonyms and antonyms and rhyming words for those too.

[KATHERINE:] Lastly, what would you say is your favorite part of the process when it comes to creating music?

[ELI:] right now it’s definitely production. the intersection of songwriting and production are so crucial in creating a song— which is what i’ve learned over the past two years of trying to produce my own music. if the songwriting isn’t good, the track won’t stick together— same goes for songwriting. Can’t really have one without the other!