@Morris Schwartz let’s gooooo dude

Love where your head’s at on this, lead is crazy!! I think what might be missing is a bit more push/pull or horizontal motion. Everything sounds powerful, but it’s not quite “dancing” yet. Right now it feels more locked than grooving. Usually that comes from contrast, having certain elements stay stable while others move around them rhythmically, which creates the sway. Might be worth exploring some subtle movement in the chords or mid layers to bring that groove out.

@Payton Buchmiller Yeah sorry, should’ve clarified mostly in the drop where the groove matters the most. Your sound design and energy are already there, this would just help bring out more groove and make it feel more alive. There are a lot of ways to get there, so it’s less about a specific technique and more about choosing what fits what you’ve already built. One thing that’s helped me is thinking about each layer not just in terms of its sound, but also its behavior, like how it moves or interacts with the groove. For example, the brain is highly sensitive to movement and change, so motion often stands out before tone or detail. A lot of times people rely on sidechaining everything together for movement, which can definitely work, but it can also make everything feel like it’s pumping the same way, which can lead to pumping fatigue for the listener. Letting certain elements have their own subtle movement or groove can add more contrast and make the drop feel like it’s really dancing.

@Richard Holzhauer I wouldn't worry too much about outfit style, wear what feels like you, authenticity sells these days. Committing to things like visual aesthetics can be hard. I always rely on feeling for those type of decisions. Don't lock yourself into a creative identity decision until it feels obvious that it feels like you if that makes sense. It took me 3 years of producing to decide on my project name because nothing ever felt like me but then I finally got that obvious feeling and locked it in. Same applies to decisions like visuals i think.

@Richard Holzhauer Sorry this is about to me a long response but this stuff is so important to understand and I love discussing it. Cover art, artist logo, press photos/promo visuals, tour visuals, merch, YouTube thumbnails, fonts, and even things like a recognizable symbol tied to your brand, the lighting and color scheme of your content, and your artist bio/brand story can all be considered brand assets. Most people treat these as isolated strategies. While they each serve different purposes, the best artists treat them as parts of a single, cohesive brand ecosystem, where every visual story element and piece of content reinforces the same identity and feeling across everything the audience sees. And if you want to take this a step further, in a lot of ways this applies to production as well. The sound design, the emotional tone of the music, the space and motion you create in your mix, the type of melodies, etc, all of those elements become sonic brand assets. The best artists don’t just build songs, they build a recognizable world where the music, visuals, and story all feel like they belong to the same universe. And that’s ultimately what leads to superfandom, because fans aren’t just connecting to individual songs, they’re connecting to the entire universe the artist has created.

Oh i love this. If you can squeeze a lead in there it would be the cherry on top. Also this may be personal preference but I think it needs a different snare/clap, or take what you've done with snare/clap and build upon that to add some depth. I feel like it currently doesn't add to the energy of the song but the overall sound itself is awesome. Good stuff.

Working on my drum sound design this week. So close to my dream snare I can feel it 😭