It's never too late to turn a corner! Runaway is energetic and uplifting, urging you to chase all your hopes and dreams, to bravely run through that open door for a brighter future.
From the initial idea that popped into my head on a treadmill at the gym, to coming up with a guitar riff that responded well with a melody that I then re-recorded confident vocals for, here's how this song raced to the finish line.
Green Means Go
When I think about a vibrant colour that represents goodness and a zest for life, green immediately comes to mind.
This is why I chose it for Runaway. Of course, as soon as I did, I started noticing it everywhere.
Clothes.
Apples.
Exit signs.
Traffic lights.
With green picked as Runaway's defining colour, I also wanted an image that symbolized possibility and hope. A simple photo of an open door was perfect.
These elements fell into place the day after I got the idea for Runaway. I was on the treadmill at the gym, dreading all the freezing days of winter still left. I wasn't feeling particularly hopeful or fired up. I remember I was getting tired and checking the time, noting I was almost done my routine.
When I'm on the treadmill, I try to focus on the moment. My mind does wander though, and this time I wondered what I would be running from if I had crossed all this distance the treadmill displayed.
Then I had that light bulb moment:
What if I wasn't running from, but rather running towards?
I wanted Runaway to be infused with a sense of freedom and possibility. So while it is a song about running away from pain in a carefree way, at the same time it's also about running towards something better.
Energetic Sounds
Usually, I write in melancholy, moody, and darker sounding minor keys. This time, I deliberately wrote Runaway in the happy sounding key of D major. The chords in this key made me smile while I was figuring out the progression and main guitar riff.
Just like I did for my previous single Trust Issues, I blended different drum kits together. Both of them were electronic kits, but the kick for one was deeper, whereas the snare for the other hit harder and thus sounded more distinct in the mix. Together, they're the driving force behind the sense of movement in Runaway by setting a pulsing, breakneck pace.
This rhythm is matched by the arppegiated synths. I knew I had to have these throughout the choruses because it lended urgency and further motion throughout the song. I unexpectedly had a challenge finding the right tone for the synths. I went through all my favourites, but most of the sounds were too distracting since the tone was overpowering other instruments, so then the synths sounded too busy when arpeggiated.
Eventually I selected the thrumming "Dirty Growl" synth bass tone and blended it with the "Acid Bass" one so that it overall sounded tight and full. I used the sparkly "FM Pad" synth for the main cascading tones in the intro, choruses, and outro. To give Runaway some more grounding low end, I added a minimal de-tuned warbling synth in the verses and right before the chorus hits, then anchored everything with a really low D major note drone in the choruses.
In terms of effects, the one I really want to point out is the slow pan going on in the verses. Since the synth tone I chose is deliberately minimal to allow space for my vocals, I needed something that would still keep listeners engaged without drawing attention away. The slow pan gently travels from your left ear to the right, then loops back to further reinforce that feeling of movement.
Many thanks to Slo from hwhcollective for generously sharing a reverse riser from his sample library! This texture was essential for building anticipation throughout Runaway. It's was such a sweet piece of ear candy that I tweaked and arranged to give a huge burst of energy and breathtaking rush.
Crafting Runaway's Guitar Tones
I'm always gleeful when I get to mess around with guitar tones!
Runaway's guitar riff is super simple. It's just a few notes, but what makes it pop are two things that took precedence before I even set the tone:
- The rhythm: It was essential to match the pace of the drums, so Runaway's riff is fast.
- The call and response: This is when one instrument echoes the phrases of another one, such as two guitars together playing complementary parts. I structured Runaway's riff so that it would be this call and response between the guitar and my vocal melody. You can hear this a bit in the choruses with the synths, but fully in the outro!
With these key elements in place, crafting Runaway's guitar riff tone involved starting from scratch with a simple warm clean, then running through different guitar amp cabinets until I picked the one that added just a touch of grit to cut through the mix.
For my rhythm guitar, I used a similar phaser preset that is most present in my song Truth For A Lie. Tweaking this preset to build into a crescendo just before the choruses was a lot of fun.
Taken together with all the other energetic sounds that build anticipation, Runaway's guitars add onto the exciting energy of the song!
"So let's just run away 'til the break of day!"
Based on feedback for my previous releases, I actually went back and re-recorded my vocals for Runaway on March 14, 2026! Then I mixed and mastered the song again to make it even better on March 21, 2026.
Initially, I really struggled in the verses because my melody was meandering and way too high for my vocal range. When I was re-recording, I sang lower in the verses and the chorus, but with a lot more confidence and feel for the rhythm. Singing the lyrics for Runaway made me appreciate how each word and note gelled together so well.
Since I thought Runaway needed some more textured sounds, I let myself just get silly in front of the microphone and had a great time panting into it.
While mixing, I really took my time with manually doing the volume automation. I'm singing a lot louder in the choruses because I'm holding long notes. On top of this, there are four vocal layers I had to tame all processed through my vocal chain, with reverb and delay being among the effects. Listening in the mix revealed I had to back off the delay and overall lover the volume of each vocal track.
Automation let me hone in on the choruses specifically and fine tune volume to mach my vocal peaks.
I really connected with the lyrics while I was singing!
Uplifting Lyrics
Runaway's motivational lyrics did not come easily to me.
For one thing, I wanted the lyrics to have a positive outlook that reflects belief in the future. I wasn't exactly feeling that at the time I was writing for Runaway. That's why the opening line is "running from my pain." I originally meant to change this in a redraft, but kept the exact line because it was simply honest.
Continuing from that opening was easier because then I was asking myself "where will I end up?" and "how do I get there?" I imagined that I was running through open doors as fast as I could, and that I was finally turning a corner without looking back. It helped me keep that motivational feeling throughout the lyrics, even if I didn't necessarily feel it myself in the moment. I did feel urgency in the music, though, and earnestness while writing, so I leaned into those feelings to finalize my lyrics.
Runaway's lyrics are direct and about taking action rather than my usual poignant and contemplative style. I rhymed here and there, but there's no metaphor for Runaway. The lyrics are straightforward, meant to get moving and keep you inspired.
Maybe you'll listen to Runaway on a treadmill or during your run, hopefully with a smile!
Chasing The Good Life
Runaway is an important song in my musical journey because it reaffirms that the only way to get to a brighter future is to keep moving ahead.
I get so nostalgic and sentimental at times. I hold onto people, places, and things, with no particular urge to let go. I can lose myself deeply in love and memories, even the bittersweet ones, to the point that I forget sometimes they are events that happened, and only that—but they cannot be found in my future.
In part, I think that's the pain I'm running from in Runaway.
But more importantly, I'm running towards a good life.
For me, that means a life that is peaceful, joyful, definitely musical, and filled with new people, places, and things I will cherish.
What does the good life mean to you? How far will you chase it?
Only you can know this. The sooner you start running, the sooner you'll find out.
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