Masquerade's Songwriting and Music Production Diary

Switching from a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) you're familiar with to a brand new one is a lot liking moving to a new place. It's exciting, nerve wracking, and requires patience and a lot of learning to get accustomed to new things. While I was recording, mixing, and mastering my debut synthpop album Afterlove, I talked about how BandLab was the best DAW for my purposes. At the time, it absolutely was! I still think it's a great DAW because of its ease of use. I appreciate the vast amount of virtual instruments (VSTs), tones, presets and mixing and mastering options it has. It also has networking and placements for paid users. Switching fluidly from PC to my phone  for the app and vice versa was amazing.  Using any given DAW depends on what you want to achieve with your music. I'd been a free BandLab user since 2022. Before BandLab, I'd tried a lot of different DAWs, including GarageBand, Studio One, Cakewalk (pre-BandLab acquisition and after...

A new world has dawned, brought about by the digital age and its accompanying AI revolution. What is our place in it?    This is one of the many questions I grappled with while writing and researching for my Technofeudalism EP releasing on September 4, 2026.   The clear dystopian concept for all three songs this EP is reflected in my electropunk and rock production that immediately grabs your attention. Getting a "dystopian" sound involved several unusual production choices for me, such as: Weird vocal effects that are "glitchy" "phased out" and in some parts, harmonized an octave lower Distorted and growling electric guitars, all in drop D tuning. Heavy, powerful drums.  Gloomy, haunting synths the weave between loud, gritty guitars.  For example, the title track "Technofeudalism" starts with a sinister riff. Then haunting verse synths ebb and flow before kicking things into high gear with the drums and blistering guitars in the choruses. My f...

These days, we're all struggling. Struggling to make ends meet. Feeling like we’re drowning in helplessness. Trying our best and that somehow ending up still not being enough. I reflected how we're all stuck in situations we don't want to be in, with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.  Then I wrote my Darkest Hours EP during a merciless polar vortex. When the power went out for hours, and I was grappling with hardships in the freezing dark, I still found the strength to find hope in hard times. Here are the three songs that I'll be detailing in this post: I'm Lonely Darkest Hours Temptation My production for this EP is more organic than previous releases, with bittersweet piano being the focal point. I wanted everything to sound like you were sitting with me in my room with a bleak flashlight, squinting through the dark and leaning in to hear my words. The lyrics for Darkest Hours are motivated by struggle, both personal and societal. As I was writing, I r...

The first-person action platformer Mirror's Edge released in 2008. My local video game store had a giant poster of the main character, Faith, with her iconic tattoo design emblazoned in red, covering the storefront. I immediately went inside, asked for this game, and bought it on the spot without knowing anything else about it. I recently released my pumped-up single Runaway , and I think it sounds like something Faith would listen to on a run! To this day, Mirror's Edge gives me a feeling of freedom whenever I play it. The rush of running through levels, using parkour to overcome obstacles, and the thrill of chasing the next spot to take a leap of faith from is what makes this game so fun. Through it all, Faith has her Runner's Vision, which is an option that allows players to see key pathways and colours vividly in red. Even more than its fluid movement, Mirror's Edge is known for it's visually striking levels.   The towering blue and white of the glass and steel ...

You know, sometimes you just want to make something great. Something from the heart. Real. Alone In Paradise is my surprise single inspired by the surreal DIY feature film Lost Angeles! “Two young women meet on an unusual phone call. Their lives take an unexpected twist when they enter a shared dream where they are visited by the ghosts of Hollywood past and present.”  Lost Angeles is written and directed by Jesse Dvorak. He is the acclaimed writer, musician ( BLOOD NEBRASKA ), and filmmaker behind the creative collective ARTandVOID, which envisions art and writing as “a healing ritual” and provides “a refuge for the spiritual artists, midnight poets, and romantic rebels.” Offering insights about his creative process for the film made me appreciate it even more! Soon after watching Lost Angeles, I was compelled to write Alone In Paradise. Through hazy synths and dreamy guitars, I really tried to capture the essence of Marina's and Elise's journey as soulmates drawn together b...

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 ...

This post was originally published in Feeling Creative digital magazine on March 13, 2026. Feeling Creative is a creative hub for storytellers and makers, spotlighting the work and wisdom of independent artists, filmmakers, photographers, writers and musicians. Feeling Creative magazine’s mission is to be a genuine creative space for creative people to guest post and build valuable connections for free (without any politics or ads). The blog empowers passionate and knowledgeable experts to share the stories, strategies, art and inspiration that fuel the creative world.  There’s a lot of noise surrounding creatives. For example, the cacophony of social media and its accompanying exhaustion and the serious threat of AI to creatives, linked to deeper issues of deplatforming and miserable streaming payouts for professional musicians specifically. As a Verified Human musician and member of New Bohemia, I am acutely aware of this concerning reality, along with the feelings of helpless...