I was recently thinking of ways to make my sound more unique, and even to develop my own ‘signature sound’, but I figured the ‘signature sound’ was much more than just one sound, right?
In essence, we, producers, want to find something that would make others identify us even if the artist name of the song was hidden, and here are a few things I’m doing that I would suggest you can try to…
4 THOUGHTS FROM ME
1. Stop referencing other songs and other producers.
I’m the first one to say ‘Reference the hell out of everything’, but there’s also a point where referencing too much can start harming your music, and this is why I sometimes recommend to not reference (kind of):
- Listen to music nothing like yours. When you only listen to music you make, you’re more prone to make music like what you’ve been listening to, but that not always is what (a) will make you stand out and (b) what labels are looking for. Consider then listening to music that is different than yours and it could be any genre, but something that would open your horizons like listening to Jon Hopkins (if you don’t already produce IDM) or Lane 8’s Mixtapes;
- Think 6 months to 1 year ahead of your time. What is being released now by the top labels is music that they signed 6-12 months ago, so if you’re taking their current releases as a reference for what is ‘current’, you’re already behind the trend. Instead, imagine what your genre will be like in 6-12 months and try to anticipate it by creating songs that are (a) still in your genre, but (b) have elements, textures, or vibes ahead of what is currently being released;
- Do the creative part of making a song without any references. When mixing your song, feel free to reference, and do it liberally. When in the creation process, avoid using a reference track to avoid ending up being too close to what you’re referencing….. However, if you get stuck, or you’re struggling to move forward, then pick 3 references and just take little bits from each song and try to make it more unique, still avoiding using 1 idea as a reference.
2. Define what you want to be remembered by.
A big issue with producers is that they create without knowing what they want their brand to be like. Imagine, for example, if a clothing brand made sports clothes one day, then fancy suits the other… it could leave their clients confused and without knowing what this brand was really about, right? That’s similar to music, and here’s how to avoid that:
- Define your vibe. When people listen to your music, how do you want them to define it to someone else? Let’s say the vibe you want is “be aggressive and take you into a melodic journey’. Well, then, implement this in pretty much all your songs. Your songs don’t need to be all aggressive or all melodic, but they have to be at least one of them to imprint these characteristics in people’s minds, and you have to do this through (a) the elements you select, (b) your composition, (c) your mixing, (d) your branding, and (e) the people you collab with;
- Define how you want your artist brand to be remembered. One exercise I love doing is brainstorming your brand with a mind map. Put your artist’s name on a canvas, and write three words that you want to associate with your brand. Now, create another 3 branches of things that come to mind, and expand those with ideas that come from those words.
Now, convert all these things that came to your mind into elements you need to constantly implement in your music and your branding. To illustrate, ‘NO MANA’ is a great example of how he merged his love for games with his music, and you can see that in his covers, in his EP names (“1UP”, “2UP”, “3UP”), his socials, etc.
3. Develop your Sound Design and Composition skills.
The only way to properly convert your brand image to a song, is through your composition skills & sound design skills, so you’ll need to make you have these skills:
- Choose the sounds that relate to your brand. If you’re aiming for a calmer, chiller kind of vibe, spending hours in Serum trying to find a super complex synth may not be super productive to you as a super complex sound might be too aggressive for your vibe. Instead, use more nature sounds in your songs; use softer pianos and be creative with how you use them. In essence, choose sounds that combine with the vibe that you’re aiming for.
But, if that puts a question mark in your head and you don’t know which sounds these are, go search for these sounds in the songs you love and try to find them in sample packs so you know what they are; - Repeat one thing in almost all your songs. If you can do a certain FX to your lead in all your songs, with time, that can be imprinted in people’s minds as being who you are. For example, in addition to the ‘Anyma Shot’, Anyma is also about crazy leads that are super powerful in the song, and often bend in pitch as well;
- Learn how to compose songs to convey the moods you want. The way you write a happy melody is different than the way you write a suspenseful melody, and you must be able to convey your moods into your songs, otherwise, you might be going in a different direction than what you think. Study what makes a piano chord progression convey a happy, sad, suspenseful, sorrowful, euphoric, or hopeful vibe, or use ChatGPT to help you with that, as I’ve done in this video.
4. Experiment, and be bold about it.
None of this matters if you’re not willing to put that into practice, so, after doing all these exercises, allow yourself to experiment a little with your songs and test how everything fits together. However, you must be aware and do a couple of things:
- Allow yourself to sound bad for a while. Practice will not necessarily sound great, and, as with any athlete, practice is when you expand your capabilities and let yourself fail a lot. So, make sure to give yourself time to test new things without putting so much pressure or being super critical about what you’re making;
- Get feedback from your friends. Quickly and lightly, test what you’re doing not only with yourself, but also check with friends what they think about what you’re doing and if it takes them to the mood and feeling you want them to feel;
- Do it one step at a time. If these exercises give you a bunch of ideas, implement them one step at a time so you don’t feel overwhelmed and also so you don’t completely change your sound;
- Don’t think too far outside of the box. I’ve come to learn that labels (which are my way of measuring commercial attractiveness) don’t like when you go too far outside of the box, so being on the edge of the box sometimes is better than being outside. In other words, be bold about your changes, but don’t be super aggressive with them or you might start sounding too far from what people are used to;
- If it’s not a hit, switch. Allow time for you to master your skills, but if it’s not sticking with other people, switch to something else. Be bold in your experimentation and keep what is working, but also flexible enough to change what is not working, especially if the feedback you get asks you to change it.
4 QUICK TIPS FOR YOU
What else can help you find your signature sound?
1. Get some hardware gear.
Working with hardware synths can help you by attaching your sound to the gear you’re using. Of course, your music is not only defined by the sound, but when combining the synth’s sound with the vibe that you want, you can end up developing a character to your sound that will be unique to you. Later, this can also be translated to live performances if that interests you, like what Ben Böhmer does;
2. Save your favorite samples and presets, and abuse them.
Save your favorite sounds into a folder, but also make sure to be unique in how you use them in your tracks. Make it in a way that reminds listeners of your past songs, but also gives it a unique touch to it in each song;
3. Take inspiration from your favorite bands when you were growing up.
What did you use to listen to when you were younger? Relisten to the bands you used to love, identify what you liked about them, and try to implement them into your songs;
4. Take inspiration from your local culture.
Is there anything that you can take from your culture and put in your music? Sometimes, adding a few elements from what you grew up surrounded by can make your music sound like a merge of both, making it more unique
