There’s a moment in the production of a song where it stops being a project and starts being something real. For me, that moment came on a long drive today – this was my first full listen of the completed arrangement, and somewhere between play 30 and play 50 I lost count. Must have listened to it 50 TIMES now – pun very much intended.
Where it started
TIMES began as a demo – a rough idea with a clear emotional intention. The reference point I brought to my producer was Coldplay’s Viva La Vida – that grand, euphoric feeling of something bigger than yourself. A stadium moment. Something that lifts.
What followed was a proper back and forth creative process. Multiple versions, two strong contenders at one point that pulled in slightly different directions, decisions made, revisited and refined. That process of going back and forth isn’t indecision – it’s how you find the definitive version of a song. You have to hear what it isn’t before you fully understand what it is.
We also referenced Taylor Swift’s Out of the Woods at one point – specifically that anthemic chorus hit around the one minute mark. The bass, the lift, the feeling of a track opening up. That energy is woven into what TIMES became.
The unexpected twist
What I didn’t anticipate was how my producer would interpret the chorus. Rather than the expected full production explosion, he flipped it – the chorus becomes the slowdown moment. Hearing that for the first time genuinely surprised me. It felt right immediately. Sometimes the best creative decisions are the ones you didn’t see coming.
The sonic landscape he built around that choice is powerful and epic. The vocal treatment has a strength to it that I’m really proud of. It’s anthemic. It’s uplifting. And with a summer release planned, the timing feels perfect.
The adlib moment
One of the things that struck me hardest on this listen was the chorus adlibs. My producer has applied a treatment to the vocal layers in that section that is piercing and emotionally raw – and hearing my own voice cut through the production like that was something else. It went right through me. There’s a vulnerability to it I wasn’t expecting and couldn’t have planned for.
After listening on repeat during the drive I realised there were more adlib moments the song was calling for. So I went home and recorded them – voice still tired from the road, current mix playing as reference. Sometimes that rawness is exactly what a vocal needs.
Layering those new adlibs into the choruses may sound busy. It may sound epic. I’m hoping the latter.
What the song is about
TIMES is about resilience. About the seasons of life – the hard ones, the ones you barely get through, and the ones that remind you why you kept going. Most people will recognise that feeling immediately. That’s the point.
It’s also about hope. The chorus isn’t just uplifting production – it’s meant to feel like a release. Like coming out the other side of something.
What’s next
My producer is reviewing the new recordings this week and we have a call booked to go through the finer production details. There are still creative decisions to be made but honestly, hearing where it is right now, I’m excited. Really excited.
TIMES will be released this summer. I think it might be my favourite thing I’ve made so far.
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