Chicago-based producer ALIGN’s impressive career trajectory has earned him a national fanbase, as he’s shared stages with some of the biggest names in electronic music, including Louis The Child, Illenium, and most recently, with Big Gigantic at Red Rocks. He’s even earned millions of streams across DSPs and his music has been featured on SiriusXM, HP Commercial series, Netflix’s ‘Atypical’ and ‘Lucifer’ shows, CW’s ‘The Flash’ & ‘All American’, as well as Hulu’s ‘Queen Sugar’.
With his latest single, “When You’re In My Head,” off of his forthcoming ‘High Tide’ EP, ALIGN creates a track that effortlessly blends ambient, chill house vibes with immersive electronic elements. His attention to melodic intricacies, paired with the emotive undertones of the track, invite listeners to get lost in the soundscape he meticulously constructs.
In this feature, ALIGN takes us behind the scenes to break down how “When You’re In My Head” came together. From the early stages of finding the perfect vocal sample to layering warm synths and driving basslines, ALIGN shares the creative process and tools that helped bring this track to life.
Let’s unpack this a bit further in the latest iteration of How It Was Made: ALIGN – “When You’re In My Head”
Serum
Serum is my favorite synth. It allows you to take a chord progression and run it through a lot of different processing to create a really particular sound. This is a pad that I made which is really simple, but creates a nice atmosphere which a lot of the song is structured around. I love keeping things simple and allowing the magic to be in the chords and structure.
I kept this pad pretty simple using 2 oscillators and multiple voices. I’ve used this sound in a lot of my songs, but I make sure to layer it in among a lot of other sounds and chords that compliment it and allow it to give out a floating feeling.
I really think chords are one of the most important parts in a song, for me at least. If you have a good chord progression that you like you can add it to almost any plugin and it’s going to evoke some type of emotion. Layering chords, making some chords a bit different than others to give some movement, and layering synths often creates a full sound for me. On top of that making sure these things are mixing in nicely with the drums is also really important. Using compression to let the drums pop through makes a song really shine.
Valhalla Room
This might be an obvious one for some people, but this plugin adds reverb and makes sounds sound like they’re echoing in a huge room. I love adding this to simple textures. Anyone who listens to my music will hear a lot of outdoor sounds that I record from my phone – often from the beach. I always add valhalla to these sounds and textures to give a really honest and real life feel to a track rather than it being fully electronic.
I don’t usually do too much with this one, I really just add it and make sure it’s not taking up too much space in the track as a whole. When you add this to a sound you know when it fits properly. I’m not an engineering expert with certain plugins, but relying on my ear is something I tend to trust. I often automate this one so it feels larger in some moments and much more toned down in other moments.
If you’re making some type of electronic music that uses this plugin I’d recommend making sure it’s not the last thing that you add to your sounds. In other words, make sure you’re able to control your reverb with things like compression or LFO – otherwise everything will sound big and muddy which is never pleasant. It’s an effective tool but can get out of hand so play around and see what sounds cool when you use it.
Guitar Rig
I often record guitar into my tracks and one that I love to use on guitar is called Guitar Rig. This one comes loaded in with tons of cool sounds and presets to run your audio through.
I often start by recording a guitar melody against the track that I’ve created, other times I start with the guitar by itself. I often add guitar rig after the fact to avoid getting distracted. Make sure your recording goes in clean, and then add the rig and adjust where needed. Similar to Valhalla this one can get out of hand and take up a lot of space so trusting your ear is key!
I think guitar can blend into dance music really easily, so finding the right settings and space on the guitar is essential. From there make sure you’re placing the guitar in the right places so that it compliments the track overall. It can be a nice touch but you never want it to take away from the overall vibe of the song itself. A lot of these things in general are trial and error, so it’s worth some sessions of solely experimentation.
Quick Fire Tips For Making This Genre:
Tip #1: Find chords that resonate with you!
Tip #2: Add in elements that feel genuine to you. These can be sounds from your phone, or sounds online that really resonate with you. Adding something that seems like it doesn’t fit might make for the most unique piece in the song.
Tip #3: Try to avoid clicks! Fade your audio sample in and out where needed to avoid the overpowering clicking sounds that can come through when you don’t want them.
Tip #4: If it feels right to you, then you should do it. Don’t try too hard to copy a sound or style – it’s good to take influence from everything, but make something that feels like it’s your creation and run with it. You’ll feel the best about your art when it’s coming from a genuine place and you’re enjoying the process. I think people listening can feel these things when they listen.
