Luch stepping in as the first artist signing on Notre Dame’s Paranormal imprint is a strong way to frame “Siren’s Flicker.” The label is still in its early chapter, and this release on March 6 marks the first expansion beyond Notre Dame’s own catalog.
That context is important, especially when you look at Luch’s background as a Mexico City-born producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has already built a serious résumé across Latin and electronic music.
Daniel Grossman is a 7X Platinum and Billboard-nominated writer and producer, with releases landing on labels like Ninja Tune, Insomniac, and Magnifik Music, plus consistent Beatport chart presence. His productions have earned support from selectors including Solomun and Rufus Du Sol, so he’s no stranger to club translation. “Siren’s Flicker” feels like a focused pivot into melodic house built for late-night sets, with staccato plucks, gritty bass weight, and percussive shifts that keep tension active without overcrowding the mix.
For this How It Was Made, the goal was to unpack how that tension actually got built. From Diva shaping the soul harmonic language to creative processing chains that control space and drive, this breakdown focuses on the specific tools and automation decisions that turned a late-night studio session into Paranormal’s first external release.
Diva
Main plug in I used for this track was “Diva”, honestly one of my favorite synths out there. It really feels so warm, intricate and analog, I love playing with the presets and making some of my own. I feel like I use Diva in all my tracks and is my go to for any pad or bass sounds usually, sometimes even leads.
For the main sound in “Siren’s Flicker” I used the “CHD Minor Dark Piano” preset as a start and played around with it. I love the “Emphasis” knob on Diva and the filter is phenomenal as well. As for how I used it in this track, I played with opening and closing the filter to highlight certain parts of the track. Also with the octave’s on the oscilators as the track progresses to make the track feel bigger.
I think the best advise for using Diva would be to get a bunch of preset packs and shift through them until something catches your ear, I have so many preset packs and everytime I scroll I get inspired to make something new. Specifically, I love preset packs from genres that are completely different from the one’s I make, usually can help come up with some weird combinations and set the sonics of the record apart from others.
Valhalla Shimmer
Shimmer by Valhalla is by far my favorite mixing plug in. I use this in pretty much every single channel in my mix. Specifically, for each transition, build up or whenever I need to create tension in a track I add shimmer to help take it that extra mile.
I tend to use shimmer a bunch in build ups instead of using more FX or putting something like or Endless Smile on the master. Adding shimmer specifically to each of these tracks creates a wonderful tone while creating tension and washing the track out without necessarily making it sound messy. It truly is the best way to create tension with precision while maintaining a subtle FX section.
I’ve seen a lot of people also use this on vocals as a part of their vocal chain. I enjoy using it creatively on vocals but find that it can be hard to glue together in my mix sometimes. I really enjoy this on particular elements with a very aggressive low cut, reverb mode set to “bigStereo” and the pitch mode to “dual”. For extra tension I automate the size knob from time to time to create this weird effect where the reverb gets smaller then bigger and its amazing to use right before the fill before a drop. (I hope that makes sense lol)
Portal
Portal is such a nice way to make sounds unique with a very easy-to-use interface. I honestly don’t understand what’s always going on under the hood with it but I love the granular sound it creates. I love how easy the X/Y pad makes it to find the exact desired sound and to visualize exactly what parameters are being set.
I tend to use Portal at the end of phrases or in build ups. At the end of phrases it haleps create unique delays, which sometimes sound super granular or are pitched. The have a preset called “Blurred Fifths” which adds 5ths basically just pitching the delay up 7+ semitones, which I love using in breakdowns too. Adding some hormonal elements that have a sense of randomness to them also help create uniqueness throughout the track.
There are so many great use cases for this plug in. I feel like experimenting with it on melodic and percussive sounds is the best. The combinations you can create are endless and you will guaranteed create patterns or rhythms that there is no way you could’ve come up with naturally. Think of portal like randomness heaven, truly is so good.
Quick Tips For Making Music
Tip #1: Play with old disco loops and shorten the transients. Stack a couple and you’ll find unique grooves with plenty of swing.
Tip #2: Shift through “stab” presets with unique chord voicings to get inspired to make unique progressions you typically wouldn’t go for. Add9 chords are always fun 😉
Tip #3: Shorten the envelope on your bass patch and automate it at the end of each phrase while opening the filter and adding some resonance. Always fun to keep the bassline dynamic and interesting.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
