Album - Sonic Electric Karma Train

Released On May 1st 2024

Listen on bandcamp here

Sonic Electric Karma Train was my first full-length album. It took 18 months to produce and served as my crash course in everything from EQ, compression, multiband dynamics, and limiting, to sculpting clean low end and hard-hitting drums. I was learning the craft obsessively watching MixbusTV, Produce Like a Pro, White Sea Studio, Doctor Mix, Anthony Marinelli and anyone else who had something to teach.

The sound is pure synthwave, but with a twist: I wanted every track to feel anthemic, melodic, and emotionally rich. No ambient filler. No vibeless grooves. Each track is full of counterpoint and musical ideas. I focused on instrumentation as storytelling, treating lead synths as vocal substitutes. Most of the album was written using Arturia and GForce soft synths together with Fabfilter Twin 3, including fat Oberheim basses, pianos, vocoders, and more. Some tracks even include foley and voice snippets to reinforce the concept.

The goal? To evoke nostalgia and memory without needing lyrics. To bring back the days when music was about the music.

Track Highlights

Sonic Electric Karma Train

The title track grooves like a rolling passenger train, complete with a steam whistle and a conductor’s “All aboard.” Melodic synths weave in and out of the rhythm like passing scenery. I used FabFilter Twin 3 for most leads. It’s like you’ve boarded a sonic journey powered by vintage analog goodness.

Moonlit Ocean Drive

Imagine a coastal drive at night. The track opens with ocean wave foley and a Pigments piano lead. Wide lush pads, a counterpoint bass, and a vocoder line: “In the deep blue ocean, all I want is you.” Evocative and wistful.

Escape In The Dark

This one’s an urgent synthwave thriller. I pictured a family fleeing danger at night. Insistent kick, Moog bass, and an evolving sequence of leads including vocoder (“Let’s go”), plucks, and bells. It's hopeful but intense.

Neon City Streets

A bell-like Pigments lead dances over a steady groove. Feels like a late-night city drive under neon lights. Chill, stylish, full of movement and presence.

Darkometry

Mad scientist energy. Acid bass from Arturia Acid V swirls across the stereo field. Bubbly right-panned arps, distorted synth motifs, and a unison Prophet-style lead create dark alchemy in audio form.

Out Of Reach

A memory in music form. Vocal Colors Bronte appears on the left while a relentless arp drives the right. Lead starts as reverb-heavy piano, then evolves with a snarling MS-20 patch. Feels like a conversation that never happened.

Juggernaut

This one hits like a robot made of steel. Massive drums, thunderous Moog bass, and a towering multi-saw synth lead. It’s unstoppable. Driven. Majestic.

Night Train To Nowhere

Begins with foley of a passing train, rain, and an owl hoot. Rolling drum groove, squelchy Moog bass, drifting arps, and a brass-like synth lead. It’s about falling asleep on the train and waking up at the end of the line, lost.

Droids On The Dance Floor

A robotic club scene. Percussive synths and rhythmic leads set the stage, then a piano joins in - like a human woman dancing with the droids. It’s playful and full of mechanical energy.

Alien Highway

Acid bass and organic drums in the center, wide stereo arps, eerie synth calls, and explosive Generate-style bursts. Feels like driving under alien ships on a desert highway.

System Overload

High energy. Vocoder phrase “System Overload” repeats as synths scream and pitch bend with wild modulation. Moog bass anchors it. Near the end, a triumphant riff shines through the chaos.

Androids And Angels

Gentler in tone. Angels are represented by Augmented Voices; androids by synth leads (bells, brass, saws). Lots of call and response. Spiritual meets synthetic.

Offload Your Cares

Begins with spa-like ambient music and running water, then shifts into chill drums and bell/brass synth leads. Voice samples mid-track: “I don’t care” and “Everybody just like I don’t care.” The MS-20 adds some final cheek.

Cyborg Boogie

A robot on the dance floor. Chill organ leads, vocoder saying “Dance with me,” and Bronte floating in response. It’s funky, weird, and endearing.

Off To The Races

Car engine, honk, and we’re off. Groove mimics gear shifts. Lead synth mimics Doppler effects, then a bubbly Twin 3 patch kicks in. Think race track in the desert heat.

Chaos Theory

Opens with thunder and wings. Organ lead to the right, massive Diva patch to the left. Swelling, interwoven melodies. Feels like a butterfly flapping its wings and triggering something far away.

Morse Droid

R2D2 vibes via ARP 2600. Lots of blips, arps, synthwave pads, and call-and-response melodies. It’s like R2 cracking a security door while dancing. Alive and intricate.

Subterranean

Organic drums, shaker right, tambourine left, Moog bass left, and a distant brass/bell synth to the right. Feels like retreating underground - quiet, introspective, hiding from the world.

Starfall

Lead synth spirals downward like a meteor, with Reese-style bass driving the fall. A stabilizing motif repeats on the left. Tension and beauty. Pitch bends and modulation everywhere.

Final Thoughts

This was the beginning. I didn’t just want to make a beat - I wanted to make music. Melodies, counterpoint, motion, breath. Every track meant something to me. Every choice was deliberate. I was chasing a sound, but also a feeling: that instrumental music could still say something, even without words.