Sometimes, a track needs to sit on the shelf for a few years before it finds its voice.
Back in 2022, I wrote a piece of music that had potential, but I never quite finished it. It had the bones, but it needed a different kind of evolution. Recently, I decided to pull that original audio file out of the archives and experiment with the Suno AI Studio mode to see if I could finally realize the vision I had for it.
The result is my latest release, a track that blends my original composition with generative AI, all polished in the DAW. Here is a look at the workflow that took this song from a 2022 demo to a finished 2026 production.
The Process: From 2022 to AI
The process started with the human element: my original recording. I uploaded the 2022 audio file into Suno’s Studio mode. Instead of just letting the AI generate something from scratch, I used my original composition as the seed.
Working in Studio mode allowed me to be granular. I didn’t just hit “generate” and walk away. I worked through the song one clip at a time, curating the evolution of the track. If a section drifted too far from my intent, I rolled it back. If it surprised me with a texture I liked, I leaned into it. This iterative process felt less like “prompting” and more like jamming with a very capable, albeit strange, studio partner.
The Message: Cutting the Cord
Lyrically, I wanted this track to carry an abstract but urgent message. We are living in an era of constant, high-stress media consumption—a 24/7 feed that often turns us against people we’d likely be friends with in real life.
The lyrics reflect that exhaustion. It’s about recognizing the noise, cutting the cord, and realizing that when you turn off the screen, the “monsters” often disappear. It’s a plea to think for yourself and tune out the manufactured conflict.
The Polish: Mixing and Mastering in Logic Pro
Once I exported the multi-track stems from Suno, the real production work began inside Apple Logic Pro. The AI gave me a massive canvas, but the final sonic character had to come from me.
My first step was arrangement. I edited the stems to tighten the structure, layering in my own additional sound effects, hardware synthesizers, and background vocal textures to give the track a more human, organic feel. This hybrid approach allowed me to keep the generative ideas I liked while ensuring the song had a clear, intentional flow.
With the arrangement locked in and all the parts added, I shifted focus to the mix. This is where the track really started to breathe. I went through each channel, applying EQ to carve out space for the new synth layers and compression to glue the drums and bass together. The goal was to take the raw AI output and give it the depth and punch of a studio recording.
Finally, I used Logic Pro’s built-in Mastering tools to finish the track. I dialed in the final polish, ensuring the levels were competitive and the overall tonal balance was cohesive. It’s amazing what the stock tools in Logic can do when you have a solid mix to work with; they really helped bring out the detail and width of the final song.
Final Thoughts
This track represents a new way of working for me—hybridizing my own raw creativity with the expansive possibilities of generative audio. It’s not about replacing the artist; it’s about giving the artist a new instrument.
Let me know what you think of the mix in the comments.
Title: The Phantom Signal (Turn it Off!)
The wire hums a low and heavy tone
Injecting colors that we’ve never known
A manufactured sky inside the room
Designing shadows, cultivating gloom
It’s out of reach, the wheel just spins
We lose the game before it begins
Turn it off, turn it off.
There's nothing you can do about it.
It only sets us apart from everyone else.
The data stream is bleeding through the floor
But I won't feed the voltage anymore
Turn it off, turn it off...
It only divides us
Sever the feed, let the screen go black
There is no weapon, there is no attack
Just the static fading from the air
The silence is the answer, waiting there
Cut the line and let the phantom die
Everything is quiet, everything is fine
Turn it off,
The conflict isn't real,
it was synthesized to steal our peace,
to steal our peace!
They draw a monster on the glass for you
To hide the neighbor that you always knew
If we met upon the street today
We’d shake hands and wash the war away
But in the grid, we are miles apart
Distorted echoes of a human heart
Don't let the algorithm decide
The frequency of the tide
Close your eyes and drift away
From the gray light of the display
Think your own thoughts
Walk your own way
The conflict isn't real,
it only wants to steal our peace,
To steal our peace, to steal our peace!
(It’s just noise)
(It’s just noise)
The signal drops
The panic stops
Turn it off, turn it off.
The conflict isn't real, it's synthesized to steal our peace,
to steal our peace!
