SHOT: Creating a Moody, Heartbeat-Driven Song from Isolation and Intuition

My new song “SHOT” was born in my dimly lit studio at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, while I was experimenting with raw textures, heavy emotions, and the blurred lines between music and memory. As a Brooklyn-based musician and director, I often build sound the same way I frame visuals; through mood, rhythm, and narrative.

At the time, I was navigating a rough patch in my personal life, especially around relationships. I was drinking more than I should’ve been, and I felt disconnected, often floating through parties and scenes that felt too loud for how quiet I felt inside. That emotional tension became the spark.

Inspired by Thom Yorke & Uncertainty

“SHOT” was heavily inspired by Thom Yorke’s album Anima; its off-kilter, textured production gave me inspiration to explore producing something untraditional;. I began with the repeated beep of a heart monitor, symbolizing vulnerability and tension. I layered that with a second mechanical beep at a slightly different rhythm, creating a cool mix with these two different sounds and melody’s. It’s like they clashed but played off of each other so well. It’s so important to just take in music and find inspiration in the artists close to your heart. Knowing how much Thom Yorke experiments with his sound made me certain I should do the same.

A big part of the producing experience for me is that sonic travel through different instruments, sounds, and ideas to finally somehow land on a rhythm that feels right. For me, I also felt like I wanted to make something that felt bare and minimal. Simplicity is the best deal in many cases of life.

Building Through Sound Design

Once the foundation was laid, I imagined what this feeling looked like visually: a party, dim lights, strangers, blurred conversations. Someone drunk, wandering through the crowd. Someone like me.
I spliced in ambient sound design; chatter, glass clinks, bar murmurs, to pull the listener, YOU, deeper into that disoriented party atmosphere. The sonic space became emotional architecture. You’re there, hearing the noise, but mentally somewhere else. I loved building this sonic experience out. I wanted it to sound like you’re walking past different sections of a party; however knowing that I didn’t want the sound design to be prominent, just an additional layer to the experience. I made sure to strategically splice these sounds of chit chat, cheering, beer clinking, cutting it in and just as quickly cutting out from it.

A Story of Distance, Recognition,

For me, Shot captures the exact moment of seeing someone from your past, a former friend or lover, and feeling everything rise up at once. You lock eyes for a second. You don’t speak. And you both disappear into the night as you drink some more. The end of the song plays out as if the character in the song got wasted. It becomes this strange vibey drone sound that I absolutely loved.

Pre-Save “SHOT” - Out May 25

“SHOT” drops May 25 on all platforms.

It’s the start of a new chapter, one that blends music, storytelling, and cinematic sound design into something raw, real, and reflective.
If you want early access to upcoming tracks, visuals, and behind-the-scenes content, sign up for my newsletter here.

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