EDM Music Producer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: "Can't Get Enough," featuring Otto Palmborg with Burnhaze and Evan Virgan, is a strong recent highlight, it was signed to Protocol Lab, a Protocol Recordings sublabel, which is one of the bigger validation points in my catalog so far. I handled the production and arrangement, working through the collaborative writing process with the featured artists and coordinating release details directly with the label. It's a good example of my Progressive/festival sound landing with a label I've long looked up to.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A few things in parallel : release collaboration for "Can't Get Enough" (with Otto Palmborg, Burnhaze, and Evan Virgan) on Protocol Lab, continued development of a hypertechno track package, some Kygo-style tropical house material. I'm also building Whitebox DAW, an open-source production tool project, on the technical side.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I don't have anyone specific to recommend here yet, happy to update this once I've collaborated with someone through the platform.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, primarily out of practicality, I work fully in the box with FL Studio, and for the genres I specialize in (Progressive House, bass music, festival EDM), digital workflows give me the speed and precision that these styles demand. That said, I care a lot about the analog-feeling character of my monitoring chain, which is part of why I was deliberate about my interface and monitor choices.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I'll treat your track like it's going out under my own name, meaning it gets real arrangement thought and mix care, not just a quick pass. And I'll keep you updated with real progress, not silence followed by a surprise final file.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Getting a rough idea to the point where it actually feels like a finished record, that transition from "this could be something" to a track that's ready for a label or a dancefloor is the most satisfying part. I also enjoy running INVIBES Recordings and helping other artists get their own material developed and released.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: The most common one is "how long will this take?" My answer depends on scope, but a full original production typically takes a few weeks including revisions, while a remix can move faster if the stems are clean and the brief is clear. I always prefer to under-promise and check in with progress previews rather than guess a timeline upfront.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: That EDM production is mostly about presets and sample packs. In reality the sound design is usually the least time-consuming part, arrangement, mix decisions, and making sure a drop actually lands emotionally is where most of the real work and craft happens.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have reference tracks? What's your deadline? And do you need stems/trackouts delivered alongside the final mix?

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Come with a clear reference track or two, even if it's just for energy and not exact sound, it saves a huge amount of back-and-forth. Also be upfront about the intended use (label pitch, personal release, sync, etc.), since that changes how I approach mix loudness, structure length, and stems delivery.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: My laptop with FL Studio installed, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, my iLoud Micro Monitor Pro monitors, my KZ ZSN Pro IEMs (for when monitors aren't practical), and a solid MIDI keyboard for writing chords and melodies on the fly.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been producing and running INVIBES Recordings as an independent label for several years, working across three main aliases which is Ray (Progressive House), Noir Foncé (club/bass, signed to labels including Intensity Recordings, Gahara, CHARGE RCRDS, Hexagon, and STMPD RCRDS), and Malvo (covers/radio-friendly). Along the way I've had releases on Protocol Recordings and Revealed Recordings, picked up support from artists like Nicky Romero and Hardwell, and crossed 3 million+ streams. I'm also currently finishing an International Relations degree, which runs in parallel to the music career.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Melodic but energy-driven, I like emotional chord progressions and strong hooks, but I always build toward a payoff. Depending on which of my aliases is running the session, that can mean anthemic Progressive House, harder club/bass material, or a more polished radio-pop finish.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: On the dance side, a collaboration with Martin Garrix and Nicky Romero would be a dream for me, that's the Progressive House lineage I grew up on and still build my own sound around, so getting in the room with both of them would be a full-circle moment. For my dance-pop side, I'd love to work with ellis & Kygo; his songwriting sits right at the crossover point between pop and dance that I aim for under my Malvo alias.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Build your drop's core hook before you touch the intro or build-up. So many unfinished tracks die because producers spend hours perfecting an intro for an idea that doesn't have a strong center yet. Nail the hook first because everything else exists to serve it.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Progressive House and festival-style EDM under my main alias, club and bass music under Noir Foncé, and more radio/cover-leaning pop production under Malvo. I also regularly work in Afro House, Melodic House, Deep House, Piano House, Future Funk, Bass House, Future Bass, Melodic Techno, and Hardstyle, plus tropical/future-funk-leaning pop remixes.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Arrangement and drop/energy design. I can take a strong idea and structure it so it actually builds and pays off, that's the skill that gets tracks picked up by labels and DJs, not just a good sound bank.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Energy and arrangement instinct, I come from a festival/radio production background (as my main alias, Ray), so I think in terms of buildup, drop impact, and where a listener's attention is at every 8 bars. I also bring range : between my aliases I work across Progressive House, club/bass music, and more radio-friendly pop-adjacent material, so I can adapt to what a track actually needs rather than forcing one sound onto everything.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually start with a reference or a mood the client wants to hit, then build the core elements like chords, bass, and a lead hook, before anything else, since that's what decides whether the track has an identity. From there I block out the arrangement, get a rough mix going early so decisions are made in context, then spend the back half of the process on sound design detail, automation, and mix polish. I like sending progress checkpoints rather than one big reveal at the end, so revisions stay small.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My core setup is built around FL Studio as my main DAW, running through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (Gen 4) interface into iLoud Micro Monitor Pro monitors, a compact but accurate pairing that I chose specifically to fit my desk without compromising on translation. For checking mixes on the go or doing detail work, I use KZ ZSN Pro IEMs paired with PC Equalizer for tuning. I recently rebuilt the ergonomic side of my workstation too (Logitech MX Vertical mouse, Sihoo M57 chair) since I'm at the desk for long sessions.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: On the dance side, Nicky Romero and Hardwell have been long-standing reference points for me, both for their sound design and for how they've supported new talent, which is something I try to carry into how I run INVIBES Recordings. Kygo's melodic, tropical-tinged approach has shaped how I write in that lane. Outside EDM, I draw a lot from K-pop production, groups like Hearts2Hearts, IVE, fromis_9, TWICE, etc, really push interesting arrangement and hook-writing ideas that I like translating into dance music.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Most of my work falls into production, remixing, and full track development within EDM, mainly Progressive House, Bass/Club music, and Future Bass/Melodic styles. Clients usually come to me for a full record (from arrangement to mixdown) or for a remix of an existing song, and I also handle a fair amount of ghost-production and collaborative writing where I'm building out someone else's idea or topline into a finished, release-ready track.