Beyond the Dial

Beyond the Dial is an original song I wrote and produced during CMU’s Music Technology summer program. It began with the image of an aircraft moving through a storm, but gradually became a song about pushing beyond an invisible limit.

I tried to express this change through both the lyrics and the arrangement. The piano and organ opening feels suspended and heavy. As the drums, electric guitar, and fuller instrumental layers enter, the music gains momentum and eventually opens into the final chorus. The lyrics follow the same path, moving from gravity, debris, and darkness toward open sky, sunlight, and silence.

While producing the track, I focused on how pacing, instrumental density, and changes in texture could create a sense of movement even before the words were understood. This project helped me see songwriting and production as one connected process, in which structure, sound, and language all carry the same story.