in the low
about
in the low is the metal/electronica product of wynton davis from houston, texas. as mentioned on the page for pacmanthemovie, his alternate hardcore project, i met wynton through the music scene as our bands were often being booked onto the same shows around town.
this was the first project of two that i worked on with wynton, being comprised of music he had either produced once before and wanted recreated, or new music that he brought in. it’s an interesting blend of 8-bit/chiptune video game synthesizer work with the more modern styles of a hardcore prog metal band.
working on this was a fun challenge as i was still fairly new to the industry and had never really worked on heavier music, especially when synths were involved. it forced me to learn how to make space for certain elements in a mix and which tones took precedence over others.
wynton continues to operate under the in the low name alongside his other projects and remains a masterful conductor of orchestrated chaos in the local houston music scene.
to learn more about him and the project, follow him on social media and major streaming platforms below!
releases
“trill city” the second song wynton and i worked on together for in the low. this track is akin to the final level of a bombastic adventure video game and it gets me out of my seat each time i hear it. the classic, retro aesthetic of the synthesizers coupled with the ferocity of the guitars and drums come together in this harmonious yet dissonant hurricane that would inspire any protagonist to save the day.
wynton and i applied the same workflow and techniques we used on “the logic of traffic lights” to get this song produced, and i want to say it only took a combined 3-4 hours of tweaking to complete it.
“the logic of traffic lights” was the first in the low song i worked on with wynton. this grandiose and epic tale of dueling synths and screaming guitars was a very cool experience to work on. i grew up playing video games that featured that iconic 8-bit/chiptune sound, so to hear it executed in this style was staggering.
much like how production with pacmanthemovie played out, wynton had already written and pre-produced this song before coming into the studio to recreate it with me. he sent over his synth/midi lines so i could set them up in my software, and then we began laying guitar and bass tracks down on top of it. once the drums were fine-tuned to fit the mix, all that was left to master it and put it out!
this song is a true testament to the power of one individual’s creativity and proves how much of a frenetic musical mastermind wynton can be.