Maud approaches her music as a self-contained creative process. As an artist, songwriter, producer, and vocalist, she works across writing, production, recording, and mixing within the same DAW, shaping each track from its first idea to its final form.
Photo credit: Maud – Official
Her album ‘Chronicles of Maud’ is now available, bringing together ten tracks selected from a wider body of music. Built with a focus on cohesion, identity, and emotional continuity, the record reflects the importance of structure when developing a full-length project largely on her own.
Below, Maud shares five approaches that have helped her stay focused, make faster decisions, and build a cohesive sonic identity.
1. Mixing while writing: why I don’t separate the two processes
Ever since I started producing my own music in 2016, this approach has been central to my workflow. Mixing and sound design often inspire songwriting decisions, and vice versa. Working this way also allows me to create demos that sound relatively polished from an early stage, making it easier to compare new ideas to songs that are further along in the process.
2. Commit to sounds early
As someone who writes, produces, records, and mixes my own music, I’ve learned that endless flexibility can become a problem. I often commit to sounds and processing decisions earlier than feels comfortable. While I tend to overthink many aspects of music-making, this is one area where I’m quite decisive. If I can’t create a sound or atmosphere that excites me within a reasonable amount of time, I usually move on and start something new. It’s not about working against a timer; it’s more about trusting my instincts. I often know quite early what I’m looking for, and if an idea doesn’t continue to spark curiosity or excitement, I’ll usually let it go or revisit it later.
3. Use templates in your DAW
This is crucial both for maintaining a cohesive sonic identity and for creating an efficient workflow. My template includes the core elements I typically use in a production, such as keys, bass, drums, and vocals, with my preferred vocal chain, as well as buses and sends with my go-to reverbs, delays, and effects. That said, templates shouldn’t become creative limitations. Now that I’ve finished an album, I’ll probably revisit and update mine to see if I can push my sound in a new direction.
4. Managing large vocal productions without creating a messy mix
I spend a lot of time on vocal production and processing, and I love working with harmonies and different vocal textures. To stay organized, I group vocal leads, dubs, and background harmonies separately. This gives me much better control over the dynamics and balance of each section. I also prefer using buses for reverbs and delays rather than inserting them directly on individual tracks. This makes it easier to control the overall vocal space and helps the vocals feel more cohesive within the mix.
5. Building a cohesive album world: think beyond individual songs
When working on an album, I try to focus on the bigger picture rather than treating each song as its own project. For ‘Chronicles of Maud’, it was important that the tracks felt connected, even though they explored different moods and themes. I often achieve this by reusing certain sounds, textures, and production techniques throughout the record, creating a sense of familiarity and a shared sonic identity.
I also wrote and produced far more music than what ended up on the final album. The ten songs that made the record were heavily curated, and I’ve learned that a song can be great without necessarily belonging to a specific project. When selecting tracks, I always ask whether they contribute to the overall narrative, sonic identity, and emotional journey of the album. Sometimes the strongest creative decision is leaving a good song out.
Maud’s ‘Chronicles of Maud’ is out now via Maud Records. Stream and download your copy here.
