Hey Reader,

I grew up near Cologne, in western Germany — the heart of Karneval.

If you’ve never heard of it, imagine a five-day festival where the whole city dresses up, drinks, sings, and parties in the streets. It’s loud, colorful, and full of local “Karneval songs” that everyone here knows by heart.

Last week, I got a request to do a remix of a famous Karneval song.

At first, I thought: Sure, why not? Could be fun.

But when I got the stems, I just sat there, shaking my head.

Accordion. Brass. Folk-style vocals.

Nothing close to House or Tech House.

And the idea was to turn this into some kind of Synth Pop / Disco remix.

For a moment, I felt completely lost.

But instead of panicking, I reminded myself:

When I feel overwhelmed, I go back to structure.
A clear path always brings me back into flow.

So I did what I always do when I enter unknown territory — I started studying the genre.

But not just any tracks — tracks I actually liked.

Pretty soon, I found myself listening to The Weeknd.
​(Damn, he’s good. I should listen to more of his music.)

As I listened, I opened my Notion template and started taking notes:

• “Snare Hit” – from Maniac
• “Dark Synth Intro” – from Blinding Lights
• “808 Toms in Drop”
• “Reverse cymbals, clap fills”
• “Bassline pattern — maybe offbeat?”
• “Drum progression & big atmosphere” – from Days of Thunder

Just small things — but these notes gave me direction.

And in Ableton, I started building the project around that.

I deleted most of the original stems (kept only three in the end), labeled my channels properly, and mapped out the key sound moments before writing anything new.

Piece by piece, the chaos turned into something that made sense.

And then it hit me:
It was fun again.

But what made it fun?

It wasn’t the song itself.
It was knowing where I was going.

Even though I was producing outside my comfort zone, I had a plan — and that plan gave me freedom to be creative.

So if you ever open your DAW and don’t know where to start, try this:

1. Pick a genre you love (or one you want to explore).
2. Study a few reference tracks that you actually enjoy.
3. Write down the details that make them feel “right.”
4. Then use that list to shape your next session.

You’ll be surprised how quickly things start clicking.

A clear plan doesn’t limit creativity — it creates space for it.

That’s it for now. Have a great week!

Stay Productive,
- LEMAN

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If you're looking to go deeper, here’s how I can help you:

🎯 Track Finishing Blueprint
My complete system to finish tracks faster, from first idea to label submission.

🚀 Stay Productive Template
Organize your music business, manage tracks, and stay on top of everything.

This email is sent by Stefan Lehmann via https://musicbyleman.com. I help independent music producers stay organized, consistent, and focused – even with a full-time job. These emails share tools, workflows, and personal insights to support your music journey.
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