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HWIN’s debut solo EP, Just Like a Flower, lands as a personal and technical milestone—not only for him as an artist, but for the broader creative community he’s helped cultivate through 57. Known for his earlier work as one half of Cathedrals, where he produced emotionally-driven electro-pop with mainstream reach, HWIN has now stepped forward with a project that strips things down to a more focused palette. This release marks the launch of 57 Records, a label rooted in the collective spirit of a creative studio-meets-nightclub space in NYC that’s grown into a thriving hub for collaboration, experimentation, and community-driven music development.
In the interview below, HWIN walks through the technical process behind the track “Love Is All I Need,” offering a look at the tools, synths, and vocal processing techniques that shaped the final mix. From the warmth of the Roland Juno-60 to the texture-shaping capabilities of plugins like MetaPitch and Supermassive, his choices reflect a balance of analog imperfections and digital precision.
But it’s not just about gear—he also dives into the creative thinking behind the workflow, sharing how vocal sampling and manipulation help create rhythmic and atmospheric moments that drive the track forward without relying on conventional structure.
This article combines that walkthrough with broader context from the official EP press release, giving you a full picture of where this project came from and where it’s headed. The studio techniques matter, but so does the intention behind them. Everything here is part of a larger ecosystem HWIN has built from the ground up—one that bridges DIY energy, professional quality, and a collaborative spirit that feels rare in today’s scene. So let’s let him take if from here…
CONNECT WITH HWIN:
Spotify // Souncloud // Instagram
Main Synth: Roland Juno-60
The Roland Juno-60 is a legendary analog synthesizer from the early 1980s that’s beloved for its warm, rich sound and deceptively simple interface. Despite having only a single oscillator per voice, the Juno’s iconic chorus effect and buttery filter section give it a character that’s instantly recognizable. What makes the Juno-60 special is its ability to sound simultaneously vintage and timeless—equally at home in 80s synthpop and contemporary dance music.
For “Love Is All I Need,” the Juno-60 was absolutely instrumental in crafting the main synth solo during the big drop. I ran it through some light saturation to give it that extra bite, then applied subtle automation on the filter cutoff to create that sense of tension and release. The patch itself was fairly straightforward—a sawtooth wave with the chorus engaged and the ADSR set for a quick attack but lingering release. What’s special about using an actual analog synth here is the subtle imperfections and character that come through, especially when playing those emotive melodic lines that needed to cut through the mix but still feel human.
For producers working in melodic house and garage, I can’t recommend finding a Juno (or a quality emulation) enough. The sweet spot is using it for those emotional lead lines where you need something that bridges the gap between synthetic and organic. Don’t be afraid to let some of the inherent wobble and imperfections come through—that’s where the character lives. If you’re using a plugin version, try recording the MIDI performance rather than programming it to capture some of that human timing and expression that helps these sorts of tracks breathe.
Slate Digital MetaPitch
Slate Digital’s MetaPitch is a powerful vocal harmonization and pitch-shifting plugin that goes far beyond basic transposition. Unlike standard pitch shifters, MetaPitch offers exceptional audio quality with formant preservation that maintains the natural character of vocal performances. What makes it special is its ability to create complex harmonies and vocal effects without the artifacts typically associated with pitch processing, all through an intuitive interface that encourages creative experimentation.
On “Love Is All I Need,” MetaPitch was crucial for creating a rich, harmonized vocal soundscape from a single performance. I recorded just one vocal take, then used MetaPitch to generate a duplicate pitched a few steps up, along with another layer that sustained a single note as a drone. By carefully adjusting the formant settings, I was able to create this wide, immersive vocal spectrum that sounds like multiple singers without recording additional takes. This approach gave the track that balance of intimate and anthemic that I was aiming for—maintaining the personal quality of the original vocal while expanding it into something much bigger.
For producers working in melodic house and electronic genres, MetaPitch offers a fantastic workflow alternative to recording multiple vocal takes. Try creating unexpected harmony combinations that wouldn’t naturally occur to you while singing—sometimes the most interesting vocal arrangements come from these digital experiments. Don’t just default to standard thirds and fifths; explore tension notes and clusters for emotional sections. The ability to build complex vocal arrangements from a single source is incredibly valuable, especially when you want to maintain the authentic character of a performance while giving it that larger-than-life quality that defines the genre.
Valhalla Supermassive
Valhalla Supermassive is an otherworldly reverb/delay hybrid designed to create massive, expansive soundscapes that extend well beyond normal spatial effects. What makes it special is its ability to generate these lush, evolving textures that blur the line between reverb, delay, and sound design. The plugin offers various modes that range from more traditional reverb sounds to completely abstract atmospheres, all with an incredible sense of depth and dimension.
For “Love Is All I Need,” I used Supermassive as a send effect, routing various elements from the track through it to create cohesive atmospheric textures. I primarily used the “Gemini” and “Andromeda” modes with extended decay times to create these expansive clouds of sound. But what really made it special was how I approached the output—instead of just keeping it as a traditional send, I recorded the output to audio, then sliced, reversed, and rearranged these captured textures. This technique allowed me to create custom sweeps, builds, and transitional effects that feel organically connected to the track because they’re literally derived from its elements, just processed and manipulated.
For producers in the melodic house and techno realm, Supermassive can be your secret weapon for creating those signature atmospheric moments that give tracks their emotional impact. Try treating it not just as an effect but as a sound source—record its output and manipulate the results to create unique transition effects that tie your arrangements together. The best approach is thinking of it as an instrument rather than just a plugin—play with the density, feedback, and modulation parameters in real-time and capture those happy accidents. These custom atmospheric elements will give your tracks a signature sound that can’t be achieved with standard presets or sample packs.
Tips for Vocal Sampling Techniques
One of the defining elements of electronic music is creative vocal processing and sampling. As both a producer and vocalist, I’ve found that treating the voice as a flexible instrument rather than just a lead element opens up endless possibilities. The human voice carries so much emotion and texture that even the smallest fragments—breaths, whispers, consonants—can become powerful building blocks in a track.
In “Love Is All I Need,” I extensively used Ableton’s Sampler to transform my recorded vocals into playable instruments. After recording the main vocal, I’d identify interesting phrases or sounds, drop them into Sampler, and map them across the keyboard. Sometimes I’d add an arpeggiator and play chord voicings to generate rhythmic patterns I’d never have thought to program manually. For more percussive elements, I switched to Simpler, mapping different vocal fragments to specific keys and then performing them on a beat pad to capture a natural groove. I even found ways to use the spaces between words—a breath, a subtle mouth noise—reversed and processed to create build-ups and transitional effects that maintain the human element throughout the track.
For producers looking to incorporate this approach, start by recording clean vocals with minimal processing—you can always add effects later, but starting with clean source material gives you more flexibility. Don’t just focus on the perfect takes; often the mistakes, breaths, and artifacts become the most interesting sampling material. Try assigning different vocal fragments to different keys and play them like an instrument, looking for happy accidents and unexpected combinations. Remember that in this genre, the goal isn’t always to make vocals sound “perfect” but to create something emotionally evocative that bridges the gap between organic and electronic. That human element is what connects with listeners on a deeper level, even on the dancefloor.
The post How It Was Made: HWIN – Love Is All I Need (Melodic House & Techno) appeared first on Magnetic Magazine.