How Nova Wolf finds humanity in loudness with Ozone – Native Instruments Blog

From a technical standpoint, I usually use a lot of different modules inside Ozone when I’m mastering, depending on what the song needs. But for this EP, I tried to keep things more consistent. I love the Exciter module and usually play around with different types of saturation across frequency bands. This time, I kept it uniform so the color stayed cohesive across the tracks.

Sonically, I wanted the record to feel human and to have a soul. I didn’t want it to sound like a compilation of sounds from my travels, but like a love letter to all the experiences I had there. Even when I was working with electronic elements, I wanted them to carry that organic warmth. Similar reverbs and effects, a shared tonal palette, and the field recordings from my travels helped glue everything together. I wanted it to feel like one long sunset, with different shades but the same lighting.

Pro tip from Nova Wolf: Trust yourself and develop your ears. Don’t master with your eyes. Start by chasing feel, tone, and energy. What feels right? Once it moves me, then I check the meters to make sure everything will translate.