Production Notes

Last updated: July 2026

Every track in the YARDWAVE catalogue is authored and directed by the operator. Nothing here is picked from a library or accepted as it first came out. Each piece is written, shaped, judged, and re-worked until it says what it was meant to say. These notes describe how that work is done.

1. Words

The lyrics are written by the operator. Every verse, every hook, every ad-lib and every line of patois in the catalogue is the operator's own writing — the subject matter, the imagery, the phrasing, the point of view, and the story a track is trying to tell.

Writing comes first. A track begins as words and an intention, not as a sound looking for a meaning. Where a lyric is revised, it is revised by the operator against what the song is trying to say.

2. Direction

For every piece, the operator sets the creative direction before and throughout production, and holds it to that direction until the result matches the intent. Direction is given on:

  • Theme — what the track is about, what it is arguing, and what the listener should be left holding.
  • Mood — the emotional register the piece has to sit in, and which of the YARDWAVE mood stations it belongs to.
  • Delivery style — how the words are carried: sung, chatted, toasted, spoken, or a deliberate mix.
  • Vocal tone — the character and texture of the voice, its weight, its grain, and how close or distant it sits.
  • Key — the tonal centre the piece is built around, chosen to suit the mood and the vocal.
  • Tempo — the speed the track has to move at to land the way it should.
  • Pacing — where the piece breathes, where it holds back, where it opens up, and how the arrangement moves between those points.

3. Selection and Revision

Production is iterative. Candidate takes are auditioned against the written intent, and the operator accepts, rejects, or re-directs each one. Most attempts are rejected. A piece is re-directed and re-run as many times as it takes to arrive at the reading the writing called for. The version that reaches the catalogue is the one the operator chose on purpose, out of many that were not chosen.

4. Finishing

Approved pieces are processed at studio quality, mood-classified, tagged, and curated by the operator before release. Nothing reaches a station without the operator listening to it in full and approving it for release.

5. Tools

AI-assisted tools are used as part of the production process, in service of delivering the final sound. They are used the way a studio uses its instruments, processing, and session players: as means of realising a piece that has already been written and directed. They do not choose the subject, the words, the mood, the delivery, the key, the tempo, or the pacing — those decisions are the operator's, and they are what the finished work is made of.

6. Rights

The operator holds 100% of the rights to every finished track on the platform. All rights reserved. Tracks are registered with TONO (the Norwegian performance rights organisation) for royalty management and copyright protection.