"One Thing at a Time": Arcane Synthetic on Halving Process Time, Industrial Soundscapes and Curiosity

Arcane Synthetic is a conceptual multimedia project from Auckland, New Zealand — avant-garde transmissions from an actor and filmmaker dissecting the human condition through industrial, dark ambient and cinematic sound. It is confrontational, uncompromising and deeply textured music for those who question everything and still dare to feel.

Behind the project is Benjamin Murray. Like many sonic experimenters working with intricate sound design, his greatest creative strength — a flood of ideas and relentless curiosity — was also his biggest bottleneck in the studio.

By applying dedicated frameworks and a strict "one thing at a time" philosophy, Benjamin cut his session process time in half and brought the opening track of his next record across the finish line.

What follows is our conversation, lightly edited.

What did a typical session look like before you started using Song Ritual?

Experimentation under an umbrella of overthinking.

How did you capture ideas, and where did the friction start?

My kind of cognitive style lends itself to creativity. The problem is distraction, as a deluge of ideas and inspiration keep flooding in.

Where did you lose the most time?

Misplaced hyperfocus.

What part of finishing a track was the hardest?

Indecision — too many ideas.

Can you describe the specific track or session where you noticed you weren't getting lost in indecision anymore?

"17" is a track I've been working on all year, and it's released in just over a week. My process is non-linear; I'm comfortable with that. There's competency in trusting the process.

It's also beneficial to combine that driving trust with dedicated frameworks applied prior to each session. My best guess is the time spent on process each session now with these added frameworks is halved.

Industrial and ambient music often tempt producers into endless tweaking and infinite plugin chains — how did having a strict timer change how you sculpt your sounds?

The way the sounds are sculpted didn't change as much as the time spent sculpting. I enjoy experimentation with sound, which is great, except the joy in testing more and more different manipulations of sound often gets in the way of finishing the project. I'm wondering if "curiosity" is a better description than "indecision."

When you first tried Song Ritual, what stood out?

The rituals themselves. The "one thing at a time" philosophy.

How are you using Rituals and the Inspiration Vault now?

Rituals assist in using studio time effectively. The Vault is good for collecting ideas in one place — the moment something significant pops up, it's entered into the Vault.

What are you doing differently in your studio sessions now?

Trusting myself more.

What feels most improved?

Focus. It wasn't a matter of finishing or moving forward as much as having a clear direction set. The workflow feels structured.

What can you share about the upcoming album and where "17" fits in?

The upcoming album is A New Era & Nothing More: Part II. As the title suggests, it's a direct continuation from where the previous album left off in the conceptual narrative.

"17" is the first track on the new album — it was shortly after starting work on the song that I stumbled across Sound + Creativity and the Song Ritual app. It's a big piece on so many levels. I'm confident there wouldn't be a release next week without the new tools I've employed utilising Song Ritual.

What does finishing a piece of music mean to you?

It's done when it's good, not the other way around.

What surprised you most once you put structure in place?

What I can achieve within a designated time.

What advice would you give to someone struggling with overwhelm in the studio?

Slow down. You don't have to finish a week's worth of work by Monday evening.

Where can people find your music?

Explore the project and streaming links at linktr.ee/arcanesynthetic.

Cover and artwork by Nora V. Kovacs.

Try the method behind "17"

Song Ritual gives you rituals, timed sessions, an Inspiration Vault and a progress view built to help you work one thing at a time.