Riff Diary #5: HEARTWIRED – When the Algorithm Inspires Instead of Drains
Social media doesn’t have it easy these days. A lot of people see it as a waste of time, full of negativity, arguments or fake personas (sometimes including me). And yeah, if you watch brainrot, toxic news or love scrolling through hateful comment sections, things can go downhill pretty fast. But on the other hand, if you shape that digital space around what truly interests you, you can actually get more out of it than it seems. And that’s exactly what happened to me. One random Reel led to the creation of my new instrumental track.
Inspired by a Pluck
It was a short clip by an electronic music producer (unfortunately, I don’t remember their name), but the idea immediately stuck with me. It featured a simple synth pluck line that slowly opened up using an LFO on a low-pass filter. Sounds like a small detail, but it was genuinely cool – it created this tension, motion and atmosphere. I’ve heard similar ideas before, and that’s probably why it hit me: what if I took that concept and reimagined it in my own style?
I used it as the main motif in my new instrumental ”HEARTWIRED”. It appears right at the beginning and again in the middle of the song, and you can hear a variation of this melody in the chorus, on a lead guitar. I love that even a simple idea can resonate throughout a whole track if you set it up well.
When Social Media Works Right
I wouldn’t have caught that inspiration without social media. And this wasn’t the first time – the online world regularly shows me new techniques, approaches, or sounds that I might’ve otherwise missed. I mostly follow profiles related to music. Insounder, various guitarists, producers, etc. – from Jason Richardson and Dan Sugarman to Nolly. Each one of them inspires me in a different way, and that’s what I love most about it. You don’t have to copy anyone – sometimes just seeing a different perspective is enough to spark an idea that takes you somewhere new.
Happy-Melancholy
The new track is overall melancholic, but not sad. It has that ”happy-sad” vibe. I came up with the melody spontaneously. I just liked it. And sometimes that’s enough – no big vision, just a good feeling and a desire to build on it. You can already check it out on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms. :)
The takeaway?
Social media itself isn’t the problem – at least not when we’re talking about individual people. The real issue is what you choose to let in, and the fact that 90% of people only feed themselves the worst of it (doomscrolling and all that). But if you build your feed around your passions, it can give you daily motivation, teach you something new or – even better – help you write a track you end up being really proud of.
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