To better connect you with the talent behind the music, we're proudly spotlighting artists, composers, and producers on the Megatrax roster and their work. It is a treat to hear composer/producer Reese Szabo discuss the inspiration behind tracks written for Coming Home, an album of warm, heartfelt singer/songwriter acoustic pop songs about family, friends, and home that can be used seamlessly in advertising, film, and television.

Hi Reese! Tell us about how this project was conceived.

I originally pitched several album concepts to Megatrax and they chose the "Intimate Acoustic Pop" option but expressed that there was going to be a strong focus on the lyrical approach. For this, I worked closely with Dan at Megatrax who had an idea of having songs that weren't obvious love songs - in order to avoid them being boxed in for only dramas or limited usage. Instead, we went for themes that were more open including coming home, family, getting back to nature, etc. that could be used by brands for advertising as well as TV shows and film.

I understood the sonic palette quite well but constructing songs that weren't about love in the classic sense was a little more difficult as it is the obvious thing to write about lyrically when creating intimate acoustic songs. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to write about other subject matter without it feeling corny though - and I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

Photo courtesy of Reese Szabo

Could you talk us through the recording process?

We had built a playlist of references in terms of the instrumentation and "feel" of the songs we were going for. It was also important to give each song a distinctive approach in terms of tempo and character even though every song was done on an acoustic guitar. Some were strummed - some finger-picked. Some were straight - some were swung. Some had male vocals and some female - and we also did a duet!

Recording acoustic guitars can be a slow (and painful) process as it's quite fiddly - so I began by writing the song with the topliner / vocalist in the room using just a rough guide guitar recording and/or piano chords. Once we established the feel and structure - we began working on melody and lyrics and recorded a basic guide vocal. I then went away and properly recorded the acoustic guitars to solidify the feel. After that, I added any additional production (Bass - Piano - Percussion) and the singer returned a week or so later to record the vocals properly. It is always a much better option to record vocals when the track is sounding inspiring and the singer has had a while to sit with the demo.

We then presented this to Dan - who gave us his thoughts on structure and lyric changes. I would do another session with the vocalist to change anything Dan wanted (or try things he suggested) and present that back to him. I think on all the songs we only had 1 round of changes really - as we were very much on the same page from the start so it was a smooth process getting songs across the line.

How do you envision these songs being used in media?

I think brands are going to love them. They're very warm and humble - and although they're stripped back they still do have energy, and they're dynamic as well. We were conscious of edit points and I also made a "songwriter" version of each song which was strictly just acoustic guitar and vocal - as some songs had piano and bass and backing vocals etc.

I think the subject matter of the lyrics also really lends itself to being used by brands - themes about coming home - togetherness - family connection - getting back to nature - it's advertising heaven!

The songs can definitely have use in television and film as well. They're more inspiring than sad - I think that's where we got the balance right of having them be intimate but not soppy. It's one of the reasons we avoided using strings on the album. Because the lyrical themes are quite open they'll really lend themselves to a wide variety of scenes.

What were your influences in the music creation?

Spotify was really helpful in putting together references as it has so many playlists already for acoustic pop and intimate pop. The trick was finding songs that were originally produced that way - not "acoustic versions" of songs. Ed Sheeran - Gracie Abrams - Kacey Musgraves - John Mayer - James TW - Niall Horan - Noah Kahan etc.

The real trick was making sure the song worked when it was just an acoustic guitar and a vocal - with nothing fancy filling gaps. A lot of that was in the quality of the lead vocal delivery. We really referenced the vocal performances of the artists that I mentioned above.

How did you get your start in creating music?

I began as a session guitarist back in Australia in both studios and on the live circuit. From there I moved into songwriting and music production - eventually finding myself in London which is where I still live now.

I spent a lot of years working in the commercial side of the music industry - with artists and major record labels. I only began working in sync / production music during COVID-19 when a friend introduced me to the entire world of it and suggested I check it out. It all really snowballed at the beginning of 2022 and it's been non-stop since!

Tell us a bit about your work in film/TV/advertising. What are some placements you're most proud of?

I think the placement I'm most proud of is for the song "Week By Week" from the Emotional Pop Ballads album that I did with Megatrax - when it was used in a season promo trailer for a TV show called "The Good Doctor."

I'm a big fan of that show and when I was writing the Emotional Pop Ballads album I was using scenes from that show as inspiration!

I also recently did all the sound design for an interactive remix wall for Coca-Cola that was featured in Berlin as part of Lollapalooza festival. That was a lot of fun.

Tell us about your upcoming projects!

I've just actually pitched a whole bunch of album ideas to the team at Megatrax - so hopefully we'll be starting something together soon. I'm always trying to do something different on each album and push myself.

I'm producing an EP for an Australian artist named Charli Jane later this month which I'm very excited about - she's super talented!

Listen to Coming Home - Singer/Songwriter Acoustic Pop.

Follow Reese Szabo on Instagram @szabomusic.

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