Great synthwave doesn’t just sound like a movie—it tells a story. When 57KOD set out to create their latest track, “Lucky Luke,” they didn’t just want to program a generic retro beat; they wanted to score a narrative about refusing to remain a spectator.
The concept was born out of a chance meeting in March 2024. Jorge (57KOD) was working live sound at an event when multi-instrumentalist Luke Plummer approached him to compliment the mix. That initial conversation sparked a friendship and an intensive collaboration. Together, they conceptualized a character who represents the urge to step in when something is clearly wrong—particularly when the institutions supposed to protect people fail to do so.
The result is a track that blends electronic rock, dark outrun energy, and surprisingly organic production techniques.
Capturing the Streets: The Real Mustang GT
While many producers rely heavily on sample libraries for cinematic sound effects, 57KOD took a radically different approach. The engine roar you hear at the beginning of the track is a real Mustang GT recorded live in rural Washington State.
The recording session came with a perfectly unscripted moment. As Jorge and Luke approached the property to record the car, a sheriff’s cruiser was already parked in the driveway, making them wonder if they had arrived at a bad time. It turned out the sheriff was a friend of Luke’s, and her husband was actually the one who drove the Mustang for the recording session. The team captured the massive exhaust notes using a Zoom H6 and an Audix UEM81S shotgun microphone.
The Gear: The Hybrid Home Studio Foundation
The production of “Lucky Luke” is a masterclass in hybrid workflows. The songwriting itself was a deeply collaborative effort. Luke was much more than a featured vocalist; he developed the track’s main structure and chord progression, brought the initial melodic idea, wrote the lyrics, and performed both the singing and the character voices in the intro and outro. Jorge then took that foundation to develop the arrangement, expand the melodies, and build the sonic environment.
The Synth & Software Foundation:
- Hardware Synths: Behringer DeepMind 12, Modal Cobalt8, Behringer Neutron, and a Behringer Model D for massive analog basslines.
- Drum Machines: Arturia DrumBrute for driving, physical percussion.
- Software Engines: Arturia Pigments and UVI Falcon for complex atmospheric layers.
Sherret Studios & The Vocal Chain
While the heavy lifting of the arrangement was done at home, Luke’s main lead vocal was taken to Sherret Studios and engineered by its owner, Urei Tropets.
The Sherret Studio Vocal Chain:
- Microphone: Neumann U 87
- Preamp/Processing: Manley VOXBOX
- Compression: Original Teletronix LA-2A
- Console: SSL Origin
Adding a crucial human element to the grid, guitarist Matias Fraga (hailing from Argentina) sent over three clean, unquantized guitar takes. Jorge selected the best parts to build the final solo, reamping the performance himself using a Two Notes Torpedo, a Fractal FM3, and a Mesa/Boogie Express 5:50 2-Channel amplifier.
Mixing & Mastering the Grid
The final mix and master were executed in Jorge’s home studio. Mixed in Logic Pro, the track utilizes analog summing and a WesAudio Dione bus compressor to glue the aggressive elements together.
For the final print, Jorge bypassed artificial tape saturation and instead routed the mix through a Lynx Hilo interface into a completely separate computer dedicated solely to capturing the mix. This mimics the classic open-reel tape workflow—where one system mixes and another captures—ensuring pristine audio integrity. The master was finalized using iZotope Ozone with manual settings and Acon Digital Acoustica.
Visualizing the Vigilante
To match the massive audio production, 57KOD utilized DaVinci Resolve’s powerful node-based Fusion engine to create the visual world of “Lucky Luke.”
The character design originated from a rough drawing created by Jorge. From there, AI was utilized to generate additional poses and environmental concepts, which were treated as raw stock assets. These assets were then heavily manipulated and composited within DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, and Blender. While AI assisted in building the visual sandbox, the music itself remains a triumph of human performance and deliberate hybrid production.
Support the Artist
Dive into the world of the vigilante by streaming “Lucky Luke” on all major platforms:
- Spotify: Stream “Lucky Luke”
- YouTube: Watch the Official Video
- Apple Music: Listen on Apple Music