Fifteen-year-old musician, songwriter, and producer Armaan Damani is about to teach me, a technophobic adult three times his age, the basics of how to produce a song from start to finish. Sitting next to him in his sound-paneled studio, surrounded by complex equipment, I’m dubious that I, a member of the pre-Internet and pre-computer generation, could ever pick this up. Armaan laughs when I mention my skepticism. “Don’t worry,” he assures me. “I myself had to go back and forth between several engineers and producers maybe 30-40 times before I finally perfected ‘Loose & Free,’ my song that helped me get the professional process of song creation down.”

Humoring the newbie, Armaan patiently starts from the beginning. “Every track I make starts with me either taking a drumbeat, a sampled vocal, a sampled instrument, or a recorded instrument and laying it down in a project set on the platform I use, Ableton,” he explains. 

I’m lost already. To cover, I suggest that we back up a bit and talk a little about how he got started doing his own producing, song writing, and engineering. I already know that he’s a talented singer, pianist, and violinist, but when did he get into songwriting?

“Back in elementary school,” Armaan answers, adjusting some knobs on his audio interface. “I discovered that I like to write poetry, and that naturally developed into my passion for writing song lyrics.”

That I can understand, and I cautiously ask how that segued into music production, hoping Armaan won’t get too technical. He replies that he really got into it during the 2020 pandemic when he was stuck inside during the lockdown and needed an outlet. “I probably spent hundreds of hours improvising, making different tracks, and when I developed a rhythm creating my songs, I realized my ideal style is a unique blend between EDM and pop.”

“Loose & Free” is one of those songs, and it showcases Armaan’s relaxed yet compelling bass voice. “Creating ‘Loose & Free’ taught me a lot about the production process,” he says. I inwardly wince, knowing what’s next. “I’ll show you more about how it’s done.”

Resigned to more complex technical terms but undeniably curious, I sit down next to Armaan to learn from him. “Once I lay down the drumbeat, for example, I go on to put in the rest of the instruments and fit them around what I already have.” Armaan demonstrates by letting rip a strong beat that has me tapping my foot. Intrigued, I watch as he easily overlays it with a guitar melody. He’s right – it does sound like fun.=

Armaan states that he has a talent for arrangement and an ear for hearing what’s catchy. “I’ve picked this up from my mentors and from the years of musical influence around me, including my friends, peers, and parents, who all listen to a variety of classic and trendy music. My ear and arrangement skills are now my most valuable assets in the creation of every track.”

He goes on to explain that once an arrangement is finished, he replays it over and over again until he can come up with its lyrics. “I then record the vocals and put in the finishing touches. Once I have a rough draft, I send it to 2-3 producers so that I can get their feedback and input.”

Armaan is now releasing an EP, “Lost in the Process,” which is a culmination of the work he has put into perfecting his production skills. I listen to a demo from the EP and am struck by how solid the track sounds. When I mention that the songs sound like they could be played on the radio, Armaan thanks me for the compliment and reminds me that behind that professional sound lie hours upon hours of hard work. “I’m glad you like them. You wouldn’t believe the amount of hard work, details, and grit that goes into each one of my tracks,” he tells me.

To market his work, Armaan has been building up his presence on TikTok and Triller. “The music world is already full of talented musicians, so I take nothing for granted. I’m a big believer in grinding in order to be successful. It’s pretty rare that I am not thinking about my music, to be honest.”

As Armaan switches off his equipment, I ask him one last question: what drives him?

He pauses for a moment to think, then looks at me directly. “I am compelled to make music,” he answers. “It just flows out of me as naturally as I breathe. There’s no better feeling than going with the flow of a track and watching it develop into something that’s beautiful art. That’s what drives me – the adrenaline rush I get when I see music come together.”