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Phoenix James is a singer-songwriter, artist, and producer with roots in Birmingham, Miami, and New York.
Her latest single “Hold On” blends R&B and indie pop influences with introspective and intimate songwriting.
In the video above, Phoenix James and producer and engineer Abner Dennis joined us on the Splice YouTube channel to break down how “Hold On” was made. Watch along to see how they processed Juno recordings, guitars, and drum samples from Splice into a cohesive arrangement in Ableton Live.
Throughout the walkthrough, the two show us how important communication—and at times a bit of friction—is for fostering creativity in a collaborative environment. “Originally, you wanted super soft vocals; I remember we got in a tiff about it,” James recalls. “Because I was like, ‘Bro, there’s no energy behind the song. Like, I need to be screaming on it.'”
“She really understands how it’s meant to be,” Dennis laughs in hindsight. “I was doing way too much.”
And for producers who are working on collaborative sessions, Dennis underscores the importance of always capturing your fleeting ideas. “It’s so useful to just have a little TASCAM always recording random stuff,” he says. “You might think that there’s nothing on there that’s useful, since you’ve already chosen all the ‘perfect’ sounds. But really, you have so many gems that, while creating, you might be ignoring because you’re going through things quickly—but you could just grab them later if you just have something recording the whole time.”
What was your favorite idea or insight from their track breakdown? What would you like to see next? Let us know in the comments section of the video, and subscribe for more artist-led walkthroughs, tutorials, and insights.
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September 30, 2026
