First look of my debut original as KIRZTEN, my upcoming solo artist project. Might change and add a few extra things before the official release. This is a recent song that I wrote, sung, composed, and produced called “Breakthrough”. Breakthrough was written by the current me as a call-to-action message to my past self during the earlier stages of her college life—The person who was once struggling because she remained convinced by obligation, thus feeling confined to fulfill a resolution that she didn’t want. The one who would occasionally feel the urge to speak up, but felt constricted by doubt, fear, and regret after being persuaded to meet others’ expectations. The one who felt like no matter what she did, she always felt suffocated because she wasn’t being genuine to her feelings. From these words, I wrote this song to pull my younger self out of oblivion, inform her to be passionate about her ambitions, and make her escape from the unwanted resolve that she never situated herself in. I wrote this song with straightforward lyrics for a reason. As it’s often easier for young individuals to comprehend simpler phrases, it’s a similar case here, as I am writing to my younger self. Despite the song’s simplistic lyrics, its message resonates to intimate, immeasurable depths with me. Aside from the upbeat production, I hope you can also take this subject into account Fun Fact : This was my final project and showcase presentation for Electronic Vocal Production class that I took during the 2023 Summer Semester at Berklee College of Music. Huge shoutout to Professor Claire Marie Lim/dolltr!ck for teaching me such cool new vocal production techniques :D —————— Song Info Title : Breakthrough Artist : KIRZTEN Key : C Minor to D Minor Tempo : 120 BPM Genre(s) : Electronic/EDM, Electropop, House, Chiptune, Cinematic Software/Hardware Used DAW : Ableton Live 11 Suite Visualizer Site : Vizzy.io Mic : Blue Yeti Multi-Pattern USB Condenser Microphone Synthesizers : Prophet 12 Keyboard, Roland System-1M Plug-Out Module —————— Lyrics [Intro] Verse 1 Are you gonna stay forever trapped in the past? Is this your movie from first to the last? Bring the light in, and let me hear your yearnings If you keep chasing after the shadows and hide, Then where will you go? Chorus See, this is your breakthrough! Passion is key! Break out of the abyss, And the daylight you’ll see! If you don’t spread your wings, You’ll never make an escape So fly The desire was always there Verse 2 Am I gonna find you lingering in the dark? Are you in need of that eternal spark? Turn the light on, and know I’ll lead the way, ‘cause When you’re lost in the night, thinking this is isn’t right, And you’re feeling kind of hopeless, Then I’ll give some advice Chorus Now, this is your breakthrough! Passion is key! Break out of the abyss, And the daylight you’ll see! If you don’t spread your wings, You’ll never make an escape So fly The desire was always there Bridge Will you come to realize your authenticity? One day, that voice will finally be set free Past self, someday I hope you will release me Now, don’t let this legacy be unreached, oh.. Outro (2x) This is your breakthrough! Passion is key! Break out of the abyss, And the daylight you’ll see! If you don’t spread your wings, You’ll never make an escape So fly The desire was always there —————— All music and video edits made by me!

Final electronic performance for the Vocal Processing Lab at Berklee! In this video, I perform my latest original song, “Expedition”, with electronic digital instruments, while demonstrating real-time vocal processing and electronic performance techniques in the process. ——— This video was featured in the Summer 2024 Berklee Electronic Music Virtual Festival. Check out the video here! : https://youtu.be/V7MyVybYA1Q?si=OXTAbDJZnTLsL1kx I also performed a live set of this song at the SU2024 Electronic Music Showcase. Having the chance to perform this piece with EDI in front of an audience has been an opportunity I’m forever grateful for! All thanks to Prof Claire Marie Lim for her wonderful teaching and incredible learning experience once again :) Little Backstory : To be honest, I initially hesitated to take EDI classes for a while. I knew about electronic performance classes even before coming to Berklee and thought they looked fun! I enjoyed watching other students and friends performing as well. However, due to all the multi-tasking and thought-processes involved in electronic performance, I thought my brain wouldn’t be able to handle it, so I steered away from those classes thinking it wasn’t for me. But as I approach graduation next semester, I finally decided to give it a shot, as I realized I should challenge myself instead of having to regret not trying it when my time at Berklee ends. I certainly do not regret taking this class :) ——— General Song Info Title : Expedition Artist : KIRZTEN Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Performer : Reana Villanueva Instruments : EDI (Novation Launchpad Pro MK3, AKAI MPK Mini MK3, Shure SM58 XLR Dynamic Microphone) Tempo : 85 BPM (170 BPM Double Time) Key : F# Major/Minor Genres : Electropop, Cinematic, EDM (Subgenres : Melodic Dubstep & Drum n’ Bass) DAW : Ableton Live 12 Suite Equipment : MacBook Pro M3, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface (4th Gen) ——— Message : Expedition talks about how to perceive uncertainty as something exciting rather than terrifying. People often loathe the unexpected. I for one, have a love-hate relationship towards the future. As a goal-oriented individual, I have a lot of plans for the later months/years of my life, and many of you can say the same. However, things might not go the way we planned, but that does not mean that we shouldn’t wait for better days. Triumph can rise out of the darkness. Making your way out of the dark will have you undergo thrilling adventures (expeditions) that you definitely won’t regret, and will pay off to shape your future. This message can highly encourage you to look at the future more optimistically. ——— Lyrics Intro (On the expedition) Verse 1 We’re on a roll, never-ending roads Await the break of dawn to light the way We’ll never know, stories to unfold Curiosity embraces our stay Pre-Chorus 1 Let the stratosphere beam from above Let ambiguity liberate us Now I see the vision Agree to fulfill the mission? But just under one condition, Follow me on the expedition Drop 1 [Instrumental] Verse 2 Look at the time, a new step to climb The wheel’s revolving now, there’s no delay I’ll keep an eye, always by your side We can ride along this endless highway Pre-Chorus 2 But take a second to wait and realize That we should go with whatever feels right Is it worth the addition? Let go of your inhibitions And light the fire for ignition Follow me on the expedition Drop 2 [Instrumental] Bridge Until the end of the night, Just you and I I’m by your side Just you and I (2x) Take it easy (4x) Pre-Chorus 3 But take a second to wait and realize That we should go with whatever feels right Is it worth the addition? Let go of your inhibitions And light the fire for ignition Follow me on the expedition Drop 3 On the expedition [Instrumental] Outro Take it easy (4x) ——— Electronic Performance Techniques Covered : Live Looping with Stacking Harmonies, Synth Playing, Vocal Chops, Formant Shifting, Vocal Tremolo, Reverb/Delay Sends, Vocoder, Scene Launching, Filter Sweeps, Filter Modulation, Chorus Effects Timeline : 0:00 Start 0:15 Reverb on Vocals 0:17 Engage Beat Repeat 0:22 Sing 0:37 Engage Auto Filter 0:47 Engage Delay Sends 0:55 Formant Shift Vocals Up 0:57 Play Synth Chords 1:03 Pre-Recorded Synth Chords 1:07 Play Vocal Chops 1:23 Reverb on Vocals 1:27 Engage Vocal Tremolo 1:30 Sing 1:45 Engage Auto Filter 1:55 Engage Delay Sends 2:03 Formant Shift Vocals Up 2:05 Play Synth Chords 2:10 Pre-Recorded Synth Chords 2:15 Play Vocal Chops 2:27 Sing 2:38 Engage/Play Vocoder Track 2:49 Record Vocal Loop 1 2:55 Record Vocal Loop 2 3:01 Record Vocal Loop 3 3:06 Record Vocal Loop 4 3:12 Sing 3:25 Engage Delay Sends 3:35 Play Synth Chords 3:41 Pre-Recorded Synth Chords 3:43 Engage Tremolo 3:46 Play Vocal Chops 3:57 Bring back Vocal Loops 4:03 Formant Shift Vocals Up and Down 4:10 Close LPF on Vocals 4:24 End ———

Song : Rejuvenate EP : Rejuvenate Artist : KIRZTEN Composed, Produced, and Written by Reana Villanueva Key : Eb Major Genre : Electronic Pop-Ballad (with Orchestral Elements) DAW : Ableton Live 12 Long story short, I’ve been making several renditions of this song with different DAWs since 2022. From BandLab, to Garageband, to Logic Pro, then to Ableton Live. (Yes, I was a BandLab user back in the day, and a MOBILE producer too - surprising as it sounds! Going all the way back to the beginning of my producer stages, 2018) Through these past few years, I never seemed to be satisfied with any rendition of this song, until I discovered Ableton and its incredible sound design qualities, that I had to use it as my default DAW for all my music now. I then remembered in 2022, when I said to myself, “This will be the one” - the song I would debut with, if I ever became an artist. So I decided to try my hands on the production with this new DAW. With the vocal production and mix techniques I learned in my classes throughout my time as a Berklee undergrad, tied with my unwavering passion for producing music, I thought this could be the most powerful iteration of this song yet. Here is what it sounds like so far! (My Mac has to suffer through nearly 200 tracks within this project session, so I hope this is all worth it) Another Realization : Post-Grad life made me realize how much I missed making music, and how the transformation from a simple hobby to a passion for production played a crucial role in the development of my creative identity. Basically this song, INCLUDING “KIRZTEN”, wouldn’t have existed today if I hadn’t discovered a DAW, and I wouldn’t have a destiny. Now that I’m working full-time hours after college, it gets increasingly difficult to find the time to make music or really do anything outside of work, and it feels like chains pulling me away from what made me feel most alive. I guess the question just settles on when I’ll find time to finally master this EP completely and create promotional materials for it - who knows when that will be. (I do want to put a lot into the promotion process too) Special Shoutouts to Dr. Richard Boulanger for helping me throughout the entire production process of this song during my Capstone course at Berklee, Professors Claire Marie Lim and Rishabh Rajan for teaching me all the amazing vocal production techniques and critical listening tips in my work, my friend Cindy for her advice on the mixing and mastering, as well as my great friends, Jake, Bethanie, and Samantha for helping me through these stressful, anxiety-inducing times after graduation! Full Version will be on streaming platforms