The long road to A World Championship
By Daniel Nesci
March 31 2025‘I could never have imagined that music I worked on in a home studio would one day be played in stadiums & broadcast around the world.’
My name is Daniel Nesci. I’m an Australian-born composer and mix/mastering engineer. I’ve been a guitarist for over 15 years, growing up listening to bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Twisted Sister, and Red Hot Chili Peppers – along with whatever else my dad would play on his Ford Fiesta. I never intended to work professionally in the music industry, and I hadn’t even played with other musicians until about seven years into playing guitar. I could never have imagined that music I worked on in a home studio would one day be played in stadiums and broadcast around the world.
For me, music is both a business and an art. There is a fine balance between the two, and I am passionate about collaboration. Seeing the teams I’m a part of succeed is incredibly important to me. I always aim to elevate not only myself but also the people around me, and this project was no exception.
Back in July of 2022, I hadn’t had any music featured on TV, in video games, or across multimedia platforms. That changed when I discovered an Australian named Backchat (Jesse Chisholm) through a mutual friend. I was impressed by his work on projects like Fortnite, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, UFC, and even the voice of Big Dill. Although today I call him a friend and collaborator, at the time he was simply another musician I reached out to in hopes of working together.
I initially sent him a track, but it wasn’t quite aligning with the ‘sync’ world I wanted to step into. I suggested that I fly to his studio in the state just north of where I was based so that we could write together in person. We had no guarantees of placements or any form of advance payments for the few days we were about to spend working on several songs. However, I believe that collaborations, even those that might never be heard, are some of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences. With a backpack setup primed for a few days of intensive sessions, I flew up in November of 2022.
The experience of coming up with track concepts in person was both amazing and challenging. Our very first idea never saw the light of day, but the second eventually evolved into “I Am A God.” Although the hook was different at the time, fleshing out the idea was incredibly enjoyable. In Backchat’s studio, he was driving the sessions while I sat next to him programming MIDI and offering theory and structure suggestions. I knew that when it came time to mix and master what was rapidly becoming the densest track I had ever worked on; I would have to elevate my game. The in-person sessions concluded with a few solid ideas, but that particular track stood out as our favourite. After several back-and-forth sessions through the holiday season and into early 2023, it was finally ready for mixing and mastering.
If you’ve ever mixed metal music and had to work with an amazing drummer who tracks live drums, you know that massive stem stacks are expected. Up to that point, I had really only worked on metal music. I had never handled orchestration, big bombastic low-end braams, cinematic hits and booms, or rap vocals. To say I was out of my depth would be an understatement. This project eventually pushed me to completely upgrade my studio. At the time, I was working on an IKEA desk with Yamaha HS5 monitors, very questionable room treatment, no room correction, and my saving grace the Ollo Audio S4X headphones.
Not knowing exactly where to start, we decided to focus on the instrumental first. I began by getting the low end in order, using extensive side chaining, especially around the brass and being very selective about whether the kick or the bass should take precedence in various sections, given the different fundamental frequencies present throughout the track. I also utilised tools like Trackspacer to give each element in that frequency register both a sense of unified power and its own individual presence.
Moving into the midrange frequencies, I found that the lower and upper mids held the real meat of what makes a good mix. The track was filled with a variety of elements - tom fills, whooshes, risers loaded with midrange information, low-register violins, and upper-register brass. At this point, EQ became my best friend along with parallel compression, as I employed countless FX sends and creative routing to ensure each element had its own space while contributing to the overall texture.
The organisation of the session was key. Handling over 200 stems was a completely new challenge for me. I had to group and route different buses while maintaining clear labelling and colour coding. This level of organisation allowed me to stay focused and efficient, even when juggling such a large number of elements.
Once I was satisfied that the instrumentation was about 80–90% complete, I turned my attention to the vocals. With a stack of main group vocals, harmonies, adlibs, shouts, and a significant amount of panning work, getting the vocals to sit perfectly in the track wasn’t too difficult. The real challenge was sculpting the aggression and clarity needed to evoke the feeling of battle, a feeling that made the listener feel as though they could take on the world.
For the vocals, I made extensive use of tools such as Endless Smile, dynamic EQ cuts, Little Alter Boy, and Brauer Motion. At the time, I didn’t have any analog gear like I do today, so I relied heavily on emulations of Shadow Hills compressors and various Slate Digital plugins to shape the vocal stacks. I also used a Tube-Tech emulation on the vocal bus, accompanied by multiple FX sends that created important moments of ear candy with delays and reverb effects that brought the mix together in a satisfying way.
Working on a mix for such an extended period makes it hard to remember what the track originally sounded like, which is why I always keep a pre-mix bounce hidden in my session. This reference point is invaluable, especially when I’m feeling too close to the project and can’t recall the earlier iterations. If you’re like me and tend to be extremely critical of your own work, having that anchoring point to revert to—or even to do a quick A/B comparison—can be a lifesaver.
A final, critical aspect of my workflow is the utilization of quality reference tracks. These are tracks that you know sound fantastic on multiple systems, which you can compare directly with your own work. After submitting the track, we heard nothing for about five months. Then, we were asked to make a few changes that involved new choir parts, new vocal lines, and mix rebalances, along with additional processing for further pitching opportunities. A few months later, on an ordinary morning, I was told that the song was being used at the League of Legends World Championship. I was totally shocked. One of the biggest esports events in the world had chosen our track, and it was selected as the walkout song for T1 and Faker’s quarterfinal match. Seeing people on YouTube, Reddit, and everywhere else discussing and inquiring about the track was a surreal experience.
I believe there is tremendous value in working on projects that you’re passionate about, even if the results don’t come immediately.
Success might not appear exactly as you imagined or arrive as quickly as hoped, but hard work and persistence always pay off in the long run. That’s why I remain open-minded about who I work with. It’s also why I create tools like my preset packs and free DAW templates to help others overcome their own creative hurdles. If you think you could use a little help on your musical journey, please reach out. I’d love to hear from you.
