Amber Horizon is a bright, upbeat modern Pop instrumental cue—perfect for a destination reality TV series or any scene that needs a breezy, feel-good energy. With palm tree vibes and a well-produced mix, it’s a fun and positive track that stands out in the sync market.

🎵 Listen to Amber Horizon:

Q&A with 3 Knives

What inspired you to write Amber Horizon?

3 Knives started about 15 years ago. We wrote a lot together back in the day but drifted apart for a while. This track is sort of a reunion for us—we decided to start writing together again. Amber Horizon happens to be the first production in quite some time. We saw a Taxi.com listing and thought we’d throw our hat in the ring.

Since Amber Horizon marks a reunion for 3 Knives, did you approach the writing and production differently compared to your earlier work?

Yes, this one was different. We never used reference tracks back in the day—we just produced whatever we felt like. The results were great, but our earlier works were long and a bit all over the place. Because Taxi.com gives us specs to write to, this cue is shorter and more focused. It’s a lot more marketable and digestible in the cue format rather than a long instrumental with twists and turns.

How did you balance keeping Amber Horizon creatively fulfilling while making it more structured for the sync market?

This was fun to work on because of our writing process. I made a simple drum loop by recording a couple of shakers and a tambourine. I also layered in some Battery kick and snare samples. I sent the drums off to Tim to write rhythm guitar. Tim recorded his parts, sent them back to me, and I arranged them. The back-and-forth process was super fun. The track emerged naturally in our little ping-pong match. I’m in Arizona and he’s in Florida, so it was cool to share files and write like this.

How did the final arrangement come together from all those exchanged elements? Did you have a clear vision from the start, or did it evolve as you went?

I wouldn’t say we had a clear vision, but we did have the Taxi.com listing to reference. So we knew the mood, tone, and ballpark. The arrangement was basically a series of happy accidents. We were responding to each other, so nobody was actually steering. Our combined efforts created the track that exists today—it was definitely a true co-write.

How would you describe the mood and tone of Amber Horizon? What kind of scenes or visuals do you see it complementing?

Amber Horizon is an upbeat modern Pop instrumental cue. It would be perfect for something like a destination reality TV series. I’ve placed several cues in this genre. It’s certainly palm tree music—the mood is light and fun. It’s a bright and positive track that’s well recorded.

Since you’ve had success placing similar cues, what specific elements do you think make Amber Horizonparticularly strong for sync?

To be honest, it didn’t start out as strong for sync. Taxi.com actually rejected it at first. We initially had a female vocal sample jazzing up a few of the high-energy sections. That was a mistake—the top-line was too busy. We’ve since removed the melodic vocal phrases. It’s much more about mood and vibe now, with a less distracting top end. I think Taxi was looking for a more neutral cue. Amber Horizon isn’t neutral—it’s fun and positive.

Now that you’ve refined Amber Horizon, what production or mixing choices helped it stand out while keeping it sync-friendly?

Amber Horizon leverages a lot of adaptive processing and a top-down mixing approach. The track isn’t too loud because production music doesn’t typically need to slap. It’s about -9 LUFS, which is a nice sweet spot for dynamic mixes that don’t sound crushed but still sound impressive prior to implementation.

Ideally, I would master sync tracks a little quieter and more dynamic. But for music destined for a library, loudness is still an issue. Unfortunately, the end user isn’t someone at home enjoying a TV show—it’s a gatekeeper like a Taxi screener, library publisher, or music editor. Your tracks can’t sound flat compared to other library music or they’ll never make the cut.

That’s why I use adaptive tools like Bloom and Curves Equator on my busses. They keep the tone detailed without needing extra loudness. I also used Orion on some of the percussion and The God Particle on the mix bus. Those Cradle plugins offer some nice saturation that gives a bit more detail than traditional compression.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve taken away from the experience? Has it changed how you approach future sync tracks?

Amber Horizon definitely influenced our process. We went a little rogue with the assignment—I think we were just getting back in the saddle. But it’s a reminder to reference the specs when you have them. If it’s not on-target, it’s not sync music.

Sync tracks don’t necessarily even need melody. Riffs and melodic phrases are more than enough to communicate the mood and vibe of a scene. A nice full mix with the right energy is way more important than a great “composition.”

Even though Taxi returned Amber Horizon for the first listing, that doesn’t mean they won’t forward it for a future listing. We took their feedback, made adjustments, and it’s in the vault for the next modern Pop instrumental request.

With Amber Horizon now polished and ready for future opportunities, what’s next for 3 Knives? Are you applying this refined approach to any upcoming tracks?

Yes. We’ve produced 8 or 9 cues since Amber Horizon. Our process is getting more streamlined. We both have templates for most of our production needs. We’re being more diligent with studying the reference materials. And the results continue to improve. We’re just getting started!

For music supervisors or editors reading this, where can they check out Amber Horizon and the rest of your growing catalog?

We have a growing catalog of music cue visualizers on YouTube. And they can listen to a variety of styles right here on this website. Either way, dope tracks are ready for their ear holes.

If someone wants to license Amber Horizon or work with 3 Knives, what’s the best way to reach out?

The best way to reach us is the contact form on this site. Feel free to reach out and say hi using this link.