Foggy Hearts
Permanent short link: zylelabs.dev/foggy
A Cover workflow in Identity, Behaviour and Confidence.
Suno model: v5.5
Back to the guide · All song breakdowns
Listen: Original song by Niri
Section titled “Listen: Original song by Niri”Direct Suno embed of the original Foggy Hearts by Niri.
When I heard the original Foggy Hearts one thing really stood out to me, how clean the mix is. There are very few layers, the mix is well spaced out, the bass is behaved and the vocals are extremely clear. Experience has shown me this is the perfect recipe for a cover. It gives the model a clear structure to lock on to, with plenty of room to explore different styles. I wanted to keep the emotion in the vocals while giving the track some more momentum in the groove.
The three questions
Section titled “The three questions”
Establish the new musical identity, define how that language should perform, then decide how boldly the model should reinterpret the source.
| Stage | Responsibility | What changed here |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Define the musical language | The style prompt established Liquid Drum and Bass |
| Behaviour | Define how that language should perform | Rhythm, Vocal and Priority instructions were refined |
| Confidence | Decide how boldly the model should reinterpret the source | Weirdness, Style Influence and Audio Influence changed |
Starting material
Section titled “Starting material”Niri’s original song used this prompt:
Deep Uk House, 124 Bpm, A♯ Minor, Low-Register Piano Stabs, Rubbery Donk Bassline, Sidechained Kick, Clipped Clap Pattern, Shuffle Hi-Hats, Distorted Diva Vocals, Light Autotune, Plate Reverb, Tape Saturation, Vocal Hook Repeats, Peak-Time Bounce, Bittersweet Longing, Early 2000S Club MixThat prompt describes much more than a genre. It carries rhythm, instrumental palette, vocal character, production treatment, arrangement behaviour and emotional tone. The audio of the song carried those relationships into the Cover as an Anchor.
1. Identity
Section titled “1. Identity”I know the destination, but not much else.
The first prompt I crafted was to set the tone and answer to me, how does the model react to these styles, and what does it produce:
Genre | Liquid Drum and Bass
Tempo | 174 BPM
Intro | Atmospheric | Liquid Flow
Bass | Bouncing Warm Reese | FM Growl | Sub Bass
Melody | Rhodes Stabs | Call and Response
Harmony | Cinematic Synth | Suspended Chords
Textures | Vinyl Dust | Evolving Pads | Granular Wash
Drums | Rolling Amen Variations | Ghost Notes | Tight Breaks
Vocals | Female Lead | Intimate Verses | Anthemic Attitude
FX | Reverse Swells | Tape Stops | Filter Throws
Dynamics | Long Crescendos | Sudden Silence
Priority | Groove
Motion | Constant Evolution
Mix | Wide Stereo | Controlled Sidechain | Warm Saturation
Mood | Motion through Hope
Structure | Constant Flow | Double Drop | Reflective Outro
Influence | 00's liquid | Modern Liquid| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Weirdness | 25% |
| Style Influence | 70% |
| Audio Influence | 60% |
Listen: Identity generation
Section titled “Listen: Identity generation”Open the Identity MP3 directly
The result showed that it had no issues making a Liquid Drum and Bass track out of the song, but there were some clear issues. The vocals sped up to match the tempo too much and lost the natural feeling the original had. The vocal vibrato felt extremely synthetic. That was the first thing I needed to fix, making the vocals fit the halftime synths. The other thing I noticed was that the drums felt way too relaxed for a Liquid DnB track, and the bass carried a lot of the house vibe into the cover.
2. Behaviour
Section titled “2. Behaviour”This second pass addressed those problems directly.
| What I heard | Behaviour change | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| The drums relaxed | Added Rhythm, Rolling Liquid Breaks & Full-Time Drum and Bass |
Get the drums to lock onto that Liquid vibe |
| The arrangement became too static | Added Driving Two-step, Continuous Forward Motion & Never Halftime to Priority while retaining Motion & Constant Evolution |
Reinforce motion as a non-negotiable behaviour |
| The vocal became more synthetic | Replaced Intimate Verses & Anthemic Attitude with Relaxed Vocal Delivery & Natural Phrasing |
Ask for a less stylised, more human delivery |
What I wanted to hear here was the liquid flow in the drums, the voice to return to that natural tone of the original song and the bass to push towards more forwards motion than the clubby bounce of the house original.
Highlighted text was added or revised in the Behaviour prompt.
Genre | Liquid Drum and Bass
Tempo | 174 BPM
Intro | Atmospheric | Liquid Flow
Bass | Bouncing Warm Reese | FM Growl | Sub Bass
Melody | Rhodes Stabs | Call and Response
Harmony | Cinematic Synth | Suspended Chords
Rhythm | Rolling Liquid Breaks | Full-Time Drum and Bass
Textures | Vinyl Dust | Evolving Pads | Granular Wash
Drums | Rolling Amen Variations | Ghost Notes | Tight Breaks
Vocals | Female Lead | Relaxed Vocal Delivery | Natural Phrasing
FX | Reverse Swells | Tape Stops | Filter Throws
Dynamics | Long Crescendos | Sudden Silence
Priority | Driving Two-Step | Continuous Forward Motion | Never Halftime
Motion | Constant Evolution
Mix | Wide Stereo | Controlled Sidechain | Warm Saturation
Mood | Motion through Hope
Structure | Constant Flow | Double Drop | Reflective Outro
Influence | 00's liquid | Modern Liquid
The controls remained unchanged:
| Control | Setting |
|---|---|
| Weirdness | 25% |
| Style Influence | 70% |
| Audio Influence | 60% |
Listen: Behaviour generation
Section titled “Listen: Behaviour generation”Open the Behaviour MP3 directly
Holding the controls steady matters. It makes the Identity-to-Behaviour comparison easier to understand: one Rhythm field was added, while Vocal and Priority were rewritten.
3. Confidence
Section titled “3. Confidence”The final release kept the Behaviour prompt unchanged. Only the influence controls moved:
| Control | Behaviour | Final release | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weirdness | 25% | 30% | +5 points |
| Style Influence | 70% | 80% | +10 points |
| Audio Influence | 60% | 50% | −10 points |
I liked what the model was doing, I just needed to change how much here. I wanted it to drop the clubby vibe in the bassline so I reduced the Audio Influence a bit, then I wanted to push my prompt into the model a little harder, so I bumped up Style Influence. Weirdness was increased slightly to allow the model to explore a little more.
These are not magic settings, just what I was trying to do and how I attempted to get there.
Listen: Final Cover
Section titled “Listen: Final Cover”Clearer responsibilities, not more words
Section titled “Clearer responsibilities, not more words”The final prompt is not dramatically longer than the first prompt I started with. Foggy Hearts is not an argument for prompt inflation.
Successful prompt ≠ more wordsSuccessful prompt = clearer responsibilitiesThe refinement makes particular fields accountable for particular behaviour:
- Rhythm defines the full-time Liquid Drum and Bass pulse.
- Priority protects forward motion and prevents halftime drift.
- Vocals asks for relaxed, natural phrasing.
- Motion continues to request evolution across the arrangement.
- Influence controls decide how boldly the Cover moves away from its audio source.
That is the lesson I take from Foggy Hearts. The first prompt knew the destination. The successful revisions made the responsibilities clearer, and told the model how much to use my prompt vs the original audio.