Perfectionism in Music Creation: Why Flow Matters More

Hey y’all!

I was recently brought on to mix a really cool track with some indie leaning vibes. As I got closer to wrapping up the mix, I noticed perfectionism starting to creep in. I kept feeling that urge to tweak and over shape every detail- an urge I didn’t give into, but one I really had to consciously push past so I could stay in the flow with my artistic gut and intuition.

Finishing the track made me step back and think about perfectionism as a whole- how it shows up in creative work, how easily it can pull us out of the moment, and how often we end up wrestling with it in our day to day process. That is what inspired this blog post!

Trust, Flow, and Creative Sync

I had a blast getting to chat with Engineer Nick “Squids” Squillante to get his take. I asked him: "What is your take on perfectionism: Has it heavily impacted your work? and if so, what helps/has helped you overcome it?"

He said: “Perfection is tricky. And I'm not going to be the person who says perfection doesn't exist, because it does. Perfection is beating the final boss, the walkoff homerun, the game winning touchdown. It's the end result. The trap is thinking you need to chase perfection at every single step on the way there.

If you're recording guitar and the mic isn't in the exact right spot during the magic take, a perfectionist may stop everything, move the mic, and try to recreate the moment. But you won't. Performances aren't identical twice. Don't believe me? Try it and flip the phase, if it nulls, I'll eat my words.

The real move is not obsessing over perfection. It's perfecting your flow. And flow comes from trust.

We all know that trust is one of the hardest things to find in the entertainment industry, especially in music. It's a business built on opinions, egos, shifting teams, moving deadlines, and people constantly telling you what works and what doesn't. Trust is rare. But the one kind you can count on is trust in yourself, your taste, your ears, your instincts, and the miles you've put in.

Without that, you end up trusting forums, templates, and short videos claiming there's a one size fits all EQ setting for every sound. But exploration isn't clean. It's messy, uncharted, and different every time. There is no map for making a great mix or a great production. And honestly, there shouldn't be.

What Overcoming Perfectionism in Music Creation Looks Like in Real Work

Imperfection isn't just the opposite of perfection. It's the requirement. There is no perfection without imperfection.

So here's the bottom line. Aim for perfection, but don't hunt for it. The mistakes, the roughs, and the weird choices are what lead you to your version of perfect. And your version won't look like anyone else's.

Music is taste. When your idea of done meets an artist's taste and it clicks, that's perfection.”

Final Reflections

I loved reading Nick’s answer! This line in particular hit me like a train: “Music is taste. When your idea of done meets an artist’s taste and it clicks, that’s perfection.” It summed things up so well. As Nick mentioned, it’s impossible to recreate a moment in a performance- so finding that creative trust, flow, and sync with an artist, and agreeing on when something feels right and truly “done,” is incredibly important.

Another line that really jumped out at me was: “But exploration isn't clean. It's messy, uncharted, and different every time. There is no map for making a great mix or a great production. And honestly, there shouldn't be.”

This resonated with me not just as a producer, but also with what we try to do at Safari- making space for creative exploration and fully embracing the mess of it all. That messiness is what makes record making human. It’s what allows the work to become a real reflection of the human experience. I’ll definitely be referring back to this as I go on.

Thank you so much Nick for sharing your insightful thoughts!

Catch y’all next blog!