Yo!
scottyo7: In the beginning, the beat is under a LP filter and it slowly releases the beat from it by increasing the cutoff value until it's free of it. In that pasage you mentioned, the LP filter is switched off. In this track, I used only DEXED VSTi. It was a exercise for me to learn it.
https://asb2m10.github.io/dexed/ give it a shot, but have patience with ADSR envelopes... they are pain. When you have the sound you want, don't be afraid to put Chorus, Delay or Reverb on it in combinations. The sounds them selves from DX7 (dexed) are too dry to use them as they are nowdays.
As for the artwork, yes, and I still use the old shitty photoshop cs2 (because it is free). Both programs have tons of tutorials online, so it's a matter of which one suits your fingers the best.
The picture in the background is from my GF, which se shot in Thailand. My logo is custom made as well as the simple shape behind it. The font below I found on the net.
jpsbuk: Thank you kind sir.