An interesting concept was recently introduced to me by the artist, Pretty Lights (Derek Vincent Smith). He speaks of "the break… an uncluttered moment of deep groove… the essence of hip-hop."
Throughout the making of his latest album, Derek directs the recording artist to go for time period breaks (i.e. 60's & 70's) all on the cusp of the moment. This idea resonates with me… I've grown tired of practicing a part over and over for weeks as I am confident in my ability to make soulful music. Of course practice is essential, but I am ready to have any idea captured and played back instantly (perhaps the only positive aspect of this generation that Snowden could agree to).
In fact, recently, I did just that. Stephen Richard and I simply laid down this track starting with a guitar loop. I then went in with a melodic phrase and a few lyrics and did one take of vocals. Next Stephen came up with a guitar melody and a bass line. As we ate dinner we listened to the song and thought the ending could use something big and sing-along-y. Here is the result, "Brass Hearts." Of course, giving the idea some time to age shows a lot of ways we could improve the idea (especially considering that it was all recorded on a laptop microphone) but still the song was written, enjoyable, and efficient.
In fact, recently, I did just that. Stephen Richard and I simply laid down this track starting with a guitar loop. I then went in with a melodic phrase and a few lyrics and did one take of vocals. Next Stephen came up with a guitar melody and a bass line. As we ate dinner we listened to the song and thought the ending could use something big and sing-along-y. Here is the result, "Brass Hearts." Of course, giving the idea some time to age shows a lot of ways we could improve the idea (especially considering that it was all recorded on a laptop microphone) but still the song was written, enjoyable, and efficient.
I digress, Derek Smith then goes on to press the recordings to vinyl, sample them, and then manipulates all the recording with analog synthesizers... This is all allowed by his artistic license, but I can't help but to enjoy the original concept he pulls from the artists more than his remixes if you will... this is more the purist in me speaking than any sort of insult, as I do respect the entire production.
Definitely check it out:
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