Word on the street Twitter is Lalah Hathaway is still accepting demos to possibly use on her next project. She had the same call to action on her Facebook status last week — only it had a deadline of 24 hours. I saw it while riding the train, but it didn’t stop me from pulling out my moleskine and writing something for her on my way home.
Yes, it’s that serious. This is Lalah.
When I got home, I took my chicken stratches and rough vocals (I recorded on my iPhone) into the lab and started writing the music. Within 30 minutes, I had the structure. Two hours later, I had the arrangement. It was all coming together so beautifully. Then I played it back.
I hated it.
It was a traditional Lalah Hathaway template: 3/4 time, jazzy, groovy, etc. It’s a good track but it sounded more like I was trying to make room in a very small musical box when there is so much room on the outside. I hit “Save” then “Close” and proceeded to start from scratch. Something edgier and funkier while retaining the melodic charm indicative of Lalah’s sultry voice. I stayed up until the sun came to greet me again. . . and it was worth every tiresome moment. I happily e-mailed my song to her the following afternoon.
Now that I know she’s still accepting submissions, I think I’ll revisit that jazzy track and add some more seasoning. Maybe I’ll think of something (else) totally out of the box. There’s no guarantee that she’ll use any of them — but creating music for someone you have admired for years is a blessing in and of itself.
One thing I’ve learned in the past year is that your gift will make room for you and dreams definitely come true to those who never give up. Giving Lalah a song that she can feel is a dream whose edges are crisp with the vibrant hues of reality — even though it is but a wish inside my heart.
This entry was written by , posted on 18 February 10 at 5:25 pm, filed under Life, Music, Thoughts and tagged facebook, lalah hathaway, logic, moleskine, Music, songs, soul, tracks, train, twitter, voice. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
The first time I heard those words, it was August 20, 1989. My girlfriend broke up with me over the phone. A surge of sadness cascaded through my body as I stood in my parents’ basement filled with unanswered questions and my first, official broken heart. I was thirteen.
Fast forward 20 years — and countless “it’s over” phrases said and heard — I find myself slouched in my home studio with headphones nestled against my ears. I press play on the Joy Jones’ single, “Over” and it’s like a time machine. Not only does her Ronnie Foster inspired bassline and digitized voice take me back to 1989, her words and melodies dragged me past every hurtful relationship and melancholy memory along the way.
Although life has placed me far from that past, the musical journey of Jones’ repetitious wordplay was blissfully miserable. . .like a deep tissue massage.
To pay homage to a song that is undoubtedly one of my favorite songs of all time, here’s a remix – courtesy of DJ Markus Gramm.
Thank you, Joy, and thank God for your gift.
Podcast: Play in new window
This entry was written by , posted on 21 January 10 at 3:03 pm, filed under Life, Music and tagged jones, joy, markus gramm, Music, over, remix, soul. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Musicians and producers have been pimpin’ their songs on Vimeo and YouTube for a minute now. I’ve discovered a few instrumentals and rarities as I’ve scavenged across the ‘net looking for a hit 
Recently, I’ve been able to follow a number of great entries to Eric Roberson’s Remix Contest.
There are some very talented musicians out there and I chose to take my late pass and join in on the fun. After several mouse clicks on iMovie, I’ve created visual interpretations of two (2) of the three (3) remixes I submitted for Erro’s contest.
You can also check them out on Vimeo.
If you haven’t heard them all, I strongly encourage you to check them out on my music page. Eric is an incredible vocalist and I’m very proud of how these remixes turned out.
Cheers. . .
This entry was written by , posted on at 1:28 pm, filed under Music and tagged big la, erro, fave, Music, remix contest, soul, vimeo, youtube. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Vikter Duplaix has appeared in the liner notes / production credits of my favorite artists (i.e., Erykah Badu, Jazzanova, Eric Benet, etc.). His International Affairs LP piqued my interest while Bold and Beautiful truly made me a fan.
Nicolay is one of my favorite producers. From my introduction to him via Foreign Exchange’s Connected to their GRAMMY-nominated single “Daykeeper,” his innovative perspective on soul music and experimental beats continues to be a huge inspiration for me.
These two creative forces have come together to conjure a remix of Vikter’s current single, “Electric Love.” The remix is driven by Nicolay’s syncopated, edgy rhythms, while the melody flows through a journey of sensational funk only found in the world of Duplaix.
Give it a listen below and be sure to get the FREE download exclusively at Vikter’s site — a special Christmas gift from them to you 
This entry was written by , posted on 24 December 09 at 2:14 pm, filed under Announcements, Music and tagged electric love, nicolay, remix, vikter duplaix. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
I’ve been a fan of Jesse Boykins III ever since I discovered “Pantyhose” at the beginning of the year. His album, The Beauty Created, has quite a few jams I’ve played over at the FFC and his version of “No One Else” on the Men Love Mary mixtape was stellar as well.
So when I got this tweet about his newly released remix album, I had to show love. The Beauty Created Remixed features Melo-X, AFTA-1 and other incredible producers working their magic on Jesse’s vocals. Here’s what he has to say about the project:
“The Beauty Created Remixed is my gift to you, my fans and followers of my journey thru music. I just wanted to take the time out and say thank you to the supporters who come to my shows and who have bought my albums and help spread the word about Jesse Boykins III & The Beauty Created. Thank you to all the producers who help add to this painting. Please keep spreading the love and I’ll do the same. Hope you enjoy and Happy Holidays.”
I highly recommend that you download this album and start spinning immediately within your audio player of choice.
(more…)
This entry was written by , posted on 15 December 09 at 12:32 pm, filed under Announcements, FFC, Music and tagged download, free, jesse boykins III, men love mary, new music, remixed, the beauty created. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
© 2009 Favorite Nitemare | Download & listen to the Friday Favecast | follow me on Twitter
