BTS & other musings

Behind the scenes making of The Love Tape LP

In early October I went down to After Hours Records in Orange County in between teaching gigs and worked with the mastering engineer Ben on the vinyl. We got into the details of each song and carefully checked bass & treble frequencies via his impressive digital setup, where we could literally zoom into the grooves of the record to check how everything was sounding. It was amazing to see visually what the music sounded like and some of the edits we needed to make to ensure top quality sound. It's a challenge to fit 11 songs on two sides of a record but I think it came out beautifully all things considered. Check out the phots and videos for more...!

Thoughts on D'Angelo's passing

R.I.P. to a Legend

For me, D'Angelo gave us musicians permission to be "different", while remaining soulful and in the pocket. Unusual harmonies, "chordless chords", strange phrases. Time feel so deep it felt like another galaxy. Sonics so rich you could live in the musical layers... and yet his music still resonated on a global level.

As I got to know the person behind the music I really related to who he was. He seemed like a sensitive soul who really cared about the music. He studied and incorporated the history of artists before him. D created when he felt moved to create (he famously took 14 years to create his final album). He clearly had a great sense of humor and candor too, yet instantly gave you a sense of his vulnerability in his performances.

This might sound strange but I've always tried to study other artists with the same astrological sign as me, and try notice any similarities or cross currents. D'Angelo, Dilla, Brandy, Questlove, Roberta Flack.. are all Aquarius. I've always felt that I hear odd phrasing in music or unusual harmony and giants like D'Angelo helped me understand my own musical proclivities through the choices he would make.

The loss of this musical force has affected everyone I know in the music community. It really just makes you think about the sounds you want to create while we are on this earth for a limited time. Lastly, I'd recommend the 4 part interview he did with Tavis Smiley, it's a wonderful portrait of a unique and singular force as an artist.