Editor's Note:
You already know D and Jules, but now its time to meet our intern and head writer, Tiffany! Innermix interns Tiffany and Kat (that's me!) will be be updating the blog weekly with the own fresh perspectives, so get to know them and let them know what you think in the comments.
As you know, Innermix has a
pretty erratic schedule and are often running around, tackling multiple
projects at once. Despite this, they always manage to make time for one of the
things that they love best: writing songs and recording music. On a cool
evening on January 20th, I had the privilege of accompanying them, along with
Julia, the online public relations coordinator for Innermix and a dear friend,
to the music production studio “The Studio”, to work with Quantum 4 Entertainment,
a musical production company consisting of two extremely talented young men,
Arthur, 18, and Jack, 25.
Innermix and Q4 had been in the
midst of recording one of their new singles “Falling Apart”. While the
song was nearly put together, there
was still a lot more work that had to go into it. There were harmonies and
hooks that needed to be added, words that needed to be changed and matched to
the beat, and key changes that had to be inserted into the song.
In fact, when it comes to
recording any song, a lot more work goes into taking it from just a song and
turning it into something that allows the listener to feel. Simply D and Jules
often ad-libbed lyrics, with Jules stopping every now and then to scribble down
flashes of brilliance and ideas in a simple notebook she carried with her. What
was most surprising is that a lot of the words and flow that went into this
song were thought of on the spot. Simply D, a freestyle singer and rapper, would
dive right in, with poetic verses cascading from his lips, tackling each verse
and rhyme to its beat. Jules’ style of songwriting was different. She expressed
her ideas through her writing, her hands working vigorously across her notebook
to transcribe her creativity into new verses and harmonies.
Their creative process knows no
boundaries; when they heard the music, they applied it wholeheartedly from
within. This, I really enjoyed watching. When it came to turning that song into
an exchange between two lovers, they delivered it with such power that I could
imagine the both of them falling apart inside a little. But of course, as soon
as the music was off, they were back to their old, goofy selves.
Just because Simply D and Jules
were in their creative zone didn’t mean that they didn’t take the time to have
fun with it. Believe me, they had plenty. Of course, when you’re stuck in the
recording studio into the wee hours of the night, the only thing other than to
fall into delirium is to have a good time and turn it from a job into a party.
Plenty of jokes and banter were exchanged between the both of them, while the
rest of us engaged in intense discussions over…smart phones and alien
abductions? Okay, never mind, you don’t want to know about that.
Back in the recording booth, Simply D
graced us with his rapping talent to turn his tender, wistful verse in the song
into an angry, melancholic rage, reminiscent to that of Eminem’s verse in “Love
the Way You Lie”. You could imagine the howls of laughter that elicited. It was
so convincing that I secretly wished that they were going to use that instead.
Perhaps in a remix one day ;)
One thing I was blown away by was
Jules’ talent for listening to the music and then adding different harmonies.
When one harmony was added to a verse, the feel of the song completely changed
from melancholic to heart-wrenching. It’s amazing how the addition of both
harmonies and dissonance can take one song into a whole other level. One could
produce a song in many different ways and yet, remaster it into something even
more evocative than its precursor. When it came to delivering the song’s
message not just through singing a melody, but introducing the highs and lows
of every word uttered, Jules delivered it beyond your typical tragic love song.
As for Q4, Arthur and Jack were helpful and patient, tweaking every beat and note to nail the feeling of the song. Innermix may be what you hear on the surface, but Arthur and Jack’s talents serve as the backbone to
making it all happen. Despite the recording studio’s simple yet modern
appearance, it houses the creative gifts of the brothers and allows them to
take their passion and love for making music and turn it into something easy
for the listener to identify with.
Music has the power to bring us
all together. I was able to see that with my own eyes when I observed how much
work and enthusiasm Innermix and
Q4 put into producing a song. But it is in their humility and passion, not
merely their talents, where they are truly able to translate those ever so
familiar feelings of having loved and lost into something we can truly feel.
And I believe that when it comes to producing a timeless song, this is the most
important.
At the end of the recording
session, we hung out and chatted with Arthur and Jack before
heading out. The jokes and laughs added some much needed warmth to the
bitter chill of the late winter evening. As Simply D and Jules wrapped up to
prepare for another busy day following them, Julia and I headed off in the
other direction in positive spirits and in search of the nearest In-n-Out.
Until next time,
Tiffany
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