Allow me to introduce one of my newest friends, and hands down one of the most talented musicians/singers I have ever met – Kristen Fletcher. We met on what started out a gloomy Saturday morning, at one of the infamous “Shai Breakfast Club” gatherings. Note that I say gloomy, only in terms of the weather – not of the company or the festivities. Just for the record, your parties rock Shai!
Kristen and I, along with some of the other musos we met there shared the privilege of jamming together and talking music into the wee hours of the evening. It was very quickly established that we shared an insurmountable adoration for the eternally inspiring Stevie Wonder – possibly the strongest foundation two music-lovers can build a friendship on!
After catching up for a few jam sessions and the like, we decided to start collaborating on some original music. “Live My Life” first sprouted from some thoughts Kristen told me she had been pondering recently, since reading a particular book (I don’t recall the name of the book, so it will be K-10’s little secret for now).
We started playing around with a few different chords, Kristen on the keys and myself on my Maton – and came up with some catchy verse and chorus progressions. This was followed by some rather hooky vocal ideas (if I don’t say so myself). Following this, we spent a couple of sessions refining the lyrics/melodies and laying out the song structure.
Being the gun that she is, it only took Kristen a single session to lay down the bulk of the vocals – leaving me with a whole lot of great stems to play with – “play” being the official term reserved for all that super-technical stuff we producers do in our studios after the sun goes down and regular people go to sleep ☺
Now, it is my pleasure to present the collaborative sounds of Kristen Fletcher and Jaden Music -“Live My Life”.
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Well folks, it looks like the Jaden Remix segment is becoming a weekly installment! Our latest piece of work comes to you courtesy of the deliciously deviant Rihanna, in the form of her most recent single “Rude Boy”. After hearing the first 10 seconds of this track, I was totally sold on it! It took me back to some of my fondest musical memories – particularly a little number you may remember from the late 90s called Pony, by Ginuwine (produced by Timbaland).
Much to my delight, I very quickly managed to locate a near-immaculate acapella of Rude Boy and got straight down to business. We had an absolute ball putting this one together – keeping a little bit of that reggae vibe, funking up the bass, and then rocking out hard on the guitar. What better way to spend my day?!!
Anyhow, enough background information – bring on the tunes!
PS I am currently taking song requests, so let me know if you’ve heard something recently that is just asking to be remixed!
Hey all, it has certainly been a week for remixes. I was feeling particularly inspired following our efforts with the Justin Bieber track – so here is another one for y’all to check out… Usher’s club banger O.M.G (although I’m still not entirely sure whether the “G” stands for “Gosh” or “God”… perhaps both! ) And if you are digging on either (or both) of these remixes, be advised that there is another one on the way very soon – a recent release by a certain R-Rated individual (there’s a hint for you). I am not feeling particularly typeractive tonight, so… Enjoy!
Water is all around me, streaming down my face and shoulders. Falling down, down, down… Lapping at my ankles, pouring down through cracks that have forced their way up and out of the ground below me. Darkness precedes all that is, or will one day be. I am in a moment where everything around sounds faint, far away… I am travelling through time – through space – and through my mind… one second at a time…
I open my eyes, blinking, as bright lights cut a path through the haze that has settled all around me – intruding upon my own, home-made reality and returning me to the present. Reaching for a towel, I dry myself off and step out of the shower. My journey to Mars has begun.
Often the best ideas come at the most unsuspecting moment, at a time when the mind is completely at ease and carefree… Uninhibited. When they come, you have two choices – 1. go with it, or 2. forget about it. I pride myself on being able to recognise a good opportunity when it stares me in the face – in this case, an opportunity by the name of Creativity. Quickly hauling ass into my studio (conveniently located in my home), I breathed life into my iMac, grabbed a pen and pad and got busy.
As the idea began to take shape, I brought Joel, and long-time friend/super talented singer Cassie Wallace into the picture to join me in the songwriting festivities. The first few hours were draining ones – the three of us brainstormed, jotted down lines, scribbled them out, debated, and then re-wrote – always striving for perfection. Once the lyrics were finished Cassie stepped up to the plate – or in this case the silver plated Mic. She literally flew through the vocals, bringing to the table the kind of melodies that I can only dream about. She bounced from harmonies to BVs to adlibs, before sinking into a chair with utterances of contentment – 2 long sessions later.
Now that the scene has been set, please close your eyes, sit back, and prepare to descend with us onto the Red Planet.
Jay-Z released ‘The Blueprint 2.1’ and ‘The Black Album’, Justin blew up with ‘Justified’, Ms Badu released ‘Worldwide Underground’, Outkast dropped ‘Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’, Britney released ‘In the Zone’ and ‘My Perogative’, Alicia came out with ‘The Diary of Alicia Keys’, Kelis released ‘Tasty’, Kanye announced his arrival with ‘The College Dropout’ Brandy released’ Afrodisiac’, Beyonce started solo with ‘Dangerously in Love’, Ashlee and Jesse Mac had pop smashes with ‘Autobiography’ and ‘Beautiful Soul’, Snoop Dogg released ‘R&G’ and last but not least S Club 7 released their ‘Greatest Hits’.
Putting aside all these classics and completely forgetting about S Club 7, the real reason these years have to this day been my favorite in Music is that in my opinion one of my biggest inspirations in Life and Music, The Neptunes, hit their Production/Creative peak. I don’t think its coincidence that they won ‘Producer of the year’ at the Grammy’s in 2003.
From the moment I heard ‘In Search Of’ I began a journey into everything Neptunes from Kelis to Clipse. But 03 and 04 in particular father some of my favorite Neptunes releases to this day;
Justin Timberlake – ‘Justified’ and ‘I’m Lovin it’
Pharrell – ‘Frontin’
Jay-Z – ‘Excuse Me Miss’ and ‘Change Clothes’
Kelis – ‘Tasty’
N.E.R.D – ‘Fly or Die’
Nelly – ‘Play it Off’
Snoop Dogg – ‘Drop it like it’s Hot’, ‘Signs’, ‘Let’s get Blown’
To me these years signify so much melody and colour taken to the top of the Charts by the Neptunes. The chords, progressions and melodic vocal hooks take me back to a time when popular music was fun, positive and had a heart.
Fast Forward to 2009 in a time when Robotic, Auto-Tuned loops dominate the charts along with their ‘Heartless’ artists, finally after years of wondering the musical desert The Neptunes have returned to their roots with the release of Snoop Dogg’s ‘Special’ ft. Brandy and Pharrell off Snoop’s new Album ‘Malice in Wonderland’.
Back to the Melodic Hooks, Colorful Chord Progressions and classic Neptunes Beats. Back to Music with a Heart.
Time is yet to tell whether ‘The Renaissance’ led by the Neptunes is a light at the end of our musical tunnel or if this will unite the 03-04 Legends long enough to build an army strong enough to take on the lifeless robots controlling modern day Pop/Hip-Hop/RnB but ultimately it gives me hope.
I’m starting to dream about the ‘Good Old Days’ and I’m not old enough to accommodate these thoughts comfortably just yet.
I sat down at 1:37am thursday morning to write a song about someone who has been clouding my thoughts recently. Finding myself lost for words, i turned to jazz music to find a key to unlock my inspiration. I’ve never actually taken the time out to listen to jazz in moments when i am looking for artistic aid, especially in temperamental moments, when a million thoughts still can’t find their way though your pen and onto your pad.
I now find myself lost an infinite maze of passion, love, grace, humility, and absolute genius. Artist’s like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Louie Armstrong, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, have opened up a new door for me. A door to a magical world where emotions are so perfectly depicted by music and lyrics, a world where, on any particular day (sunny, preferably at the beach), i can find what makes me forget all life’s dramas – LOVE………..*sigh*
Next time you find yourself thinking about a certain someone, try listening to some Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald………let me know what you think : )
I must LOVE you and leave u….back to writing my song,
One of the most exciting things for me in life is finding (or being shown) new music from which i can draw musical influence!
This weekend saw the discovery of a few new tracks that i would like to share with u and also give a brief review.
It is no secret that here at Jaden, we are big fans of the production of Mr Ryan Leslie. My first discovery is a song titled “Get it right tonight” by an artist named Corey Gunz ft. Ryan Leslie. As always Leslie drops a simple yet PHAT beat, along with a hypnotizing synth hook (think it sounds a little like the one in Coolio’s “gangsta’s paradise” – musical coincidence?) which has my head bobbing throughout the whole track! Leslie is a master of keeping the right tracks simple and once again he has achieved another killer track while keeping this formula. This is the first time i hear any track by Corey Gunz and must say that i am a fan of his flow. Somewhat similar to that of lil wayne, but has his own vibe and as for lyrics, they’re on the money for this track.
The second discovery excites me for a few different reasons. The track is titled “Killer instincts” by Rick Ross and Produced by Cool and Dre.
The first reason this excites me is because my good friend’s band will be heading to Miami in a month to record their album with Cool and Dre. This dynamic producer duo have been recently producing their Hip Hop tracks with a lot of rock influence so i can’t wait to hear what else these guys will be coming up with.
Back to the track……It has a killer beat with a raw sounding live kit (as a drummer i love raaaaaaawwww sounding kits!), great vocal production, and one catchy ass vocal hook! Another track that has me bobbin my head and i’m loving the flow of Rick Ross’ verses.
Third track! – “Believe” By Q-Tip and D’Angelo! – I did find 2 versions of this track so check this 1;
Without even listening to the track i already had a feeling this would be an awesome track! Well, why wouldn’t you……Q-Tip and D’Angelo wouldn’t drop an ‘average’ track.
Once again……raawwww live kit, with a slight swing to make it sound as if its just ahead of the beat. LOVE IT! The key chords are amazing and the little guitar licks throughout the verse are sooooooo tasteful. Great lyrics, great production……and what can u say about D’Angelo’s performance?? well lets just say it’s what anyone would expect. – Smooth.
