"Mad About U, What's it about?"
"Obsession"
"Um, not sure it feels like obsession to me"
"Um"
Ivor Guest (Grace Jones's producer) asked me this question when he was potentially producing Mad About U. He never got around to it, this proved to be a good thing.
Mad About U is a track I wrote and recorded as a demo many years ago although, for some reason, I decided not to put it on the In Time album. Then we started to perform the track 'live' and people always commented on it.
That 'question' made me think about what it means to produce a song as opposed to recording it - can you suitably encapsulate the meaning or invoke a feeling in the recording?
The starting point for producing the track was very different to the way I've recorded in the past - I asked Cassell 'the beatmaker' to produce it with me. I've worked with Cassell for many years on various projects spanning television, multimedia, kiddies album and Bassistry stuff and as a talented producer, bad boy drummer and great friend he is someone I felt extremely comfortable working with. Our approach was very much one of 'less is more', the natural fit of bass and beats formed a great foundation upon which we built stripped down music. We took our time and this style of production evolved into the template for the forthcoming tunes.
Videos and Animation
Mark Welland, of New Media Works, is my business partner and co-designer for our music software product, O-Generator. He has a wonderful way with visual elements and is a true artist with a real appreciation of music. I asked him if he would produce a few videos for these new tracks - no budget, just simple ideas - and he agreed. In many ways the videos help define the tone of the next Bassistry incarnation, I hope you like what we've done...
