“when the light of day is laying shadows on the ground”
One of the advantages of a project like this is that I can take risks I might not take if I were making an album proper. The 2011 project featured experiments like the Great American Songbook influenced ‘The Last Dance’, or the one-microphone country-infused ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’. It’s a freedom I might not have if I were concerned with continuity, tracking-order, or making a singular statement as one would when creating an album. This month’s song takes advantage of those liberties.
‘(I’ll Be) Waiting For You’ is my first foray into creating an electronic synthpop piece. It’s a genre I enjoy listening to and something I’ve wanted to try my hand at for some time. Elements of the genre have made their way into many of the songs on this year’s project already through my use of synthesizers, drum loops, and ambient soundscapes, but this is the most obvious example yet.
The idea for this song came early in the month, and was the first time I actually did pre-production by creating a one-minute demo to make sure the idea I had was something I could actually create. The piece was born from playing around with a new guitar effects pedal I purchased that allowed me to create harmonies and pitch shift them. The pedal played well with my acoustic guitar and the sound worked well for the idea I had. The riff that the song is based around persisted and I decided to lay it down over some rhythms I created with my Roland R-5 drum machine, and a hand-clap sample borrowed from a TR-808. I played some padded strings and a broken, glitchy synth part to support the melody and bring out some more aspects of the genre. I added some melodica to provide a more organic feel and then split the lead lines between a piano and another, more aggressive, synth patch. My long-time pal Chuck Teed layed down a funky bassline that I think suits the piece perfectly.
The vocal melody came relatively early in the process but presented its own challenge, as the short lines and repetitive nature did not lend itself well to long metaphors and consequently, the lyrics were the hardest part of writing this song for me. I stuck with a tried-and-true subject matter and did my best to avoid being overly cliche with the words. I’m pleased with the results.
As always, this song was mixed by Sean Boyer at his home studio (after a long shift and while fighting off a cold no less).
So without further delay, I present to you….
( I’ll Be) Waiting For You
(to download, right click and select “save as”)
My sincerest gratitude to Chuck Teed for lending his talent.
Note: This song is also available in both .WAV and FLAC formats. If you’d like a copy in either format, please write to clintoncca@gmail.com