Hyper Clash On the Making Of “RUN BOY RUN”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
What is your songwriting process like? How do you usually start crafting a new song?
“RUN BOY RUN”
The inspiration came from an incident that occurred a few streets down from me, I live in Hollywood a quiet leafy suburb on the very edge of Birmingham UK...a city Synonyms with inner-city street gangs from the historic Peaky Blinders to the modern-day Burger Bar Boys... so it wasn't that far a leap to write “Run Boy Run,” especially after the attempted shooting of a witness who was in a safe house round the corner from me... what was quite unbelievably about this occurrence was whoever this witness was, he was allowed to drive around in a lime green Lamborghini which stood out like a cockroach on a wedding cake... it was quite simply the definition of stupid!
STAGE 1: There is only me so I always start with a rough jam, get it down quickly with a few rough demos... & then refine and refine again...then stand back a few days or weeks and rework again. The inspiration for “RUN BOY RUN” was the lyrics. I will always throw down a basic acoustic track first, bass guitar, piano and a simple looped drum kit to hold the tempo. I will always create a simple structure so that later on I can build upon it. I always record rough demos so I can listen with fresh ears over the following weeks and months, from work, in the car, basically anywhere I can take time to listen with fresh ears.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for "RUN BOY RUN?"
STAGE 2: THE PRODUCTION:
I have a small loft studio at home with samplers, synth racks, keyboards, guitars and basic drums. Once I have the structure, I will rework all the tracks starting with the vocals and creating all the backing vocals. I will often double up tracks to have multiple instruments that I chop and change until I find the ones that cut through, I often land up with 90 + tracks but will cut this down as I progress. The track gradually transformed through re-write after re-write... I used to feel uncomfortable that I let so many influences soak into my tracks but I gave up trying to fit into any one genre as I am completely incapable of sticking to the script, I am always drifting between styles so it's no surprise that they often overlap. 1: Indie Electro Fusion: Retro blending Rock, Punk, Funk pop, and Reggae.
2: Indie Electro: With a bias towards drum and bass, dance & pop
Can you recall a creative challenge that pushed your boundaries and led to a rewarding outcome?
STAGE 3: MIX & MASTERING.
This section was probably the hardest lesson I had to learn... about a year ago I got feedback saying I like your track but it's just a rough demo you need to get into a studio...I tried a studio but I soon realized I was not happy with the sound or mix... So I spent 6 months learning about mixing and mastering and then in the last 6 months I remixed and mastered all my tracks again for my debut album 'Grit In My Soul'...For me, this was the only way I could create depth and power into my tracks and while it was a painful journey it helped me realize the critical importance of this process to breathe life into my work... It's not for the faint-hearted!
What impact do you hope "RUN BOY RUN" will have on your audience?
I can only write about what inspires me, what moves me emotionally or what makes me smile... So all I can hope for is people connected emotionally, nostalgically or simply just enjoy the energy & vibe.