Me & Melancholy On the Making Of ‘Under Cover, Part 2’
What was the creative process like for this particular album?
This differs from my ordinary process for an album, not only because it’s only covers, but the timeframe was also a lot longer. I think I’ve worked with some songs for 2 or 3 years. This has been more of a side-project that I returned to from time to time. But during June and July, I worked pretty intensely with the tracks more like the ”normal” process.
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in 'Under Cover, Part 2?'
I have tried a new AI tool for adding background vocals. Basically it copies the input vocal and you can choose another voice. You still have to produce the harmony/background vocal and it has to be good quality on the input otherwise the output will not be so good. Anyhow, using that you can quickly produce these background vocals without having to bring in some other person to sing them.
Can you talk about any standout tracks on the album and what makes them special to you?
It’s hard to pick a few tracks as every one means something special to me. I could talk about what track I am most happy with right now(that will probably change next week). I actually like “This Modern Love” most right now. I really like the end-result and the sound of that track. This track has also changed very much, compared to the first version of it. Then I like “the sun and the rainfall” too. This one has also been through many changes. The first version was in another key and sounded completely different and I changed the key very late in the process so there was much work on rearranging that. Finally I love Zeyneb’s vocals on “3e Sexe” and it was nice to work with someone else’s voice for a change.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
I don’t work with music fulltime even though I would love to do that. So I actually work with music just because I love to do that. I don’t have to make money on music for my daily bread and that is good because I would probably not survive with the music income alone. One positive aspect of not depending on music revenues is that I don’t have to make decisions in a way that goes against what I like to make a more commercial style etc.
The music industry is constantly evolving. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest production trends and technologies?
I try to keep an eye on news related to production techniques and plugins and I like to experiment and try new stuff. I have really no problem with new AI tools that improve and get my process faster. But ”magic tools” that generate complete songs and lyrics or even just beats and melodies are nothing I want to use. It’s fun to see what these tools are capable of but this kills the whole purpose of creating music.