Minus32Heartbeat On the Making Of “Dreams”
Can you share any interesting or unique stories or perspectives in "Dreams?"
I think the most interesting thing about this recording is that most people wouldn't guess that I'd cover a song by The Cranberries. But I'm a fan of their music and the simplicity of emotion you can extract from a lot of their lyrics. For all intents and purposes, I've always thought of “Dreams” as a love song, and I sort of took that and tried to refract it through a different lens. Dolores was singing about a lover, and I'm singing this to my newborn son. He's changed my life in so many obvious and subtle ways, and I wanted to express that in recording this song.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for "Dreams?"
Everything started with that sort of scratchy FM pad that you hear at the beginning. I found this sound and knew I wanted to do something with it, but I had a hard time coming up with a chord progression, or lyrics for that matter. I'd just finished writing a slew of songs and I think I was suffering a bit of a block. So I went for a few walks and rode the subways and went about my days and evenings. One night, “Dreams” came on my headphones and I had this sort of Eureka moment where I thought, "I wonder what I could do with this song and that synth sound?" I came home, played the chords with it, found that underwater rhythmic pulse, and the entire recording came together in an evening. Most everything was done in the box except the guitars. I really wanted that shrieking, sustained feedback to hit, so I had to wait until I had the apartment to myself and could really crank the amp up.
What did you enjoy most about making "Dreams?"
It was definitely a practice in minimalism for me. Most of the music I've made in the past, and a lot of the music I listen to, is very dense and layered. A dozen guitar tracks, big drums, harmony vocals - all of those things have been a bit of a hallmark for my music in the past. This was a nice departure from that and sort of served as a fulfilling challenge.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
I'm a child of the 80s and 90s, and there were so many bands, guitarists and songwriters that I idolized as a child. Aerosmith, The Cure, Pearl Jam, and Oasis - I played those bands to death in my bedroom. And I used to practice guitar for three to four hours each day, running scales and copying solos by Joe Perry and Jimmy Page and Slash. It was just an amazing way to escape into my own head for a while and I never really lost the thrill of those emotions I got from making music. Then I wrote my first song, which was awful. And I wrote 20 or 30 more which were less awful. And then I wrote one that I thought was kinda good. And I've just never stopped.
Are there any upcoming projects or releases that you're particularly excited about?
I have a full-length album coming out this year. The tracking's finished so now we're just mixing and getting things lined up for the release which will hopefully be in the fall. It's all original music, including some songs I wrote back when I was in The GoStation but they've all been augmented through this new palette of instrumentation I'm using now.