Treasure Coast On the Making Of “daydreamer”
What was the creative process like for this particular song?
I was going down a serious, nostalgia trip of 90s shoegaze and alt-rock, which timed out with a recent purchase of a Jazzmaster. Something about playing in alternate tunings with the tremolo bar and some fuzz just unlocked the sounds of my 90s youth and the verse and chorus immediately flowed out of me. I then shared it with my bandmate/producing partner, Steve, who specializes in electronic music and production and without having to say anything, he immediately channeled the 90s trip-hop sounds of his youth. You can see that the common thread here is nostalgia for the music that inspired us during our formative years as young musicians.
Can you talk about the recording and production process for "daydreamer?"
Since Steve and I have been working in the music industry as producers for awhile, we both have home studios that we work out of. In this day and age, exchanging music, remotely, has become the norm. It started out with me tracking guitars, synths and giving the track a rough arrangement before I shared with Steve to add drums, bass and additional layers. The vocals came last as I wanted a clearer picture of the vibe of the song to help inspire the melody and lyrics. The song sat with us for a few years with continual tweaks to the mix and arrangement. We also shared it with our friends for their reactions. We knew it was done when there wasn’t anything to add any more.
How does "daydreamer" fit into your overall artistic vision?
“daydreamer” was the first song we wrote for this Treasure Coast project and it essentially set the tone sonically and thematically. We wanted to combine 90s shoegaze with 90s trip-hop in a way that felt seamless. That combo revealed an almost hallucinogenic-friendly aura and that’s what we hitched our proverbial trailer to as the template for this band and subsequent singles.
Where do you find inspiration for your songs or musical ideas?
In general, inspiration comes from other art forms. Film is a big one as Steve and I both work in the film/TV scoring industry. The concept of taking a single theme and expanding that across multiple pieces was the key concept for this Treasure Coast project, specifically.
What do you enjoy most about being a musician?
Creative and emotional expression are probably the best parts about being an artist and in our case, musicians. Both are those aren’t groundbreaking revelations though. However, something I don’t hear musicians talk about too often is the role that collaboration plays in one’s passion for making music. That exchange of ideas, which can be both verbal and instinctual, is a driving force. Steve and I have been collaborating and playing together since our first band, Benzos, dating back to the early aughts, so we’ve developed a creative shorthand over the years that is exciting.