Just because a song may be sad or nostalgic for me, it may make someone else incredibly happy.
Music affects all of us differently and that's what I love about it. I want people to listen to it when they are happy, sad, in love, nostalgic, partying, skating, or anything in between.
Most of all I just want people to enjoy it and vibe to it with friends. I don't know what the overall mood of the project is. The album cover is a drawing by Suehiro Maruo that I edited, and thought it reflected the album nicely. And of course other things inspired this album: anime (Akame ga Kill, Deadman Wonderland, W Dimension), Japan, lofi hip hop (bsd.u, swum, lord apex), nujabes, knxwledge, J Dilla, Flying Lotus, Dev Hynes, The Life of Pablo by Kanye West, Rodeo by Travis Scott, 90's/2000's R&B (Joe, Donnell Jones, Floetry, Goapele), Motown (Brass Construction, The Manhattans), jazz (Robert Glasper, John Coltrane, Ramsey Lewis, Pharaoh Sanders), Janet Jackson, Ten City, Jodeci, Yuji Ohno, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jean Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Suehiro Maruo, and hundreds of other things that have filtered their way into my music one way or the other. The want to be famous and recognized (to a certain degree). The want to be listened to on commutes to work or to be listened to at parties. The loneliness of not being loved by someone. And what I've felt these past few months: the fear of not getting a job, the guilt I feel for basically failing my parents after they paid for my education, the want to let go and just pursue music instead of getting a legitimate job in anything not music related. There are no standards I have to live up to except for the ones that I create for myself.įor now, it's just me. I still control my soundcloud and twitter. Streaming services, unwanted third party influence, PR reps, promoters, agents. There are no middle men yet, or advertisements. I hope the tone and visual aesthetics of the project convey some of the raw emotion that went into making it. As an unsigned artist making music in my bedroom, I have a rare opportunity to directly connect with listeners. I think it's hard for an artist to directly connect to listeners because there is a lot of bureaucracy in music, blocking the personal process and removing the 'human' element. One that directly connected me to the listener. The album is a culmination of how I felt at the time, or how I've felt for a while. I officially started this project in the summer before my senior year in college. I also believe one must fake it 'till you make it.
#Goapele closer sample pdf#
It's just been a long time coming and I always appreciated learning more about my favorite producers' work flow and inspiration via the pdf pamphlets that came with the project. I hope it doesn't come across as egotistical or delusional, or that I think it's perfect or anything. I don't like to write sappy things but if Take Care-era Drake taught me anything, it's worth giving an album a backstory and thanking those who helped you make it. To everyone who was ever in the lab, really. To Cole, Jake, and Mike thanks for giving me the confidence to continue by rapping on my shitty beats. I spent hours in that beat lab in the storage closet in the music wing. It's been in the making officially for 7 months, unofficially since I was 16.
#Goapele closer sample full#
First full length solo instrumental/beat album.