I woke up with the bass line for "Money" in my head this summer, and it developed from there. I totally abandoned "Summer Day" momentarily! 😄 The way the vibe hit me on "Money"; I knew I needed to switch gears. "Summer Day" is still coming out, and it's planned for two releases away. "Not Very Far Now" is next.
"Money"Â has three-part viola section and string bass section played on the keyboard with EW Hollywood Strings keyswitch patches. I actually have the zones set on my keyboard so I can play them all at once. Sounds really good; super hard for the computer to run it though. The piano and guitar are doing their usual, playing back and forth or playing the same thing. It's a new format you'll see on these upcoming songs. They were written from a combination of the two, and I can play them on either one. It's like they are fused together in a way.
The drums are cool! I went to lengths to get it tight like that, from sample selection to mixing techniques. "Money"Â also has concert snare, which is the one you would see with the orchestra usually. It's in the middle part, the bridge. The key does modulate there; it's true. And it comes back! It's wild how similar that is to classical form, but it's definitely alternative music of some sort ... I think? I don't even know, to be honest. It just makes sense.
I have been working hard to get my vocals up and running like this. I decided to bring my tube mic out of retirement since it sounds smoother. I am using a combination of Melodyne and Auto-Tune. These tools make life easier and help get the creativity from my mind into the recording.
Lastly, let's not forget about the graphic design. I blended money into the marble background which gives it a classy green marble look, but it's money if you look closer. Violins on either side. "Money" is in my new glass layer style with a clipping mask of money. The shadow is cast farther over the money-marble than over the violins, to give it depth. Gold leafing is clipped behind "E Stew" and is beveled in a way to shine like real gold.
