The California Almond (Trash Lights Remix) is Out Now.
Hey! Welcome to HMP Records! How have you been?
Okay, I guess. Can you talk to us more about your process for remixing "The California Almond"? It was difficult deciding which parts to use. There were so many interesting ideas in the harmony, melody, and arrangement. It would have been easy to make three or four remixes. My goal was to put my own spin on the source material without making it unrecognizable. I used the horns and the background vocals. I added processing and re-sampled the whole song with just those elements. I chopped that up in a sampler. It started to come together with the horn sample you hear at the intro. It's a two beat loop with a really long release. Once I had some patterns sequenced, I added the drums and percussion. Those were samples and loops from many free or stock sources that I edited and manipulated to fit the song. The bass came after that. I wanted it to be simple but not boring. I played around until I discovered the bassline you hear for most of the song. If felt like something was missing still. Being a guitar player, it seemed like the obvious choice. I added a rythmic single note part and looped it. Anything too busy on guitar detracted from what was already happening so I kept that really simple. I arranged the sequeces and mixed it. Then recorded some automation and added transition effects. The last thing was the stutters and breakdowns. I recorded the automation for that then went back and fine tuned it a little. Listen to "THE CALIFORNIA ALMOND (TRASH LIGHTS REMIX) Did any sounds in particular inside the original track inspire you to decide to remix this song? Everything sounded great but the horns were what really got me excited. Sythns and VSTs have their place, but there is nothing like the real thing. Plus, these were well recorded, and thoughtfully written and arranged. Who are some of your musical influences? There is a long list that spans many genres. For this track, Madlib, J Dilla, Oh No are the ones that come through, maybe some Pete Rock. How was the creation process for you? The whole process took a long time. I had a few false starts and the deadline was approaching. I finally landed on that two-beat looped sample. That set the tone for everything else and it fell into place pretty fast from there. How have the experiences in the past year influenced you and your music? I went through periods of boundless creativity and not wanting to make music at all for the first time in my life since I picked up a guitar. It was a weird year. The discovery of the NFT space and it's community has been amazing though. I can't thank Ian Prebo enough for making me see why I should pay attention to it. Also, Vandal, Bone Police, Paul Crans, DAOrecord, NxM Guild, 404 family for their contiued support and friendship. Love you guys! What else is happening next in your world? A Bone Police remix, mixing and mastering a Maxwell Bruno x Dedeukwu collaboration for 404, some more ambient music hopefully What does the future hold for you, both in the immediate short term, and over the next year or so? Continuing to explore the new possibilities of Web 3 tech. Building strong communities that support things I believe in with people I admire. Collaborations with as many other artists as possible. Hopefully, not relying on live sound for income, doing more studio sessions, and making art. Where can we check out what you're up to and more of your music? https://linktr.ee/trashlights see also: https://twitter.com/nxmlive https://twitter.com/DAOrecords_ https://twitter.com/vandigital https://twitter.com/BonePolice https://twitter.com/CransPaul https://twitter.com/maxwellbrun0 https://twitter.com/_Dedeukwu