Artist Research
NewFoundJungle and I decided to do some research on 'Her' who is a R&B/Soul Artist, we are both inspired by her work, she has her own unique take on soul R&B, we also love how poetic her writing is and how genuine she is within her writing and how she ended up being that girl that got her heart broken and how she is 'H.E.R' and she actually quotes that in a recent interview which I will copy in down below. She uses distinct electronic drum beats that stand out from the rest of trap/electronic music today, and her uses of instrumentation is just so inspiring; for example in her song 'Focus' she uses a Harp which is on a loop throughout the song which I think is just completely unique as you normally wouldn't hear a harp used in popular music today.
H.E.R stands for 'Having Everything Revealed and in this interview she talks about how she has been doing music nearly all her life and knew it was what she wanted to have a career doing. she was signed at 14 years old but this was a very sensitive age and at that time she hadn't found herself yet, She was "Going through the changes and becoming a young woman" (which I quote) and feeling insecure.
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H.E.R was always really inspired by Poetry and has been writing poetry from a young age, she now interprets her poetry into her lyric writing. As a result from being around music all her life she plays guitar, keys, bass, and drums; this also really benefits her songwriting.
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personal analysis- As I watched this Interview I felt more and more like I could relate to H.E.R, when she started to talk about her insecurities as a teenager and how she interprets that into her music, that really affected me because that is how I wrote my song 'Breathe'- its about the mental health of being a teenager and the anxiety and insecurity it brings to one. I was also very surprised to hear that she inspires her lyric writing from poetry which is exactly what I've found myself doing, as poetry has a special place in my heart and I really connect to it
H.E.R's career reached a milestone in December when it was announced that she was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards (along with four other nominations, including Album of the Year, NBD). She just won Best R&B album and was completely well deserved as I am completely obsessed with this album and have taken so much inspiration from it as an artist. I will copy in below my top 3 favourite songs from the album ( which was really hard to narrow down to )
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1- Facts
I am completely in love with the production of this song, I could listen to this song for hours (which I do) this is just such a stunning song; no cursing, sexual overtones. Just goes to show that an artist can put out quality music without commercialising themselves or degrading the opposite sex.
2- Pigment
This song is a complete work of art. The lyrics are so deep, meaningful and poetic.
I was completely blown away while first listening to this at three particular parts:
1)"Because it's clear I'm getting bigger I know you visualize my figure I was the one that made you look At your old girl and reconsider"
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2)"Secretly I'm anxious, 'cause the thirst never been mutual It's unusual That someone like you thinks I'm beautiful It's beautiful, yeah What we had was beautiful"
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3)"It wasn't worth all the heartache It wasn't worth all of the pleasure 'Cause you we're once a diamond He made you feel like buried treasure"
These lyrics are so real, we have all had these thoughts or at least thoughts really similar to theses and it's something that everybody can connect and relate to in their own way. I am completely in love with the use of metaphors in this song.
3- Avenue
I love how the vocals are layered in this song. I think the use of delay is really clever and I love how the song builds for the start of the verses then climaxes in its own way in the chorus.
I think the layered piano and synth is really effective.
I also love the vocal transformer that is mixed quietly under the Vox it makes the vocals sound more whole.
Stevie Wonder
I have decided to do some reasearch on Stevie Wonder as I feel that he really inspires me as a songwriter but also an artist in development. His music is so inspiring and fascinating as he entwines the genres of Soul, Jazz, R&B and Neo soul together, I think he is the perfect example of a musical genius and he is properly one of the biggest reason why I love soul and jazz music. I also believe he is a massive inspiration to the contemporary music of today.
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Stevie Wonder's songs have been sampled by artists such as Jon Gibson,Red Hot Chilli Peppers,Mary J Blige and several other artists that were and are inspired by Him. Stevie Wonder will forever be known as a pioneer in music a philanthropist, and a messenger of peace addressing controversies in music which very few artists did at that time.
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1972- Stevie Wonder had just launched one of the most extraordinary outbursts of creativity in popular music history a Album unsurpassed both in terms of the level of artistic achievement and the widespread popular acclaim.Before long, his music would be heard in every corner of the globe, forever changing the way pop music was written and played.
Living for City - Stevie Wonder
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The interesting thing about "Living For The City" is that it's really just 12 bar blues, but the addition of an instrumental interlude and 2 additional sections make you think you're listening to a different song form. This is the genius of the song and I think its really what makes the song. The form looks like this:
Verse, Verse, Interlude, Verse, Verse, Interlude, Chorus, Interlude, Bridge, Verse, Verse, Interlude, Interlude, Interlude, Ending
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As you can see its not a structure that is typical in most songs and I think that is part of Stevie Wonder style as a few of his other songs also share an irregular structure.
Like most hit songs, this one develops and builds as it goes along. The first verse is fairly sparse with only the vocal, stereo Rhodes electric piano, and synth bass. The drums then enter in the second verse and the lead line synth during the first interlude, which is doubled with a vocal for effect. On the next verse, the bass begins to vary from it's original line, then the synth fills enter on the next verse. On the second interlude, the synth lines are doubled.
In the verse after the bridge, the drums are much more active with fills, which creates a different dynamic. The vocal varies from the original melody and harmonies enter at the end of the line. there is then an extended drum fill. The outo interludes have a lot more movement from all the instruments as well as vocal harmonies and backing vocals and Steve melismas over the top.
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Personal Analysis- This song has a really warm place in my heart because my parents used to play it all the time as a kid and I would sing along. I personally love the structure simply because its different and I have taken that not for my song 'Breath' its good to be different some times and experiment with different structures. I also love how the interlude almost feels like its a completely different song but stays In the same rhythm and really works.
Don't you worry 'Bout a thing- Stevie Wonder
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I am completely obsessed with this song. I love its use of percussion and its uses of polyrhythms.
The song is latin inspired with massive elements of soul and jazz and shows in the chord sequence and use of gliding chords.
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The song hit Number 2 on the R&B charts when it came out.
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Todays R&B features a quite distinctive production style which include electronic drum-backed rhythms, pitch correctors, and vocals transformers, and a smooth, lush style of vocal arrangement all this making the track sound squeaky-clean.
Electronic influences are becoming an increasing trend and the use of hip hop or dance inspired beats are typical. It is becoming more normal to replace a drum kit (live) with a sound pad.
Contemporary R&B vocalists are often known for their use of melisma, popularised by vocalists such as Micheal Jackson, R.Kelly, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and MariahCarey.
Snoh Aalegra
Snoh Aalegra is rising artist who is bringing something new to the world of music and to the of soul R&B and creating her own genre of ‘Romantic Soul’ as she calls it. She is one of my biggest inspirations at the moment with her raw and angelic vocal.
'Time' is probably my favourite song from the album. For me this song holds the most emotion in the album.
Snoh says -“It’s actually inspired by the loss of my father. I lost my dad in 2009 and on my album Feels, it’s about all different feels. I’m touching on all subjects in my life when it comes to love, life and everything, and that was something I wanted to write about.
For me I hear the lyrics in a different way and that is why I decided to start covering this song when I perform.
I personally enjoy covering a song I have a personal connect to, were I really feel the lyrics.
Below will be my cover of 'Time'
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Snoh Aalegras album 'FEELS' is probably one of my favourite Album of all time. Each song holds a different place in my heart as I feel ( no pun intended) that I have a connection to each song.
The sensation of drowning in Snohs feelings when you listen to her music is an intense unqiue experience that sort of takes your mind elsewhere for a few minutes before all the pain seeps in.
She pours so much of herself into these soulful songs and it makes you feel as if you're going through the experiences with her.
The way Snoh writes is so inspiring to me, she says “I think with my heart, I feel before I think so I take decisions based off of what I feel in my heart and it’s not so smart.” I can relate to this so much because when I write I tend to feel an emotion before I can write it down in words.
To the left is my cover if 'Time'
I performed this as part if The Brighton Festival at the Dome cafe bar.
'Time' is one of my favourite songs to cover because I connect to it so much and it gets me in the zone.
I also feel that the song shows elements of what my voice can do.
This is my favourite Snoh Aalegra interview. She talks about how her music reflects her personality and how exposed it makes her feel.
She was signed at 14 years old and is inspired by artists with big voices like Mariah Kelly, Whitney Houston, Micheal Jackson and Stevie Wonder. It is amazing to see that the artists I aspire to have the same musical influence as me.
Snoh also talks about how much she loves cinematic much and how she grew up listening to it and that completely reflects in her Albums.
