• Digital Track

  Streaming + Download

  I have been incredibly inspired by Glee lately. It's one of my favorite TV series of all time. When I initially thought of this track, it's purpose was to serve as a personal song I'd keep only to myself. I then realized that I wanted to take a more boundless direction with it's sound. I love songs that require alot of vocal prominence, especially those which come from musicals. So I watered my idea down to a musical balled. Beirut, who are one of my favorite musicians, had many instrumentals I could work with. But I narrowed it down to one song called, "Fountains and Tramways" off their "Pompeii" EP. Once I decided to work with this song, I removed the vocals of the track using Adobe Audition and looped various parts of the song to piece together some pretty solid background music.
  
  Soon after I made my mind up on the idea, while browsing through my friend Carina Avila's countless awesome blog entries alivaanirac.tumblr.com. I came across a group of a children in a chorus called, "The PS22 Chorus" doing a cover of Phoenix's "Lisztomania." www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZ1zV1l2KQ I was so inspired by the sound of their voices that I structured the melody and lyrics around their voices in my head, as if I was writing a song specifically for them. I ran the idea to my best friend BreOnna and she was immediately in love with the song and encouraged its completion enthusiastically. I tried to imitate the sound of a children's chorus with my own voice during the first sessions of recording, needless to say I failed horribly. 8 layered versions of my own voice could not replicate the beauty of a rich children's chorus, even after pitch corrections.
  
  Once my plan backfired, I got real pessimistic about completing the song, but I didn't. Instead I heard the original song by Phoenix www.youtube.com/watch?v=mycNvDcyjEA and did a 180. The lyrics and the melody remained, and I kept all but one of the 8 voices I layered on the song. Yep, I nervously let my bare vocal abilities come out. I figured, there are many indie singers out there, who can't necessarily sing, but coupled with the right production, can create beautiful songs. I felt like this was one of those moments. After I finished, I was very uneasy about how it turned out. I kept the chorus for the last part of the song, but wasn't really sure if I nailed it or not. I let BreOnna here the final version and she felt the same way I did, but she said it was because she had a misleading idea of what the song would sound like. She believed I sung too painfully (which I did) and I could have pulled back with a softer delivery. I then gave her a copy of it and stashed it away, deeming it a failure.
  
  She returns to me about 2 weeks later and gives the track a few more listens and says that it has grown on her. I was skeptical of whether I should believe her, but it's play count on her phone is pretty high. So I ruled out her pity charity and decided maybe it'll grow on some other people. I posted it on my blog for a test run and got no responses, but here it is on my official music page for all to listen and give critical feedback. Remember to like this on your Facebook profile if you're a fan and refer to my email for any questions and/or comments at jephbarthold@gmail.com. Thanks for reading! ... more
  Purchasable with gift card

  Free Download 

about

lyrics

credits

license