HALF OF THE AUSTRALIAN DUO Random Soul (they do a little show for us – new episode coming next week!), Husky is a man of many talents. In addition to Random Soul Recordings, he also runs Bobbin Head Music and releases side projects along the way. Like this.
“We Rise Together” is a new track from Husky in collaboration with Dave Mayer and vocalist Erin Marshall. Released on Nervous’ sublabel Nurvous Records on Tuesday, it was hard to ignore with that addictive little groove. We asked Husky about the making of the track with Dave and Erin – a cross-continental endeavor if there ever was one – in today’s Listening Room interview:
So are you, Dave and Erin all in the same area?
Sadly, No! Otherwise im sure you’d see a lot more collab’s coming from us all!
Dave is based in Amsterdam (at the moment – he might be moving to Dubai soon) and Erin was based in Sydney but has now relocated to LA. And I am currently in Sydney, but may be moving between Sydney and Singapore over the next few years. Truly a global connection, haha…
How do you make music — as in, what’s your workflow like — when you’re working so remote from each other?
We generally work on the track idea first, and this one we actually started in Amsterdam when I was touring up there in 2014. So it’s been a slow burner.
The drums come first, bass/keys to give you a melody and vibe and then the rest usually slot’s in around that.
I think we actually hunted for a sample vocal for this original for a while, but just didnt find the right fit. However, I was in the process of working on my album (I have three vocals with Erin on my album which is coming out later this year) I thought, hey, this track would really suit Erin’s sound, let’s send it to her. We all then bounced around some basic lyric ideas and then Erin worked her magic and laid down a solid vocal which I edited and cut together in my studio here.
Then Dave was touring here in 2015 and we finished it off on the original, and I went to work on my more deeper/club focused “Bobbin Head” mix.
Who came up with the original idea for it and where did it come from?
Dave and I had been playing a lot of “beach club” vibe gigs and poolside sets and were loving tracks that had a hip disco groove and some soulful piano chords with looped out vocals, so we went to town with the piano loop as the start, then built the rest around it. Vocal-wise, most of that credit goes to Erin, she’s a great writer and expert at layering harmonies and hearing alternate melodies and layers.
You have your own labels and yet this one is on Nurvous. I saw you instagram the contract. Why?
Good observation. To be honest, the aim for me is always to get a record to the best possible label for that particular time. Even though I have my own labels (Random Soul Recordings & Bobbin Head Music) I am also aware that some bigger and more experienced labels will be able to get the record to the right people a little better than I can.
Nurvous has been around for a long time, and I know they have efficient distribution channels, great support from DJs and a quality back catalogue of interesting artists and releases. This is a great combination and could also connect their fan’s to us as artists and help expand our profile beyond my own labels existing reach.
Music is the best marketing tool we have now, it’s the one thing that can separate us, as people’s DJing skills sadly appear to be less important in the current climate. Which is cool, we always need to adapt and overcome obstacles, and that’s what help’s to make us even better as artists. So from time to time, you’ll see my/our names popping up on numerous other labels, I hope!
We Rise Together was released on Tuesday exclusively from Beatport.
