A Musical First

Beatwashing is a concept album like no other. Twenty-One Chill Hop tracks seamlessly flow from one to another, like a DJ mix. However, Volume One is all the more impressive because each track progresses up the chord scale from A Major to G Minor.

As far as I’m aware, this progression through the chords has never been done before, making this a musical first.

The chord progression idea came first, and Chill Hop felt like the perfect genre for this experiment because it is a sonic catchall that encompasses elements of Hip Hop, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Electronica, Ambient and many more.

I used software called Scaler 2 to organise samples and work out the notes and chord progressions. And with a combination of Native Instrument’s soft synths and colossal library of Maschine drum sounds, I set about producing the album.

My ambition was to produce an album that one could listen to while working on something else. Therefore, it needed space to enable the listener to focus but have sufficient movement and energy, so they didn’t feel the need to skip or search for the next song.

Forty-five minutes felt about the right length of time. It was about as long as I could sit still and do a single task. However, once I started, I soon realised that the run time per track would be about three and a half minutes if you had fourteen tracks. The problem was this felt too long, so I decided I’d add seven more tracks so to reduce the average playtime per track to just over two minutes. Hence why the progression is A Major, A, A Minor rather than A Major to A Minor.

Because I wanted the album to flow seamlessly and feel connected, I decided all the tracks should be produced in one huge Ableton composition. This was a mammoth challenge as the composition eventually contained over seventy channels. Each with its own custom effects and EQ settings. As you can imagine, the primary obstacle to overcome was processing power.

As it turns out, my eight-core MacBook wasn't powerful enough to manage the task. Within minutes of loading the composition it would overheat, and I’d be forced to shut it down to let it cool off. Eventually, I worked out switching on the soft synths and effects just before they were needed. Then, turning them off immediately after they finished enabled me to get through the recording in a single take without melting my mac.

The idea to call the project Beatwashing was plucked unconsciously from that ethereal place where were derive inspiration. I’d like to believe this inspiration zone is proof we’re all connected to some galactic consciousness. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover the exact same idea had manifested on the other side of the planet or in a galaxy far, far away.

Once I had the name, the concept for the cover art came naturally. The care label is familiar but has never been used in this way before. It grabs one’s attention, and I believe this playful design gives the Beatwashing brand a strong visual identity.

Time will tell if I decide to produce another Beatwashing Album. Maybe I’ll rinse and repeat, using the blueprint I laid down in Volume One. Or I may pluck some entirely new idea from the inspiration zone. Who knows what the future holds?

The next project under the name of Spectrum City will be a Chill Hop Dub Reggae fusion project called Peoples Sound. This album features many of the tricks learnt during the production of Beatwashing. It features sounds and textures commonly heard in Jamaican music but with a few surprises and tricks.