Riffing

A brief hypefactor update: I spent the past two days writing choruses and tracking guitars for two hype songs, although I cannot tell you which ones because I haven't a clue about song titles yet. I can say with certainty that one of them is not the track mentioned earlier by F.J.: "They've Just" ("They've just... what?" I ask.) I have a feeling that one may be rejected, or removed and used as a new track in its own right, but we shall see this weekend.

One element of the new recordings that diverges wildly from "The Distracted Lover" is the amount of production and layering going on in the songs, especially in terms of the live instruments. For one track - a slower, funkier number with a brooding verse - I layered seven tracks of guitar on the chorus alone, from acoustics to 12-strings to a harmonized six string. This practice, while complex, thickens up the sound, adds texture with multiple instruments and incorporates new melodies into an otherwise straightforward riff.

After I write the basic tune for a track, I put on a pair of headphones and listen to the song on repeat, searching for gaps in the part that can be filled in with new melodies and riffs. The listener will rarely be able to pick out an individual part when listening to the completed track, but each contributes to the melody, however subtley.

I am in the middle of writing a retrospective of "The Distracted Lover" recording sessions for the hypefactor Web site, much of it focusing on the creative process and the progression of each song. To jog my memory, I listened to the record on repeat while writing, and I am amazed at times by the sonic simplicity of the entire EP, both to its benefit and detriment. During the 2001 sessions - my first major undertaking as an engineer and songwriter - we rarely multitracked any individual instrument more than twice. While this was not a conscious choice (and more a product of our own inexperience), it ultimately complimented the song structures, which were simplistic to begin with. This time around, however, everyone in the hype gang is striving for something less obvious: melodies up front, but bolstered by highly experimental production. Sound design in particular has become a major part of the process, with F.J. leading the charge.

While I am on the subject of musical sophistication, I have a few words about Gustavo Cerati. First, this is a man whose production values have grown exponentially throughout his career, and never once at the expense of solid songwriting. If you listen to his most recent solo work - "Siempre Es Hoy" and "Bocanada" - you will understand what I mean. The songs have infinite sonic depth, layering part upon part upon part, and always to the benefit of the basic melody. Were there a Frederick Law Olmstead of music, Cerati would be it; his simple, engaging songs rarely belie the great technical sophistication behind their creation.

While watching Cerati live at Webster Hall on Wednesday night, I was amazed that his band - two keyboardists, a female singer, a bassist and a drummer - succeeded in replicating a great deal of that complex production live. Every effort was made to properly play the album live while also adding new sounds and melodies. The moody "Bocanada" material was notably elegant as Cerati and band completely recast those tracks in a rock framework. I cannot wait for the bootlegs of this tour. Viva!