Back in April Converse collaborated with J’Something on a new music project for their awesome #CreateAtHome Campaign. This project merged music, creativity, and the innovation of sound by offering aspiring artists, musicians, producers, singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists a rare opportunity to collaborate with J’Something on an actual song.
By mid-May, two respective artists were selected out of a pool of over 1000 entries and those two chosen winners were S’phiwe Moya (@umzulu_phaqa) and Aidan Jon Fraser (@aidanfrasermusic). Both were selected because of their unique factors: S’phiwe Moya’s flow, energy, and her ability to bring lyrics across and Aidan Jon Fraser’s unforgettable tone and character.
“I wanted to plug into my favourite creative output, which is music, and I partnered with Converse to create an opportunity that will inspire individuals to push creativity within the music avenue. The long-standing relationship that I have with the brand laid the foundation for the project. I felt that the concept was brand-aligned, the timing was right and honestly, I just love Converse.” – J’Something says about the importance of this campaign, its timing and having it aligned with the brand
The combination of the three then resulted in the final song called ‘Wish You Were Here’ showing off a range of diversity and versatility in music. The inspiration behind ‘Wish You Were Here’ is said to have relied on the selected artists as well as the current lockdown situation. The production process is further said to have been incredibly fulfilling for all three artists including J’Something who co-produced and Jay Em who edited each artist’s part that was sent via voice note! That’s crazy…
And with that said we got access and to a young Q & A with J’Something that found him talking about the experience behind the ‘Wish You Were Here’, the song’s production process, and the future of creating music more like this in the forever changing world:
What has the experience behind putting a song together without being in a studio been like?
It has been an absolute rush and I am super proud of what we have been able to create. Both artists that won recorded their parts on their phones through voice notes which I then had to manipulate with Jay Em (@wearejayem) in studio to get it sounding amazing, which it does. The experience itself of having a virtual WhatsApp studio was incredible. Sending parts to and from one another is very new age and interesting.
How did you achieve a natural flow and harmony in the song production?
I think that the flow and energy between Jay Em -who co-produced the track- and I has always been a highlight for me and why it makes us so unstoppable in music. We have a natural flow and luckily there has been a beautiful synergy throughout this project. I think what was important was for us to sonically and musically bring across a song that is lighthearted with an undertone of pop and that is relevant.
Will this music production process change the way in which music is produced in the future?
I saw a few process similarities before lockdown with regards to virtual music production and it is one of the coolest things about being an artist. You could work with someone in Europe via Skype and get a song done. I do think that it’s creating awareness among artists in that they need to be creative in producing content anywhere regardless of borders because we truly don’t have any when it comes to music.
“The exposure has been great with people commenting on my social media pages and mentioning that we should collaborate. I am so grateful for the exposure and I am excited to move forward as a solo artist and having an opportunity to jumpstart my career.” – S’phiwe Moya
“I remember thinking “If I enter, what are the chances that I will I even win?” I have been singing since I was young and the fact that this is happening is quite awe-inspiring. When I found out I won, it almost felt like peace and solidified the belief that you can follow your dream but you have to be patient.” – Aidan Jon Fraser
“The opportunity to make music with these artists and produce this experience in its entirety has been a highlight for me and I hope that the song will make people smile.” – J’Something
Listen to ‘Wish You Were Here’ below:
https://soundcloud.com/iamjsomething/wish-you-were-here