I wasn't wasting time - I was creating it!

First and foremost, HAPPY NEW YEAR folks!

As a new years gift to all my faithful readers I offer my latest creation - my 2nd complete track entitled Waste of Time!



This song, I admit, has been a pain in my ass since it was first created. Considering I came up with the first draft back in 2005, if I was being literal, I would no longer have been able to sit down during it's final stages!

It all started out with me playing with a plug-in called Stylus. I found an awesome beat that I automatically wanted to include a catchy bass-line and trumpets with as the hook. Unfortunately, not many people shared my enthusiasm at that point and ,as you continue reading, you'll find out that they didn't approve for a long long time.

Oh, before I continue, you really need to know something about my work ethic - I NEVER waste a creation. I rather put in further elbow grease to allow it to evolve rather than to simply throw it away. Ok moving on...

In most cases, my songs go through just a couple of evolutions (or versions if that's less confusing for ya) before it becomes the final product. THIS song however, went through so many that I've lost count!

The file was first called 'Funky Beat' (no lyric at that point so I could only identify it with what it was!) and once a melody came on board it was then titled Too Much. The theme of the song remained the same throughout (about an extremely possessive girlfriend) but the melody & lyrics went through so many changes you wouldn't recognize its current state with its initial.

The really painful process of this song though was the constant evolution of the arrangement. See it started life almost comic-like (in a very cheeky yet sexy kinda way) but because my friends weren't really responding to it, I went back to the drawing board and re-arranged it. Little did I know at the time that I'd be repeating this process over and over and over again over the next few years!

The song then became somewhat more club-friendly R&B but, as it turns out, we then discovered that the hook was too similar to another song called 'Lean Back' by Fat Joe! So, back to the drawing board again, and it then went kinda R&B/Techno cause I had to change the instrument of the hook so as to not resemble Fat Joe's track. Still, it felt 'under-baked'. So I kept on trying other things like slowing the song down (referring to Blackstreets Yo Love), went somewhat a 'tribal' direction, and I even tried rapping various styles to fill in the middle-8 (once like Lil' Wayne!)... but NOTHING seemed to work. People were just not responding to it.

Years (yes YEARS!) of frustration had gone by and it was not until I decided to play around with the 'mute' button (whilst searching for inspiration) that I learned that the problem had been the 'hook' all along! It was somehow too prominent which restricted the song from properly evolving.

After eliminating the hook altogether the ball finally started rolling again. A new hook almost instantly came in and the song finally felt that it was heading towards the right direction. However, I was not quite out of the woods just yet. Re-arranging the song (for what felt like the hundredth time!) was still extremely frustrating cause a lot of stuff just wouldn't sit tight with the melody.

Listening to it now you might think to yourself "what? the song seem so simple!" but let me assure you that it had to go through a whole lot of experimental complications for it to have become, what I like to call it, cleverly simple.

To be honest, I still feel as if the song is still not quite 'there'. Maybe it needs a better mix, or maybe I'm not a good enough producer, or maybe the song itself is just not strong enough. Well, whatever it is, after almost 5 years in the making, I think it's time to let it go and let you guys decide.

Big shout out to my lovely fiancée for her awesome contribution to the intro & middle 8! If it wasn't for her, Lil' wayne would not have been pleased.