Interview With Hakim Callier
Hakim Callier makes music for media productions, and blogs about it too, filling a much-needed gap with his niche expertise, and covering topics such as music supervision, the loudness race, and mixing tips and tricks. I got to chance to chat with Hakim recently and he answered some of my questions- check out what he had to say below! --- AFIN: What's your musical background? Hakim: I think its funny that when asked about my musical influences I hesitate. Because for me there are so many... but I guess in terms of periods or a music-moment, 80's pop and 90's hip hop hop are my biggest influences. It's what I was completely surrounded by for many years. Punk, Funk and Alternative Rock like Grunge was something that submerged myself into. I was born into the 80s pop scene, literally. AFIN: Why the decision to enter into production music, specifically? Hakim: Well, for me that language is just a different way to talk about my music. What I mean is that, I make music and I consider myself an artist of sorts, however the music business, particularly the recording industry, has changed so much that artists have been forced to be innovative to sell their music. This is my way to sell my music, my art if you will. If anyone heard my music they probably would not call it "production music". However, the music being synced to major productions, television, film and new media sound more like what is popular these days than what we traditionally think of as "production music". AFIN: Because production music can encompass a variety of styles and be suited for use in media, just as well? Hakim: Right. So for me, the language is more for the buying market and those in it like music supervisors, content producers, etc. AFIN: I noticed that you have a Pump Audio link on your page, how do you feel about their model of buying/selling media music? Hakim: It was OK until they recently dropped from a 50/50 split to giving 35% on syncs, a new development- these guys are getting a bad reputation. I've also heard not-so-good things about Rumblefish also. AFIN: Do you think Creative Commons licensing will have an increasingly important role in music over time? Hakim: Yup- it already has begun. For example, I am going to be remastering and releasing two unreleased albums of mine. These are hip hop and urban contemporary songs that I wrote from 1997 - 2001. Both will be using creative commons licenses. AFIN: It seems to be an easier way to get one's material distributed, while making rights a bit more clear... Hakim: Easy, yes. I haven't used it for an album of work that could be misused so I cant speak on how clear it is just yet. Here is a sample of something i will be releasing on the first album: <a href="http://hakimcallier.bandcamp.com/track/somebodys-watching">Somebody's Watching by Hakim Callier</a> AFIN: What inspired you to start the blog? Hakim: I have been blogging for a while. I actually had a successful blog in a non-music market - which I will not plug here - and I thought I might be able to draw a community around my music in the same way I've done with the other subject. AFIN: And you're helping to fill a niche, too! Hakim: It's funny. There are very few blogs like mine out there... one blog on licensing I like is the Bank Robber Music blog- it is associated with Hassle House Music. I was on Twitter (@HakimCallier) and Ben Kweller (@BenKweller) and I were tweeting. He told me that he has used Hassle House for many years and that they have been very supportive finding publishing for his songs. AFIN: What do you think are the best music blogs out there right now, in your field or otherwise? Music blogs? well there is this music blog called, A Future in Noise- that one is really great! Some others are: Brooklyn Vegan, Aquarium Drunkard, Gorilla vs. Bear, and Thighs Wide Shut. AFIN: What's your opinion on Pitchfork? They get a lot of flak these days. Hakim: Overkill. I think a good music blog should be everything the radio, TV, or mainstream music media is not. AFIN: Well said! Do you think that music videos will return to the importance they once had any time soon? Hakim: It's hard to say. Honestly, I'm hoping we are are on the brink of something new...that just hasn't been done before. Like, I was talking to my mentor on the bass, NYC punk bassist Brandon Kaaren about the first time we saw rap on MTV! It was completely new and was like, WTF! Then he saw Stetsasonic performing at 14th St Union Sq., with only a mic some kind of combo amp or makeshift PA and their voices (rapping and beat boxing). He told me he hated rap and hates it to this day but that music performance was amazing. That was the early 80s, and I think we are due for something new. Non-technical, I mean artistically new. Technological innovations are cool but seems like we are moving further and further away from art in music. This is why I like Radiohead and Irv Irving (a good friend of mine)... AFIN: Any other contemporary artists you feel are making innovations? Hakim: Yeah, there is a lot of really great music out there. Some groups I'm listening to right now are: Arctic Monkeys, Daestro, Dirty Projectors, Ra Ra Riot, Ratatat, the Cool Kids, Animal Collective and White Rabbits. Then there are the classics like Morrissey, Seal, the Stranglers, the Stooges, MC5 and the NY Dolls. I guess thats a good snap shot but I could go on. Thank God for the classics because things change so quickly. For instance, I thought Bloc Party was doing a good job of it until...well let me not say anymore. I'll just say i like punk and i really like when punk rocks. AFIN: It's been a long time coming for that! Though their was the garage rock revival in the early 2000s...and post-punk has made a comeback. Hakim: Exactly. I am trying to ride that wave a bit. I stopped doing Hip-Hop since 2001, but I am now working on an album featuring Hip-Hop and RnB stylings with Punk and Electronic-Funk's sounds AFIN: What productions has your father (Rick Callier) been involved with? Hakim: From what I can remember, he was working with artists from Motown and Polygram in the 80s. The acts I can remember are DeBarge, Commissioned, Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, Chico DeBarge and El DeBarge's solo stuff. He worked on lots of gospel records. I was just a kid! Although, I did perform a keyboard part on one of his songs recorded at SuperDisc Recording Studio in Detroit when I was 6. I remember he put blue tape on the keys i had to play and showed me the riff, and i recorded with the big boys! AFIN: So, of course, he had an influence on the path you took in music... Hakim: Maybe a little. By 7 or 9, I was a wiz on the Roland r5 and Korg SQD. AFIN: What's your process behind creating a track? Hakim: Bass, bass, bass. For some reason... the bass guitar speaks to me. It speaks in a language that is as comprehend-able for me as English. If I can get the drums and bass to talk to each other, I will begin to work with the song. If I can't get them to speak lovingly or even angrily to each other...I just cut off the equipment and go to bed...just like last night. AFIN: So, it's all about the rhythm section, then... Hakim: At first. That is the first step. You see my father is a top end guy...a classically trained multi-instrumentalist with emphasis on trumpet and keyboards. So I know that top end people make the music that people notice first on the radio. However, you cannot get top end people to do their best work unless you can get a reaction from them- an emotional reaction that becomes musical through that instrument. That goes for vocalists, stringed, wind and keyboard/piano performers. AFIN: Absolutely, and I think that is probably especially important for production music, for it to be set to a specific scene. Hakim: Exactly! If you are feeling something, chances are the audience will too. But, if you're not feeling anything, you cannot expect your audience to. AFIN: That's the idea that I had in mind when I first started recording my music I think, especially because i was influenced by video game soundtracks, so i would definitely have specific scenes in mind. Hakim: Now that is a hell of an influence. There is some really powerful music in today's video games. Even in 8 bit video games...I mean who doesn't know the theme from Super Mario Bros. AFIN: What influences outside of the realm of music would you say have an effect on your own music? Hakim: My family, religion and New York City. It's hard not to be influenced by NYC. But most of all misfortune. Misfortune is great for artistic inspiration and I've had my share. AFIN: Any advice you would give to someone just getting into making music for productions? Hakim: Yes. Don't sell out. If your music means anything to you, don't sell out. You may be asked to make a song that sounds like this or that. This is just how production people speak, its ok do it. Start out in that ballpark but make the song unmistakably yours. Make it better than the song the production people mentioned. Always be an artist.