#mrkvoyager

[mrkinetik]

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“Get Funky (Remix)” is track fourteen on Voyager. This beat comes from one of my mama’s (@camerabug3) 45s from her youth. Straight out of a box and full of pops and snaps. But it sounds better at regular speed before I slowed it down. I liked this verse so much I wanted to hear it on this beat too. The sonic texture is mostly from my #sp303 into #Ableton. I used #fabfilter plugins for the album. I’m working on a physical representation of the album. I still buy CDs and LPs, I have a few tapes too. We shall see. THIS is the end of the album. @senoragutting thanks for asking about the album to kick this off. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #lofihiphop #beat #producer #choppingsamples #lofi #bandcamp

[mrkinetik]

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“Let It Go” is track number eleven on Voyager. Most of the vocals started as mumbled melodies to get an idea of what might work. I think a lot of songwriters do that. The words don’t happen first many times for me but I can hear how I want it to sound. The title is the song. Sometimes, probably more than I realize, I need to let “it” go. The “it” is a variable. Prioritization has been key as I’ve matured and letting things go is apart of that for me. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #ATFU #bass #lofihiphop #beat #funk #ableton #fabfilter

[mrkinetik]

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“Write Rewrite” is track number ten from Voyager. The verses are from a notebook I lost and then found. “Flow similar to Magic, running the paint with Weapons. But these ain’t shoes...” is a line for the NBA and sneaker fans. Sequence wise, I needed a song that would setup the song after this and I got what I needed out of this record. Pacing of an album is important to me. I know there’s a possibility that this album will be heard more passively than actively so with that in mind, sequencing has to make sense. This works well in its spot on the album. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #ATFU #lofihiphop #sample #beat #ableton #fabfilter

[mrkinetik]

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“Live It” is track number nine on Voyager. I’ve been talking about The Pivot since @rustymk2 and I made “Cashin In” for The Professor and The Hustler. The Pivot is my focal point, my position I stay on no matter what happens in or around me. So with respect to all the things in the world, I am committed to The Pivot. Music is a key piece of that commitment so this song is an ode to that commitment. I had a lot of fun coming up with song, particularly with working the low end of the sample. I mixed this song a lot because it was hard to get the bass where I wanted it. It’s still a little rumbly but I like the character it adds. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #lofihiphop #sp303 #fabfilter #beat #ableton #ATFU

[mrkinetik]

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“Still Ridin’” is track number 7 on Voyager. This is the end of Side A of the album. I still think about albums in sides. This song was made for the drive. I always test my music in whatever vehicle I’m driving. I rode around Indianapolis to this one a whole lot. I feel like I can’t say “Still ridin, steady rollin” in a song and not make sure it works in that environment. “Home of the 500, Brickyard baby/Circle City #loveindy but it’s forever gon be N-A-P, push down 38Th street/Lights glowing in the whip and the sounds jumpin.” Music and vehicular travel are hand-in-hand for me, like a lot of people. This is one for that voyage. I also enjoy the synth work I played on this. I learned quite a bit about synthesis and oscillation during this album. This is spaceship grocery store trip music. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #havejaaamswilltravel #ATFU

[mrkinetik]

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“Fly On” is track number 6 on Voyager. This is one of the last songs that I recorded. I can play this one whenever and I instantly feel better. “One time for your mind, two times for your soul” is a nod to my brotha @rustymk2 (love you brotha). The line about the “penny with the hole in it” is from my memory of the Dionne Farris song “Hopeless”, which has a great chorus. It is easy to feel hopeless when the things that aren’t working seem really big. “But still I rise and never let em give me solitude” is where I’m at right now and also a nod to a song I put out in 2008 named “Solitude” from the Ebony and Ivory EP (@asky_walk84 Peace bruh!). But I love “Fly On” because it is what it says it is. Still gotta fly on, regardless of the circumstances. “I don’t wanna hide no mo.” #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #ATFU #lofihiphop #ableton #fabfilter #sp303 #beat

[mrkinetik]

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“What Is Real” is track number five on Voyager. The music for this was done and I recorded a scratch vocal to get the vocal idea out. I had a few words in that scratch that made it to the final version. This is an expression of what I think about life sometimes. What IS real? I’ve learned that “real” is different and influenced by personal perspectives, which is the root of conflict at times. “Is it what you know or what you feel? Or what you see or what you believe?” is one of the lines in the song that I thought would resonate with other people. I really wanted the bass to feel like something Sly Stone would play, bouncing with funk and kinda off just a tad. It was hard to let this song be as it is because it is not perfect and there are parts I could’ve redone but now, I am glad I left it like it is. It captures how I felt when I wrote it. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #Ableton #fabfilter #lofisoul #lofihiphop #ATFU

[mrkinetik]

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“Until” is track number two on Voyager. This record is about perseverance and dedication to service. I believe we all have a service mission that we are on, whether we know it or not, in our lives. I also believe it’s easier to deny that and live in a totally selfish manner than it is to actively search for a place to be of service. I talk about the stories on the news giving me the blues because that’s real and I know other people can relate. Ultimately, I’m committed to giving what I have until my time of death through my own desire to stop doing so. A lot of this tune is shaped by my time as an educator but I believe musicians and artists have a service duty as well. #jaaamaccordingly #mrkvoyager #ATFU #allthefunkunleashed #lofihiphop #sp303 #ableton #fabfilter