1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,000 [Music] 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:15,000 Hey everybody, welcome to Phantom Power Artist Hour. 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,000 This is episode 6. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000 It's the Sunday. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,000 We're going to try to be putting these out every Sunday from here on out. 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000 So if it's the Sunday, it's going to be the Phantom Power Artist Hour. 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,000 And in this episode, we're going back to Tanzania. 8 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,000 We're going to talk with the lovely Enid Malel. 9 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Now, when I first heard this song fly that you're about to hear, 10 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:46,000 I could have sworn I was listening to an artist who was in their late 20s, early 30s. 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,000 Well, you're about to hear that she is not that. 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:56,000 She is a very impressive young lady who has already finished college. 13 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:03,000 And just wait until you hear what she's done with another foreign language and how she goes about her recording and all that stuff. 14 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,000 I won't give it away. 15 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:12,000 But we're going to kick it off here with a song called Fly and then we're going to end the show with a song called "Corquet." 16 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:17,000 And then she's also got a little snippet of a brand new track for us to listen to. 17 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Don't forget to load up your wallet and send Enid some sats, right? 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,000 This is a value-fifvalue podcast. You guys know what that is. 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:31,000 So it's a Phantom Power Artist Hour with Enid Malel and here is Fly. 20 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 And then we'll bring her on. 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:43,000 ♪ ♪ 22 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,000 Hey, I just want to know every place you want to go. 23 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,000 You know that I will go anywhere, which I, 24 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 You just name a place and I'll be there, which I, 25 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000 Take a plane, take a boat, 26 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Or maybe we can hit the road, 27 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Doesn't matter how well when I will, which I, 28 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,000 All I need to know is you'll be there, yeah. 29 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 ♪ ♪ 30 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,000 If you're like islands, that's all right. 31 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Let's catch a fight and fly all night. 32 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Not even the sky for a minute, 'cause we can just ride in the wake of growth. 33 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 We're not pass the limit now that I live in if you want to. 34 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Driving with its uproar sound is a club too. 35 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,000 We could play my ride if you want to keep it all smooth. 36 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000 Just say the word in. 37 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:43,000 ♪ ♪ 38 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,000 You're the girl that my dreams know precious. 39 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,000 We can go anywhere to greener pastures. 40 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,000 Think I made up my mind, which I must be the way I get a five-witcher. 41 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 I don't need another girl, 42 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,000 That's the running girl, that's the running girl. 43 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 You and I can spend all the time in the world 44 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,000 When you're ready, we'll lift up the skating girl. 45 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Now I'm calling on my blessings. 46 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Don't you know you are that blessing? 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 We can fly a rocket ship all right, which I, 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 You know I wanna spend my life with you. 49 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,000 I don't space with you girl, 50 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,000 We can fly to anywhere. 51 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 Extra to rescue girl, 52 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 You special girl, head and lead the way. 53 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,000 If you like islands, that's all right. 54 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Let's catch a flight and fly all night. 55 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:30,000 Not even the sky's a limit, 56 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Cause we could just fly to a mill. 57 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,000 We could go speed up as the limit, 58 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000 That they live in if you want to. 59 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Driving with its uproar sound is a club too. 60 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 We could play my ride if you want to keep it all smooth. 61 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,000 Just say the word in. 62 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 ♪ ♪ 63 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:53,920 We can fly, we can fly 64 00:03:53,920 --> 00:04:03,480 We can fly, we can fly 65 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:24,840 [Music] 66 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:27,160 Welcome, thank you so much for joining us. 67 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,480 Thank you so much for having me. 68 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,240 Yeah, I was talking with Manlake Quex last week 69 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,560 and two weeks ago and he was saying, 70 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,160 "Oh man, you got to get her on. 71 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:38,120 You got to talk to her." 72 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,400 And I loved the song, "Fly," which we just heard. 73 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:45,000 So I wanted to talk to you about that. 74 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,800 I wanted to talk to you about your music 75 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:49,800 and I know that you also went to NYU 76 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,640 through Abu Dhabi. 77 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,640 So I just have a boatload of questions before you 78 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,680 and thank you so much for coming on 79 00:04:58,680 --> 00:04:59,320 and doing this. 80 00:04:59,320 --> 00:04:59,880 Appreciate it. 81 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:03,000 Thank you for having me once again. 82 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,920 Yeah, so tell us how you are in Tanzania right now. 83 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:10,600 What part of Tanzania are you in? 84 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:12,840 I'm in Russia. 85 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,640 I actually work with Manlake Quex 86 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,280 and that's how we got to know each other. 87 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:22,440 So dude is right down the hall pretty much, right? 88 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:23,640 Yeah. 89 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:26,040 Okay, great. 90 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,160 How long have you been working there? 91 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,400 Since last September actually, 92 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,600 I'm working at my old high school. 93 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:36,200 So I've been here my whole life. 94 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,080 I went to abroad to study university, 95 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,080 spent a year at home and now I'm back 96 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,800 as a teacher, which is like a whole new experience. 97 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:45,480 Oh wow. 98 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,960 Yeah, the student becomes the teacher as they say, right? 99 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:50,840 Yeah. 100 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:54,680 So are you working at the learning orchard? 101 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:55,240 Is that where you're at? 102 00:05:55,240 --> 00:06:00,120 No, it's a whole international school. 103 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,800 I work in the secondary part of the school and teach math. 104 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:05,480 Okay. 105 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:07,320 And help out with music of course. 106 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:08,200 Nice. 107 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:09,240 All right, very cool. 108 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:11,880 That's another thing to talk about. 109 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,920 So now where are you from originally? 110 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:16,600 Are you from Tanzania originally? 111 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,120 Yeah, I was born and raised here. 112 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,800 I know the accent is a little confusing, 113 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,520 but I just watched a lot of Cartesian network and I think 114 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:26,600 it kind of molded what I sound like. 115 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,640 Yeah, that's gonna say it's like, wait a second. 116 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,040 She sounds like she's from like, you know, like, 117 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,440 St. Louis or Kansas City. 118 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,400 Like, you sound like you're from right in the middle of the states. 119 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,480 So yeah, I remember when I first flew into New York, 120 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:43,880 it was my first time I've never set foot into the US. 121 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,000 And like, I was just dragging my suitcase. 122 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:52,200 I felt so like different in like, I remember someone saying, 123 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:53,880 welcome home and I was so confused. 124 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:55,320 I was like, why would you think I'm from here? 125 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,120 I'm from a completely different land. 126 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,360 Like, oversteeds. 127 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,200 Like, I had to cross-ocean to get here. 128 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:10,120 Wait, you're, yeah, I mean, your English is exceptional. 129 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:15,160 The only part of the accent that I picked up on was when you said land, right? 130 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,600 The rest of it, I'm like, wait a second. 131 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,480 She's like, she sounds like she's from the very 132 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,560 Kansas, like in the middle of the country, right? 133 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,640 All right, well, that's cool. 134 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:31,000 Now, tell me about getting into NYU. 135 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:35,080 Now, because I saw this on your Instagram, 136 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,680 you're a graduate of NYU and I'm through Abu Dhabi, right? 137 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:40,440 Yeah. 138 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:41,320 Okay. 139 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:43,240 What would you get your degree in? 140 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:49,000 So, well, this is a whole town, anyway, when I was in high school, 141 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,880 I was super interested in like both music and art, like I actually paint as well. 142 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:57,480 So, I'm very artistic, but I'm also like into numbers and science. 143 00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:58,760 I also did math and whatever. 144 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,720 So, I initially thought that I was going to end up with an engineering degree, 145 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:10,920 so I went to NYU pursuing engineering, but then halfway through, 146 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:13,000 I had this like life-changing experience. 147 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,400 Basically, they have this summer program where upper-classmen 148 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:23,640 spend a semester, not a semester, a summer in New York, and they create a play. 149 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:27,320 So, you write a bunch of sketches, a bunch of music 150 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:33,080 that talks about potential issues that freshmen might face when they come into uni. 151 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:40,440 So, mental health and really promoting the resources around campus, like counseling services, 152 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:41,080 and like the... 153 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:50,840 We had a hotline just in case you're not really feeling like you want to subscribe to life anymore. 154 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:51,880 Yeah. 155 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:57,240 So, we had all of that, and basically the play was to promote all of these resources. 156 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:04,360 And I wrote a lot of the music, a lot of the songs that I've used in that play. 157 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,120 And I didn't really think of myself as a songwriter before that. 158 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,960 I wrote songs, but I never really liked them. 159 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,680 And during this experience, I got the validation that I really needed. 160 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,040 Like people listened to my music, they loved it, and I was like, 161 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:23,160 "Whoa, I can actually do music." And like, I really... 162 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,320 I didn't feel the same way when I went back to class and started doing like computer science. 163 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:31,400 I didn't feel like I contributed in the same way, or as driven about it. 164 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:36,680 So, that experience really helped me change my direction a little, 165 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,880 and that's when I pursued music formally. 166 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:43,000 Well, after going through computer science, but then I went into music. 167 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,040 Yeah, so is your degree in computer science? 168 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,680 Or did you change majors? Did you change to a music... 169 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:49,880 I changed majors. 170 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:50,760 You did, wow. 171 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:52,040 Okay. 172 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,760 So, what is your degree in? 173 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:57,640 It's just music. 174 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:05,080 But I focused more on production and performance. 175 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,920 We did have to do like a bunch of like historiography classes as well, but 176 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:15,160 I'm more interested in the performance and composition aspect of music. 177 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:17,720 That's really cool. 178 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:22,200 So, is NYU still using any of this stuff for incoming students? 179 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:23,880 Are they still running this play? 180 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:24,440 So to speak? 181 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:29,800 Yeah, it's an annual play, and some of my songs made it to like later editions. 182 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:35,640 So basically, each year they have a new cast, and they obviously come up with new ideas, 183 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:40,120 and they have new songs that they write, and they try to use as much new materials 184 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,880 possible. But it was really interesting how they still use some of my songs. 185 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,560 There's a song about "Consense" that I wrote, which was really nice. 186 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,760 I don't think I'm allowed to share any of that, but it was really nice to hear. 187 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:58,440 Yeah, there's some videos up for the New York campus, but 188 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:04,360 our campus doesn't really share that stuff online, unfortunately. 189 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:08,360 Interesting. 190 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:14,200 Yeah, because I would think as a songwriter, just from a legal standpoint, 191 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,960 from a publishing standpoint, you would still have rights to it, 192 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:19,960 like if you wanted to share it for whatever reason. 193 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:21,560 That's interesting. 194 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:22,760 But it could be a little-- 195 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:25,160 We sign a contract. 196 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:30,760 We sign a contract where we kind of like relinquish any rights. 197 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:32,200 Ah! 198 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:33,640 Yeah. 199 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:33,880 Yeah. 200 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,040 You know, that's not uncommon when you're kind of, when you're kind of starting out. 201 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:38,840 That's okay. 202 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:40,040 That's not uncommon. 203 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:45,800 So, how old were you when you started playing music and what was your first instrument? 204 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:50,200 My instrument has always really been my voice. 205 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:51,880 I don't play any other instruments. 206 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:52,760 Really? 207 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:58,120 Well, I guess I just played the keyboard a little, or the piano a little, 208 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:59,080 the guitar a little. 209 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,920 I just know some chords, but I wouldn't say that I'm a piano or guitar player. 210 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:07,400 I sang primarily, and I think I was very much inspired by my parents, 211 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,680 because they loved music. 212 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:12,280 So, in the little time that I did spend in my dad, 213 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,840 he played music. 214 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,400 My mom loves to sing and karaoke. 215 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:22,680 And, yeah, she is, like my primary inspiration. 216 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:26,360 I feel like if she had the same resources that I did, 217 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:27,720 she would have been a musician, but-- 218 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,040 Wow. 219 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:33,080 You know, it's funny because when I listen to fly, 220 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,000 I don't get the impression that you, 221 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:42,280 that you don't play a lot of piano or you don't play a lot of guitar. 222 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,880 Like, I mean, it's such an impressive first single for lack of a better term. 223 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,200 I mean, I guess we know now that it's not your first song, 224 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,360 that it's because you've written for the school, 225 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:54,760 and you've had some commission to works. 226 00:12:54,760 --> 00:13:02,360 But when I listen to the chord structure and the production, 227 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,960 and then of course, your melody, which is fantastic, 228 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:12,200 I'm like, damn, that's an impressive first track coming out of the gate. 229 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:13,720 I wonder how she wrote it. 230 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:16,600 Like, she wrote it on piano or did she write it on guitar for you to say, 231 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,680 I really don't play any one of those instruments. 232 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:20,520 I'm like, wow. 233 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:21,800 That's impressive. 234 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:22,360 That's cool. 235 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,000 I don't know what to say. 236 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:29,320 Thank you, but I think I just listen to a lot. 237 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,760 So, I listen to a lot of artists who play around with their melodies 238 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,000 in very creative ways. 239 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,720 And I think having listened to so much of that, 240 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:42,040 I got inspired and kind of found a way to incorporate it in my own work. 241 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:47,000 I'm really, I love vocal production. 242 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,520 I think that's, well, my voice is my primary instrument, 243 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:51,720 and that's what I love doing. 244 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:54,120 So, even when I'm recording music at home, 245 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,600 I just love adding harmonies and ad lives and all of this. 246 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:00,280 It's something I'm really passionate about. 247 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,120 When did you start recording at home? 248 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,760 Or just, or like, when did you start writing? 249 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,360 Like, your very first song. 250 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:13,000 Oh, I wrote my first song when I was like 10. 251 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,280 Okay. 252 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,120 It was such an interesting song. 253 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:20,520 It was like, it was called "Not the one for me" 254 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:21,480 or "Not the one for you." 255 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,640 I don't know what it was, but I was writing about it. 256 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:28,840 I was writing, I think it was like, about a bad boy 257 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:30,520 who was like, definitely not for me. 258 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:31,880 And his sister was just like, yeah, 259 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:33,880 he's just not for you. 260 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:34,680 He's bad for you. 261 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:35,640 I'm gonna laugh. 262 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,440 I don't know where I was getting this material from as a 10-year-old. 263 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,680 To now, I don't know where it came from, 264 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,000 but that was like the first thing that I wrote. 265 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,480 And I still remember like part of the melody is like, 266 00:14:47,480 --> 00:15:00,760 which is like, like, it felt like it was gonna be like my biggest song ever. 267 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:01,880 I thought, like, the nice melody. 268 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:03,480 Thank you. 269 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,920 You ought to, you know, it's funny. 270 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:09,000 I was talking with Quex last week, right? 271 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:14,440 And we're both laughing about how bad our first songs were. 272 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:19,080 He was talking about how he was trying to be a hardcore rapper, you know, 273 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:24,520 and I was talking about like some stupid two-chord song I wrote about a girl who broke my heart. 274 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:30,520 And neither one of like, and the melody was not nearly as interesting as, 275 00:15:30,520 --> 00:15:34,200 [singing] 276 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,000 I mean, like, that's your first tune. 277 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,440 You got some talent, girl. 278 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:39,160 Good district. 279 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:40,760 Thank you. 280 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:47,000 Yeah, so, all right, so then you do a lot of recording at home, 281 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,720 like, are you doing it on a, on a DAW, 282 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:53,320 you know, on a digital workstation, are you doing it on your iPhone? 283 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:54,600 Like, how are you doing? 284 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,160 You're tracking where you're at now. 285 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:07,960 So now I'm advanced back in '26, '22, at an iPad, and like, you know those like wired earphones that 286 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:08,920 come like a little mic? 287 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,120 That was like my studio, right there. 288 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,040 Yeah, that was my studio. 289 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:19,000 And so I did all recording covers, and from there, 290 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:25,160 well, I went to uni, and I was still using my wired earphones to do covers, 291 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:30,200 and I later on decided that it would be a good idea to spend 292 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,840 to invest in my music and invest in a mic. 293 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:38,120 So I bought this Starlit studios that came with like a mic, a condenser mic, 294 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,600 headphones, and the sound card. 295 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,840 And from there, I started recording better quality material, 296 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,640 and like, I was really impressed by how my stuff sounded. 297 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,080 So right now, I'm using Logic, 298 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,680 nice, a little more advanced, I can do so much more. 299 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,000 And I recorded a song recently, which I'm super excited to share. 300 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,880 I just need someone to help me mix it, and I've sent it to a friend, but maybe I'll share it 301 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:06,760 on this podcast. 302 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:07,560 Who knows? 303 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,160 Yeah, hey, that, yeah, if you're okay with that, 304 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:20,360 we can put it in at the end of the show, we don't have to put it up on the RSS feeds like, 305 00:17:20,360 --> 00:17:23,480 if it's not done and you don't want to share it officially, 306 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:29,240 you know, I can embed it in the show rather than put it up on the RSS feeds, 307 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:30,840 where everybody will find it. 308 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:36,600 Now, you were breaking up there for just a bit, so like, 309 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:41,880 you got your iPad and you had click-in headphones with a mic and you were using that, 310 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,840 and then you graduated into another platform, 311 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,720 and now you're using Logic, right? 312 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:49,000 Is that, did I hear all of that? 313 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:49,640 Yeah, exactly. 314 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:50,360 Okay. 315 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:50,840 Yeah. 316 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,200 Cool. How do you, as a musician, how do you like Logic? 317 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,960 Is it easy for you to use? 318 00:17:55,960 --> 00:18:01,880 I like the user interface, like, in comparison to other digital audio work stations that I've 319 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:09,400 worked with, it just, it feels so much like visually easier to like understand, if that even 320 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:16,760 makes sense. I've worked with Pro Tools as well, which is pretty ugly, but it's so, like, I love what 321 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:21,800 my voice sounds like on Pro Tools when I record there, so when I was in uni, I had access to 322 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:30,520 Pro Tools for free, and I was able to use it to just practice my recording and mixing and mastering, 323 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:37,960 and all of that. But Logic is definitely so much simpler to look at for me, and it motivates me to 324 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:43,240 actually work. Pro Tools can be a little intimidating and so can other platforms like FL Studio. 325 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,640 Some people love it, like people love it here, but for me it's like, it's too intimidating. 326 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,680 Really? Have you tried Ableton at all? 327 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:56,600 I think I got it for free, well, not like the full Ableton, 328 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:02,680 and I still didn't, like, I didn't understand it. It looks like it's like, it looks nice, but it's still not, 329 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:08,600 I think it's challenging because I started with GarageBand, and I think moving to Logic was easier 330 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:14,600 because it's just the same formatting. Yeah. Yeah, I feel like I'm attached to that kind of, like, 331 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:24,840 layout and moving to another one is daunting. Yeah, I hear you. I hear the same thing. I've got 332 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:30,120 buddies here in Nashville that use Logic, and they have said the exact same thing. It was a nice 333 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:36,680 transition from GarageBand into Logic, like it was very easy to understand the flow in the thought 334 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:51,720 process. I started using Pro Tools way back in the day in 2001, 2002, and so that's kind of where I 335 00:19:51,720 --> 00:20:00,120 learned. Then I took probably like 10 years off from recording, and during that time, all of these 336 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:06,440 other platforms came out Logic and Ableton and K-Quack and all this other stuff. My Pro Tools 337 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:15,080 license had expired. Now I use K-Quack, which is actually an open source and free, and I've used it 338 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:21,320 now for probably six or seven years. To me, that was the easiest transition of going from what I had 339 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:28,680 learned 25 years ago in Pro Tools to what it is today. I've tried Ableton, and I use Ableton a 340 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:34,200 little bit around Nashville for live shows, and Ableton is just like, for me, it's a headache. 341 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:39,320 I don't understand the layout. I always have to go back and read the manual to find stuff, 342 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:46,120 it skips and crashes on me a little bit. I'm just, "Grrr, drags me nuts." 343 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:57,960 All right, so talk to me about the single fly. Where did you record it? What was the inspiration for it? 344 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:06,120 Give me the background on the song. Okay, so, well, I'm really bad at telling stories, so I'm going to 345 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:15,240 start like, "Oh, you're doing great. This is good." In 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak, 346 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:22,520 was a 2020 or a 2021, I think it's either one of those years, it's a blur in my mind, but basically, 347 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:28,840 we didn't have in-person classes, which kind of sucked, but at the same time, it opened the doors for me 348 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:35,240 in terms of like, exploring classes outside of my campus. I could take online classes from New York, 349 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:43,880 and I took a songwriting class. I taken it the semester before, but in the second time that I took it, 350 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:52,360 that's when I met my co-writer's, the people who worked on this song with me. And we had 351 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:59,320 done some songs in class, and afterwards, I was a little bit sent over the beat, so it was just like the 352 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:08,760 chord, and like, the drop, and the bass. And it took me, I owe, to write to it, like, 36 months or 353 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:17,720 some days, like, I came up first, fine, and then, I went along, and I finished it off in, like, 354 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:26,680 New York. And I, my part, I sent to him, and he, "Oh, this is really good." And we remembered this 355 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:35,320 other guy in our class, and he's the, he's, you know, the, he's on the track, and he did a verse 356 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:45,160 to it, like, his rap, then, things, being then big, still. But I had recorded my part in my bedroom, 357 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:51,640 in Arusha, back from New York. It took a long process, like, we had to, the f*ck, I've 358 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:57,000 old it, from Arusha, do you, I don't know where this guy was in New York, that, sing a, or that, 359 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:04,760 it's just bounced places, anyways. Wow. That's cool. I recorded my, in my room, 360 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:14,840 and sent it to them, and they come after it. It's what it is. Now. Yeah, that's cool. So it took about six, 361 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:19,560 so once again, we were having a little bit of a pack hiccup, and that's okay. So it took about, 362 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:24,600 you were saying, it took about six months to write it. You were bouncing ideas back and forth 363 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:33,160 between Arusha and New York, right? And, and sing a, and then you, and then you cut the vocals, 364 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:44,840 in your bedroom in, in Tanzania. Yeah. Wow. Okay. What, what, where was it mixed? What, was it mixed in 365 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:57,720 New York? I think in Singapore, actually, because it's hard to tell. Yeah. You know, that's funny. 366 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:03,880 It's hard to tell anymore when, when songs get bounced around, and somebody says, 367 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:08,280 oh, I got a, I got a great guitar player for this track, and then a, you know, something comes in, 368 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:12,600 and you're like, what, where the hell is that dude? And you're like, oh, he lives in Alaska. What? 369 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:18,760 So, yeah, it's, that's one of the great things. That's one of the great things about being an independent 370 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:24,040 musician in this age is, you know, you're in Tanzania, you got an idea from, for a song, and 371 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:29,560 literally the ideas come bouncing in from around the world, and you merge, merge the tracks together, 372 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:36,200 and boom, voila, you've got something magical. That's really cool. Yeah. It's really cool. I was really 373 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:43,320 happy with this song, and super excited to share it when it was done. So, at, so who is B-Leo? It is 374 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:51,720 B-Leo in New York, or is he in Singapore? Where is he at? He is based in Singapore if I'm not mistaken. 375 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:59,320 Okay. Okay. Cool. Are, are you gonna do any more work with these guys? Or was that just a one-off? 376 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:08,280 a one-off song with them? I hope so. I've sent something to one of them, and hopefully 377 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:15,560 something will come out of it. So far, like, well, last year or, and in 2020, I just wrote a bunch of things, 378 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:22,280 and because I was unable to finish them, I just reached out to people, so I sent one of them to one 379 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:29,080 of the guys I worked with on the song. I sent another to an artist that I discovered on Apple Music, 380 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:34,520 Heads from Mexico, and I had the crazy idea to reach out to him and text him and be like, oh, 381 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,880 be so nice to be collaborated. And he said, yes, and I was like, oh, my god, I don't think this would 382 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:45,320 happen. So, I sent a song to him, and hopefully it's in Spanish, and hopefully that will be done 383 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:52,200 this year, but I have a lot of, like, pending work that at this point, it's like not in my hands anymore. 384 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:56,520 It's just like in the hands of the people I sent it to. Yeah. Yeah. 385 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:03,080 Hey, you know, a lot of the writers in Nashville are doing the exact same thing. They're working, 386 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:07,800 you know, they're bouncing ideas back and forth online, you know, they're not writing, you know, 387 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:15,800 the pandemic changed a lot of the writing, you know, people writing over zoom. So, you're doing it 388 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:20,200 just like they do in Nashville. So good for you, man. That's really cool. That's really cool. 389 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:25,960 Now, tell me about the other song that you put up on Wavelake called "Porkay." How that one come about, 390 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:35,720 where'd you record it? "Porkay." I recorded that one in Abu Bhabi, and it was, I started it in New York. 391 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:42,040 Again, I feel like my songs just traveled with me. So, I was watching this really dramatic 392 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:46,840 "Telenovela." I love "Telenovela." I don't know if you know what those are. Yeah, it's a, it's a, 393 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:53,400 it's like a soap opera. What we would call a soap opera, it's like a cheesy romantic 394 00:26:54,440 --> 00:27:02,200 lots of drama overacting type of like daily show, right? Exactly that. And I was watching this one. 395 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:09,800 It was super messed up and dramatic, and I used it and like wrote from the perspective, or like 396 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:17,000 some of it was written in the perspective of the main character who, like her husband cheated on 397 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:22,760 her with a friend of hers. I mean, we're planning to alope, but then the friend died, and the husband 398 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:30,680 is in a coma. And it was just nothing. Anyway, it was a hard spot, man, that sucks. 399 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:39,800 But she still stayed like, I think for the first half of like the "Telenovela," she was still like 400 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:48,120 looking after the guy and all of this. So then some of the lyrics were just like about her reflecting 401 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:56,520 on like why, why she there when she knows that this guy doesn't really like her anymore. And then 402 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:03,160 part of it is like, it's just a made up story, so it's not really from the "Telenovela," but I was 403 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:10,760 really feeling it, and I recorded, well I needed to write an original piece or two for my capstone, 404 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:17,880 my final year research project. Okay. So I ended up using that, and I think it really helped me 405 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:23,480 to have that pressure because otherwise I wouldn't have finished the song. So I finished writing it in 406 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:31,160 Abu Dhabi because I only had the verse, the first verse chorus, and second verse actually done 407 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:39,240 in New York, but I didn't have like that middle ending bit. So I finished that in Abu Dhabi, and then 408 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:46,760 I recorded it in a student lounge, so like not even in like a proper... I fully did. 409 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:54,040 It was just like one of these common areas. I grabbed my mic stand and my sound card set it up, 410 00:28:54,040 --> 00:29:00,440 and it was noisy, like there was like a seas and whatever, but I got pretty like a lot of good stuff, 411 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:06,200 and like the ideas were just flowing. I always feel like my background vocals are better than my lead vocals. 412 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:15,640 Yeah. Interesting that you would say that, because you have a very strong voice. 413 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:18,440 Why do you think your backgrounds are better than your lead? 414 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:25,960 I feel like they're more interesting. Like I don't know, like I always come up with such cool ideas 415 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,200 when I'm doing background stuff than when I'm doing like the lead vocals, but obviously I'd need 416 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:37,400 the lead vocals to build off of to like make the ad-libs and whatever, and the harmonies that I'm 417 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:42,200 doing the background, but I just have so much more fun doing the background stuff. 418 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:49,400 And I think it's because my voice isn't like as forward and like I add so much more reverb and it's like 419 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:57,480 it makes sense in my head. Yeah, no, I get it. I get it. I just, you're the first singer that I've run 420 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:03,800 across where you're where you're like, yeah, I like my background voice more than my lead voice. 421 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:09,560 I mean, you're not wrong. Like, you know, backgrounds are cool because you have much more freedom, 422 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:16,040 you know? Yeah. And especially once you start toying around with compression and delay and effects 423 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:24,520 and things like that, yeah, that's it. That's interesting. That's really, you know, for somebody who 424 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:33,480 your voice is your main instrument, but you prefer it in a secondary fashion as a backup rather than 425 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:43,800 a primary. Interesting. I'm just my biggest hater. Like, I think that's what it boils down to. Like, I 426 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:50,520 feel like I don't really like the sound of my voice a lot and it takes other people listening to 427 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:56,200 my music and saying that it's good for me to kind of be like, oh yeah, actually, it's not that bad, 428 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:01,000 but I think maybe it's because I listen to my work over and over again and I just get sick of my own 429 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:12,280 voice. But, um, well, yeah, I mean, we're all, we are all our own worst critics, right? And nobody's 430 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:19,640 going to hear us more than we hear ourselves, right? Yeah. I mean, I've been playing piano for like 431 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:25,720 40 years and in there are days when I'm like, God, I'm just, God, awful at this. Like, why can't I 432 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:31,960 figure this out? Right? And I know that I'm better than average, but I understand completely where 433 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:37,000 you're coming from. Like, we're our own, we're so, it's such a weird thing to be an artist to have 434 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,520 this gift of being able to play music for people and to be able to share it, but then to be so 435 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:49,560 self-critical and self-aware of it and almost to the point of ashamed of it in terms of, oh, 436 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:53,880 God, that's awful. I would never share that. When it like nine times out of 10, it's pretty damn good 437 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:59,080 and people who have no musical ability are going to enjoy it, you know? Yeah. 438 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:06,040 Yeah, that, I had, it's interesting. I hadn't thought about that about the secondary 439 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:16,360 music or the secondary voice thing. Okay, so back, so you cut the lyrics or the vocals for "Porkay" 440 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:26,440 at school when you're over in Abu Dhabi, what about the music production on it? Did you, 441 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:33,640 did you take care of that or did you have a partner at school? How did the tracks come about? 442 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:42,600 I actually produced all of it by myself. But God, it was part of, thank you. It was a part of 443 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:49,640 my thesis. I had to do the production and songwriting all by myself and reflect on it. It was, 444 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:57,400 well, I'm supposed to know my thesis at the top of my head, but I forgot for now. But I did all of that 445 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:07,880 at home, well, in my room at school. And it started off, I started off using a, a core generator. 446 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:13,800 There is this website called onemotion.com or something and they have like this core generator thing and it 447 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:21,000 generated a, like I put the chords in, but it generated a pattern, like it played it in a specific 448 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:29,480 arpeggio, which I used. So I downloaded the MIDI from the website and then I changed the instrument 449 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:35,480 on my, on logic. Or, I don't think I have logic at the time. I think I was working with Gauraj, 450 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:42,760 but actually. And so then from there, I started just like building on it and trying to add different 451 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:50,520 instruments. And I used some drum loops because I didn't really know where to start, but then it just 452 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:59,160 fits so well. And it just came together not in one sitting. I had to kind of go away, come back and 453 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:06,040 listen to it. And I ended up with something that I really liked. And I think because it was like a 454 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:13,560 a ballad, I didn't really have to do too much. Like I didn't, I didn't need to because I felt like 455 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:19,480 it would overpower the vocals. So I just, but there are still so many things that went into it. 456 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:29,080 Yeah. All self-produced, wow, using core generators or pegiators. That's really, I mean, 457 00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:38,040 you really are like a modern composer, a modern songwriter. That's cool. Like you don't have, I mean, 458 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:43,720 it would be lovely of course to be able to track this in the studio with a live band, but 459 00:34:43,720 --> 00:34:50,680 for those of you who are listening who don't have background in terms of what it's like to work in 460 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:55,480 a studio, like there's so many, what basically she was just saying is like there's so many great tools 461 00:34:55,480 --> 00:35:01,080 that are out there online that you can use to generate the chords and generate the lead lines and 462 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:05,480 generate the beats and everything. And you can just, you know, you can just kind of piece it all 463 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:13,320 together in parts by yourself in your bedroom in Tanzania and release it to the world. It's, it's kind 464 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:21,960 of like what's that dude's name who did Old Dirt Road? Is that, oh, I can't remember that guy's name. 465 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:27,800 That rapper from from Georgia who did that song with Billy Ray Cyrus, he cut the whole thing 466 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:35,960 by himself in his bedroom and make him beat. Little lost, right, that's it. That's it. That's like, I mean, 467 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:41,240 you're basically doing the same thing. Like, you know, that's fantastic. So, 468 00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:48,360 and obviously the decision to do it in Spanish was based upon the fact that you were watching this 469 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:57,160 novella. So, are you fluent in Spanish? I'd say so. I just haven't spoken it enough for me to feel 470 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:03,000 like I'm fluent, but I took an advanced course and did very well. Like, we were writing essays and 471 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:15,800 stuff. So, I'd say yes. Yeah. Wow. Okay. See you've got English. Go ahead. Oh, I was, I was saying it's 472 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,680 something that I've always been passionate about. I've always wanted to learn Spanish and I wanted 473 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:26,280 to take it at school, but it was clashing with other subjects and I later picked it up like in the 474 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:32,280 most random way. So, I was watching Callum of Elas, which I love with subtitles and then slowly, 475 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:38,040 but surely like I could watch them without subtitles. Then I decided to take a Spanish class during 476 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:43,960 the pandemic. So, I took one from NYU, New York online and my teacher is just like, what are you doing 477 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:50,280 here? You're way too advanced because I knew too much. So then I just jumped to an advanced class and 478 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:57,560 it was really nice. I got to like learn about like Spanish history, like, well, history of like 479 00:36:57,560 --> 00:37:06,760 Latin America and Spain and all of that and just read materials in Spain in Spanish. So, 480 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:12,120 writing in Spanish for me is a way to like use it because otherwise I'm not going to use it, 481 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:17,080 no one speaks Spanish here and I'd actually have Spanish-speaking friends, unfortunately. 482 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:24,920 Yeah. What an interesting choice on your part. I mean, you must have been really studying it 483 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:30,520 on your own for you to jump ahead at the college level. That's really impressive. 484 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,880 Callum of Elas? Telling of Elas will take you places. Watch Telling of Elas, guys. 485 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:47,640 Well, now, how did you get into NYU? How did that come about? Did somebody at your school and 486 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:52,280 at your quote unquote high school in Tanzania recommend it or what was the process there? 487 00:37:52,280 --> 00:38:01,160 A representative from NYU of a Bubbie came and I think they gave us a bunch of flyers 488 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:08,120 and I read through and I was really impressed by like the outcome, like you know, on the brochures, 489 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:13,480 they'll be like, "Oh yeah, 90% of our graduates are employed after whatever." It was really 490 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:18,680 impressive numbers and the school looked amazing. And I was like, "Oh, I'd want to go here." So, 491 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:23,560 I filled out my common app because I think I don't remember if I applied to any other American schools, 492 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:30,760 but I filled out my common app and I did really well at school. I think that really helped as well. 493 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:40,440 I was a great student and I did a lot of extracurriculars and I just wrote my essay and got in. 494 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:46,680 And because they were really generous with their financial aid packages like NYU of a Bubbie specifically, 495 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:55,080 I think that's why or how I went because otherwise it was way too expensive. $80,000 a year is no joke. 496 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,600 Yeah, man. Yeah. So, 497 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:09,400 stay at school kids. Yeah, one of my daughters friends goes to NYU. They're in New York City and I'm like, 498 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:15,080 "I don't know, I don't know how the hell you'd be able to afford that." Woo! That's not cheap. So, how much 499 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:25,720 time did you spend online in the classes and how much time did you spend over in Abu Dhabi doing classes? 500 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:37,160 So, I spent my first year was fully in person in Abu Dhabi and then I spent a summer in New York, 501 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:45,640 2019 and then I became back and I went to China. I went to Shanghai because NYU has a campus there as well. 502 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:51,080 So, I went there for what we call a J-turn. So, in January, we have these intensive three-week courses and 503 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:57,800 that's what I did in China and that was literally when COVID was emerging. So, as I was at the airport, 504 00:39:57,800 --> 00:40:06,040 I think we just saw news of like, "Oh, there's this virus spreading." And God. So, I got back to campus and things 505 00:40:06,040 --> 00:40:13,080 were okay. I thought that like, the virus was just a passing thing but then months later, the school shut 506 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:22,040 down. So, I think it was from March or something that classes just fully became remote and I continue 507 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:29,720 taking remote classes from Abu Dhabi and I didn't go home back here because I was worried that I'd be 508 00:40:29,720 --> 00:40:36,840 locked out and I wouldn't be able to come back. So, I stayed there till December, then I went home. 509 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:42,920 We came back and we were still doing online classes but it was January 2021. I think that they allowed 510 00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:47,960 us to take online classes from different campuses and that's when I started taking my songwriting classes. 511 00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:58,680 And then I also took, no, I took the songwriting class the term before as well. And then I took it in 512 00:40:58,680 --> 00:41:07,640 January as well up till March or the other way around. Then from there, I went to New York in September 513 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:15,320 where August, when the borders actually opened up, but I did have a chance to do a bunch of like 514 00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:22,600 in-person things, luckily, I'm so grateful. So, you were in, okay, so you were in New York in the summer of 515 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:36,200 2019 and then January and fall. Okay. Yeah, 2021, all 2021. All of 2021, all right. But let me go back 516 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:43,640 to you going over to Shanghai. So, you went to Shanghai in January of 2020? Yes. Okay. And, 517 00:41:43,640 --> 00:41:51,320 yeah, and then COVID, because I was in Seattle, I was in the West Coast when COVID started coming out. 518 00:41:51,320 --> 00:42:01,000 And then I was down in LA at the Big Music Convention. And then it wasn't until March that 519 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:06,920 COVID really hit here in Nashville and shut everything down. So, you were in Shanghai 520 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:13,480 in March of 2020. How long were you in Shanghai before you could leave and go home? 521 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:20,600 Oh, I think I didn't explain it properly. So, I was in Shanghai for three weeks. So, it was just like 522 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:27,400 January. And then back in, yeah, I was back in Abu Dhabi late January or early February. I can't 523 00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:34,840 remember. But at that time, I was in Abu Dhabi and we still had in-person things when I came back from 524 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:42,200 Shanghai. But then, slowly things started closing down. People were repatriating back home. And 525 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:50,920 classes were shutting down. So, I was just in my dorm room for the rest of the year, really. 526 00:42:50,920 --> 00:43:01,800 That sucks. You have a cabin fever, right? Well, that's cool that you got out of Shanghai so fast, 527 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:07,160 because man, you could have got stuck there for the better part of 2021. 528 00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:15,480 For the better part of 2020. Wow. Man, you really traveled around. That's great. Good for you. 529 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:21,880 That's, you're packing a lot into your young life so far. So, that's really cool. 530 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:27,880 Yeah, well, I know we only got a couple of minutes left here because I know you got a hard stop 531 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:36,120 at the top of the hour. So, tell us a little bit more about what your teaching now and what your 532 00:43:36,120 --> 00:43:44,440 plans are for music in the future. So, at the moment, I teach math. So, I'm more of an assistant 533 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:53,640 teacher and I help out with, well, we call them IGCSEs and A-levels. So, that's like what? 534 00:43:54,840 --> 00:44:00,600 10th grade all the way to 12th grade. If you have a 12th grade, don't know how the Americans 535 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:10,200 are some words, but I help out with that math and I also lead a class for, it's a coursework-based math 536 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:19,960 class where we have challenges that we do each week and we submit those. I also help out with music. 537 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:26,440 Again, I'm not a teacher yet, but I'm working towards a teaching degree. Hopefully that goes well. 538 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:34,040 And on the side, of course, I'm writing music and I would like to continue sharing my work with the 539 00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:40,360 world and entertaining and sharing my unique story with other people. 540 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:47,960 Yeah, Hatton, just to tell me, what type of responses are you getting from people around the world 541 00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:51,960 with your songs on Wavelake or people reaching out to you? 542 00:44:51,960 --> 00:44:57,800 Well, you reached out to me. Thank you. Otherwise, yeah. 543 00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:06,040 Yeah, you bet. By the way, you were one of the first songs that I reviewed on my review podcast, 544 00:45:06,040 --> 00:45:12,120 like "The Last Fall." Thank you so much. It means a lot to me and I think that's something that I 545 00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:19,800 really appreciate about this world. I'm still very new. I don't really understand how it works, but 546 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:26,520 I definitely feel valued because I did upload my music. I remember I uploaded one of my first songs, 547 00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:33,320 it's called "I Love Me." I took it down, don't look for it. I wrote it in one of my songwriting classes 548 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:38,440 and I put it up on Spotify and some people listen that I didn't really feel like I got as much, 549 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:45,560 as much of a response as I would have wanted. I wasn't earning anything, but in this space, I feel like 550 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:58,840 people value my work. I actually have seen, like I've seen people's love for it in a more tangible way. 551 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:05,560 Like the whole value for value system is really encouraging for an artist like me who's starting out. 552 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:11,080 And sometimes I doubt whether my music is good. I remember I released "Fly" on Spotify first before 553 00:46:11,080 --> 00:46:18,280 a meeting, "Mount Like Quicks." It was just sitting there, it's still sitting there with less than 554 00:46:18,280 --> 00:46:23,480 a thousand streams. I started to doubt myself, I was like, "Is this song good enough? What's wrong? 555 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:31,080 Why am I not seeing anything for it?" But I put it up on "Rate Lake." It was just amazing. 556 00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:36,280 People really liked it, people were listening to it. Just the listens, I even the earnings, 557 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:42,280 were so many, were so much more and I'm so grateful for that because it encouraged me to kind of 558 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:48,200 to continue on the stuff. Well, you have to continue because you're very good at this. 559 00:46:48,200 --> 00:47:01,560 And it is completely natural to feel ignored and devalued when you put your music on Spotify or iTunes 560 00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:12,840 and nothing happens. Both of those platforms are full of very talented people whose music will never go 561 00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:23,720 anywhere because there's millions and millions of songs on there. Unless you have tens of thousands 562 00:47:23,720 --> 00:47:29,480 of dollars to push through and promote it, your songs probably aren't going to go anywhere on those 563 00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:35,800 platforms. And you're fighting against major record labels who have gained the system 564 00:47:35,800 --> 00:47:44,440 with respect to playlists and things like that. And then you perfectly described how wonderful 565 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:52,760 value for value is. Just the interaction that you get from listeners. And you've got within the 566 00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:57,320 people who are using Wave Lake, which is growing every day and the people who are listening on 567 00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:04,120 RSS feeds and podcasts, which is growing every day. You know, to have that direct interaction with people 568 00:48:04,120 --> 00:48:11,800 who can send you satoshis and send you messages directly, that is invaluable. Like you don't get 569 00:48:11,800 --> 00:48:17,640 that on Spotify. You know, like if I heard Fly on Spotify and I was like, oh man, I love the song, 570 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:22,760 I want to reach out to her. I've got no way to directly communicate with you, but you can do that 571 00:48:23,640 --> 00:48:31,400 with value for value, with RSS feeds, with even with Noster, right? Like with putting your music 572 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:39,640 with all of that stuff. So good. Well, I certainly hope that you continue to write and produce 573 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:46,360 and put music out. You're a great example of the modern musician who, you know, you can do 574 00:48:46,360 --> 00:48:51,400 everything yourself. You don't necessarily need a band. You can do it all at home and it sounds 575 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:56,760 just as good, you know, it sounds just as good as anything that gets produced in the major cities of 576 00:48:56,760 --> 00:49:03,800 the world. So there's a lot to love about your music and your writing and your work ethic and things 577 00:49:03,800 --> 00:49:09,880 like that. I mean, man, you've had a great life so far. You've been jumping around the world and 578 00:49:09,880 --> 00:49:16,200 college degrees and all that kind of stuff. So you are an impressive, impressive young woman. So 579 00:49:16,200 --> 00:49:24,440 who does to you? Thank you. Yeah. Is there anything, anything you want to add, anything you want to 580 00:49:24,440 --> 00:49:28,440 say before we wrap it up here? Like I said, I know we got a hard, or you got a hard stop here in a 581 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:38,440 couple of minutes, but anything else you want to throw in? Well, to anyone listening, thank you 582 00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:46,120 for listening to my music. And I really don't know if I want to add anything. If you 583 00:49:46,120 --> 00:49:55,800 have any questions, my mind kind of blanked. Yeah. All right. Last, I'm going to hit you with a 584 00:49:55,800 --> 00:50:07,480 very important question. Your top five records of all time. Give me your top five. 585 00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:17,480 This is so hard. I hate picking like favorites and whatnot. Like my mind literally just blinded right now. 586 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:26,600 Are you going Mariah? Are you going Mary J. Blige? What were you going? 587 00:50:26,600 --> 00:50:34,280 Oh, that's too far back. I'm oh my god. Now you're making me sound really old. 588 00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:42,600 I'm definitely an Ariana Grande fan. I'm trying to figure out. Um. 589 00:50:42,600 --> 00:50:51,080 All right. Then let's do top five singers. Didn't do top five singers. You've already given me one. 590 00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:59,960 Ariana. Okay. Give me four more. There's Beyonce. There's this artist that I discovered on Apple 591 00:50:59,960 --> 00:51:06,120 music. He's from Mexico, Dijuana. I'm not mistaken. His name is many Florence. I love his voice. He has 592 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:12,840 one only one album up and it annoys me so much because it's so good and his voice is so amazing. 593 00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:20,520 But he's definitely one of them. Okay. And then there's another Mexican artist called Dana Paula. She's 594 00:51:20,520 --> 00:51:28,120 super popular as well. There's a lovely voice. And I'm at three at the moment, right? That's four 595 00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:34,920 because you got Ariana. You got Beyonce. Then you got the dude from Tijuana. Then you got the other 596 00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:42,680 gal from Mexico. So you got one more. One more. Uh. 597 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:49,880 This is hard. Isn't it? Yeah. Like. 598 00:51:52,920 --> 00:51:59,240 It's not going to be Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn or. Wait. Whitney Houston. 599 00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:08,360 She's really good. Yeah. Whitney. Yeah. You got to go. Yeah. Yeah. That's certainly understandable. 600 00:52:08,360 --> 00:52:13,560 All right. Well, we'll wrap it up. We're going to. Now you can send me the other track or anything 601 00:52:13,560 --> 00:52:21,400 else that you want to share musically in here. And I'll tag it on the back end of the podcast. But 602 00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:29,320 thank you so much for joining us. I really enjoyed our conversation. And to anybody out who's 603 00:52:29,320 --> 00:52:33,320 out there listening, don't forget to listen to these tracks and send her some sats and say hello 604 00:52:33,320 --> 00:52:41,160 to men like Quex Horus. Okay. We'll do. Thank you so much for having me. And I hope you have a lovely 605 00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:49,480 day. You should definitely keep in touch. Yes. Absolutely. If you ever make it to Nashville, you got 606 00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:58,680 a place to stay. So. Thank you. Yeah. Maybe this year will be the year. Fantastic. Yeah. Okay. Take care. 607 00:52:58,680 --> 00:53:03,560 Have a have a great day. I know you got to go. I'll let you go. Have a great day. Thanks for joining us. 608 00:53:03,560 --> 00:53:10,040 Thank you so much. Bye. You bet you. Bye. Bye. Boy, what an impressive young lady. Huh? 609 00:53:10,040 --> 00:53:19,000 She's got a degree in music already from NYU Abu Dhabi. And she learned Spanish by herself. 610 00:53:19,400 --> 00:53:29,400 Like watching Spanish soap operas. She's hung out in Shanghai. She taught herself how to record at home. 611 00:53:29,400 --> 00:53:36,040 I mean, this is an entrepreneur. This is a Renaissance woman, right? And oh, by the way, what you're 612 00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:44,840 hearing as I am just yacking away on top is a preview of her next single. So I'm going to shut up and 613 00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:56,760 give you like five seconds of it. And that's all you get. She didn't want to release too much more 614 00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:00,600 because I know she said that she's still got to do some mixing on it, but she was happy to 615 00:54:00,600 --> 00:54:05,080 share it with us. So thank you, and then thank you for that one. All right. We're going to wrap up 616 00:54:05,080 --> 00:54:12,600 the show here with the other single that she's got up on Wave Lake. It's called Porque. And I don't 617 00:54:12,600 --> 00:54:19,960 speak Spanish that well. My Spanish is worse than my German and Swedish. But this is a great song. And 618 00:54:19,960 --> 00:54:28,920 listen to the lyrical rhythmic inflections she throws down on this. And for those of you who are 619 00:54:28,920 --> 00:54:33,480 fluent in Spanish, I think you will agree that she nailed it. So we're going to let her take us out. 620 00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:40,920 Thank you guys so much for checking out Phantom Power artist hour and the lovely Enid Malal out of 621 00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:46,680 Tanzania. And we'll catch you next time. See you guys. Here is Porque. 622 00:54:46,680 --> 00:54:56,680 [MUSIC] 623 00:54:56,680 --> 00:55:07,680 [MUSIC] 624 00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:15,680 [MUSIC] 625 00:55:15,680 --> 00:55:25,680 [MUSIC] 626 00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:35,680 [MUSIC] 627 00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:45,680 [MUSIC] 628 00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:55,680 [MUSIC] 629 00:55:56,680 --> 00:56:05,680 [MUSIC] 630 00:56:05,680 --> 00:56:15,680 [MUSIC] 631 00:56:15,680 --> 00:56:25,680 [MUSIC] 632 00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:33,680 [MUSIC] 633 00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:43,680 [MUSIC] 634 00:56:43,680 --> 00:56:53,680 [MUSIC] 635 00:56:53,680 --> 00:57:03,680 [MUSIC] 636 00:57:03,680 --> 00:57:13,680 [MUSIC] 637 00:57:13,680 --> 00:57:17,680 [MUSIC] 638 00:57:17,680 --> 00:57:27,680 [MUSIC] 639 00:57:27,680 --> 00:57:37,680 [MUSIC]