This track was inspired by the style of music I love and grew up with, soul music. With its groovy bass line and catchy melody, imagine this track backing any southern soul, blues, or gospel recording artist. This soulful groove works well as part of a soundtrack at a professional sporting event or musical theme for television, radio, YouTube, or podcast show. This track is intended for the Hip-Hop, R&B, Gospel, and Jazz genres, but can easily be adapted for other genres of music. This is the type of music that will “Touch Your Soul”.

 

It felt as though I was watching my grandmother cooking up another soulful dish in her kitchen as I created the beat for this two-section piece. Based on a 4/4 meter and a tempo of 100 bpm, the Linn drum and Boom Bap instruments provided the sound and feel for a punchy kick and snappy snare. The hi-hats are the real secret ingredient to this beat recipe. They carry the rhythm of the track. I dropped in a chunk of grooving bass to complete the foundation for this soulful dish. 

 

Any great soul dish must have flavor and feel good going down. Built-in the key of A minor, the harmony chords and melodic ideas were designed to deliver just that and leave you craving for more. Section 1utilizes an I, iv, v, VII chord progression, and section 2 follows a III, iv, v, III progression. Inverted pieces of the harmony chords added a warmer feel making it easy for any vocalist’s range. Section 1’s melody is a catchy motif that follows a rise-and-fall pattern. Section 2’s melody is just as catchy and remains consonance throughout.

 

The entire project utilizes two very special ingredients. A groovy bass line and melodic melodies, both sounds created utilizing the ESP synthesizer. It was a tedious process, but very rewarding finally getting each ASDR setting just right to achieve these sounds. Section 1 includes two recorded audio tracks, adding an additional layer of flavor. A four-bar recording of a butter knife striking a wine glass, EQ’d, gated, and compressed just right, blends in with the melody. This sample first appears at 0:00. The most interesting part of section 2 is a sample created in the Q-Sampler. I used a sample of fireworks going off and created a percussive instrument that first appears at 0:38. The percussion sound of the sample adds a shot of energy to the section.

 

This dish is just about ready, y’all. Soul food is just food, without love and the right blend of spices. This was my approach when mixing the track. Time-based processors such as reverb, delay and chorus were sprinkled in. A dab here and a dab or two there just like grandma’s cooking.  Hope you enjoy what you hear and feel.