Some songs tell a story, while others have quite a story of their own.
In early 2014, I was making what I thought were hip hop beats in my parents’ basement. One of these instrumentals was an airy, triplet-based record sampling Tennyson’s “No Answer” and Ryan Hemsworth’s “Every Square Inch.” I scrawled out a descending major pentatonic melody on piano, chopped and rearranged samples, tuned the bass to match the detuned synths, and smoothed out the shuffling drums. Yet I still believed the track needed something.
The beat was then sent out to an internet friend, SoCal-based rapper Felly, whom I had discovered through his album Waking up to Sirens. I gave it an interim title “Vibe” on a whim; it felt right.
At the time I was disappointed. I debated whether Felly was giving constructive advice, or if he was just being a kind person and suggesting I find someone else for vocals. I brainstormed who else could be on it, but I was still young in the industry and didn’t have many connections.
Then entered a friend named Simon, and my perspective changed significantly. Simon and I went to high school together at the University School of Milwaukee, and we were among the few electronic music enthusiasts there. Simon had been involved with a blog called Eargrub, which filmed one of ODESZA’s first Milwaukee shows at the 327-capacity Miramar Theatre. After a few years, Simon and fellow creative Nathan branched out to found their own imprint, alaya. They were looking to release free compilations of music featuring upcoming lofi beatmakers on SoundCloud.
School began again in the fall, and Simon showed me the songs alaya had secured thus far. He asked if I had any beats lying around to complete the collection. One of the first that came to mind was “Vibe,” which had now sat on my hard drive untouched since the summer. At this point, it was unlikely that I would find a vocalist for it, so why not put it out as is?
Upon the release of the song as the leading track of alaya’s compilation, blog coverage started to trickle in. Dancing Astronaut described that the instrumental “blends a twinkling piano melody with an 8-bit acid trip top coat that swirls and squeaks as if it were a digital fever dream.” Stoney Roads said the record “sounds like dream” with “airy vocals and unexpected signature Jersey Club sounds.”
Following this coverage that helped “Vibe” crack the top 50 on blog aggregator Hype Machine, a variety of YouTubers began using the song in videos. It initially caught on among fashion and beauty vloggers such as Jenn Im and Samantha Maria.
Over time, chillout music platforms like MrSuicideSheep uploaded as well.
From here, managers and distributors began to email. Still in high school at the time, I took calls during recess. Honestly, I didn’t know what was going on. I flew out from rural Wisconsin to New York over the summer to meet with Robbie Gong from Yebo Music, a company founded by former EMI COO Colin Finkelstein. They thought the track could reach a much broader audience on Spotify. I hadn’t heard much about Spotify at the time, and genuinely thought having the track on multiple platforms didn’t make sense, but I trusted their input.
After distribution to Spotify the following year, curators at the company added the song to multiple large playlists, including Brain Food and Mellow Mood. Producer and DJ Zedd added the record to his public playlist. Millions of plays flowed in. I signed with a booking agent, hopped on a tour with Louis The Child and Big Gigantic, and dropped out of college.
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is “How did you get into this position of being a full-time producer?” Was it an internship? Being at the right place at the right time?
Yet the answer is none of these. I uploaded a beat that I thought was incomplete, but it turned out a lot of people liked it, and it took me several years to realize why. There’s beauty in simplicity, and words aren’t always needed to express a feeling. Sometimes an instrumental is all something needs to be: two minutes and a two-chord progression. I would spend countless hours trying to write complex compositions, with key changes and winding melodies. This time can often be well spent, but other times the first thing that I improvise when sitting down at the piano is the best thing I’ll write that day.
This goes back to the cliche “less is more.” I don’t think it’s that simple though. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is more. That sounds idiotic, but it’s an essential dichotomy that keeps music creation interesting. There’s no formula, there’s no guaranteed success. Sometimes things work, or don’t, for seemingly no reason. That’s what “Vibe” taught me.
Vibe is currently bidding as a one of one NFT via Catalog. It’s the last available track of MELVV’s genesis music NFT collection.
Vibe Redux EP will be coming this year, with three reimagined versions of the record.