Embedded Files
Featured Artist: Justin Chen '21
Featured Artist: Justin Chen '21
Click the image to listen to Justin's song "Can't Get You Outta My Head," currently on Spotify.
Music and lyrics composed and performed by Justin Chen '21
The 566 Featured Interview: Justin Chen '21
What was the behind-the-scenes process for this featured music? How did you create it?
The 566 Featured Interview: Justin Chen '21
What was the behind-the-scenes process for this featured music? How did you create it?
Something John Mayer once said about his songwriting process always stuck with me, influencing how I create my own music. He described it as "pretending a song into existence" (not an exact quote), which is something I also observe in my own writing. Unlike any other kind of creative writing, there's a sense of intuition in songwriting that is unique to each writer. A song can literally "write itself" if the conditions are just right. For me, I try to pinpoint the emotional quality (or the emotional arc) of a song
and topline incessantly for every lyric. "For Can't Get You Outta My Head," the emotion that the song tried to convey is incredibly simple. For the verses, there wasn't a consistent idea imparted, but a tone of familiarity. The toplining for the verses was only for the melody, whereas the lyrics were written under the confines of the meters and rhyme schemes of the melody. The chorus is a completely different story. Since the hook was the first part of the song I wrote, it came to me with both melody and words. The fifth and sixth measures of the chorus were lyric-driven. The production of this song was very simplistic, driving the song along without diverting too much attention from the vocals. As it was the first pop song I ever recorded, there were a lot of production techniques I was unaware of, but it was great fun figuring everything out from scratch.
How long have you been writing music and what instruments do you play?
I've been writing music since eighth grade, though I'm not sure it really counted since it took me two years to write my first song! I began pursuing songwriting more seriously in tenth grade. I play guitar, bass, drums, and keys just well enough to write music with them all. It's pretty neat.
What was the last song you heard that you wished you’d written?
"My Future" by Billie Eilish. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find musical artists who are able to maintain their musical integrity while producing highly marketable and accessible music. Regardless of what you think of her image and persona, Billie Eilish is different, and musically superior than most of the music on the charts at the moment. Taking "My Future" as an example, there are countless instances of jazz theory being employed in a seamless, and commercially viable way in this record. The production itself also showed a very different side of (Eilish's producer/sibling) FINNEAS, as it was the only chart-topper (peaked No. 1 on three charts) I've ever come across whose production doesn't seem to be commercially driven at all. Not to mention the vocal work ... Beyond all the technicalities, I just really enjoy listening to it, and if you haven't yet, be sure to check it out!
Who are three artists you recommend for everyone to listen to?
John Mayer, Mac Miller, and Jacob Collier.
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