Happy Ears: Climb by Not Kevin
By Cam Smith
Adi GuerrerX (Adrianne Gonzalez) and I have been friends since we met working for The Armory Show, an international art fair in NYC, a couple years ago. After an eventful and unforgettable opening at the MoMA where the night ended in some expensive uber rides around the city and classic post drink stomach emptying, we discovered our shared interest in producing music and they invited me regularly to their studio space in Williamsburg while I was living in New York to share opinions on our separate projects. I returned to Richmond, VA and as covid turned our worlds more remote, Gonzalez made the move to Richmond as well and we began work on “Climb” which has turned out to truly reflect both of our production and writing styles. Gonzalez’s heavily effected vocals and my sampling of acoustic instruments are featured prominently as well as our shared appreciation for the treatment of releases by artists like Brockhampton and Imogen Heap. Starting by sending exported stems between us, my acoustic guitar followed by Gonzalez’s drums and vocals, until we ended up finishing the track in my home studio in Richmond, VA. The cover was shot with help of friends Benét Nutall, who took the photo, and Abby Huston, whose car we stood on top of, the same day we finished the song and sent it off to be released.
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