photo courtesy of the artist
Gold Record is the musical brainchild of California & New Mexico-based musicians Noah Clark, Ryan McKone, and Evan Michalski. Inspired to create a joint creative outlet during quarantine, the band formed in March 2020 with the intent to infuse positivity, hooks, and a strong love for one another into a tantalizing pop package. Gold Record is heavily inspired by creative projects with heavy output and adventurous, can-do attitudes including Vulfpeck, Ricky Reed’s NiceDotLife weekly livestreams, & Carly Rae Jepsen. Energized by the project and free spirit of FIBI (“first idea, best idea”) collaboration, the band set off and started recording 12 EPs that will be released through 2021.
About the song the band says:
The inspiration for the song came from an instrument called the RAV Vast, which is a futuristic hand drum that sounds equal parts beautiful and mysterious. We were inspired by the organic sound, and wanted to blend that on top of a contrast instrument – in this case, a synthesized beat that really slapped. That fusion made for an interesting pop-melancholy vibe that we thought sounded like ‘Lou Reed + Darryl Hall by way of Gold Record.’ The lyrics built on the sound inspiration with a theme about feeling uncertainty, something we were feeling a lot of in the beginning of quarantine, and opening up to the signs in life that provide affirmations that you’re on the right track. The chorus is about finding those affirmations. We sent the rough song to STRNGS and he really elevated that section by adding synth bass and the strings motif that give it that added soaring quality of what it feels like to find one’s purpose and receive some validation from the universe. The post-chrous percussion follows that feeling with that expansive rush of creative energy that one gets when they ‘find their groove.’ Capturing that feeling in particular was something that was very important to us and our process to imprint in the music, since us finding our own groove that came from focusing our creative energies together during uncertain times is what inspired this project into being in the first place.
Earlier this year, Gold Record released their debut EP,
Volume One which was mixed with additional production by longtime friend and tourmate
Strings.
Volume Two was mixed by longtime producer & sonic advisor
Aaron Hellam (
Black Map, Brilliant Red Lights). Volume Three was mixed by
Matt Bayles (
Minus The Bear, Mastodon), a long-admired sound legend that inspired the band to reach out to their heroes in the recording community to bring further volumes to light.
The band’s latest EP Volume Four due this fall features the single for “Affirmations” and video for “Dance Where I Want.” Mixed with additional production by returning collaborator Strings, Volume Four finds Gold Record coming into their stride with a frenetic blend of funky synthesized dance music, live bass, big swells, percussion breaks, angelic harmonies, unencumbered bliss, and 110% more crooning.
