Starita has shared a new visualizer for “Love & Pain” Featuring Singer/Songwriter Trent Park and Guitarist Michael Hays. The track will be released Via Be Still Records. The multi-artist is Known for collaborations with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, and many others, his music blends electronic elements with live instrumentation that stems from his deep roots in dance, ambient, and classical music. “Love & Pain,” with it’s lush vocals and smooth beats, transcend you to a better place.
“Love & Pain,” features singer/songwriter Trent Park and American musician and guitarist Michael Hays, is the fifth single release from Starita’s new compositional ambient, avant-garde, experimental album, The Wake Up Call, described as “a body of work that expresses his journey of introspection across the various stages of the human experience (from openness and curiosity in childhood to pain, closure, resistance, and darkness in adulthood), leading to awareness, acceptance, and awakening on the search for peace and freedom.” “Everything about this album elicits the awakening to our true nature and listening to ‘the Spirit,’” says Starita.
GLIDE MAGAZINE PREMIERE: Starita ‘The Dream’ feat Christian Scott, Trent Park
From his collaborations with members of A Tribe Called Quest to Los Amigos Invisibles and Michael Franti and Spearhead, multi-talented artist and songwriterStaritahas astounded worldwide audiences with his unique mix of electronic and acoustic instrumentations (drawn from his deep roots in dance, ambient, funk, rock, and techno music).
“The Dream” is truly a collaboration between artists who managed to tap into the same musical wavelength and make something special.”
The lush yet complex signature soundscape showcased within various artist collaborations have consistently produced jaw dropping, original out-of-the-box productions that dare to defy odds, break the ‘rules’ of music genres, rise vibrations, while offering a note of spiritual introspection.
“The Dream,” featuring acclaimed trumpeterChristian Scott aTunde Adjuahand soulful singer/songwriterTrent Park, is the fourth single release from Starita’s new compositional ambient, avant-garde, experimental album,The Wake Up Call,due out August 13th.The EP contains a body of work that expresses his journey of introspection across the various stages of the human experience (from openness and curiosity in childhood to pain, closure, resistance, and darkness in adulthood), leading to awareness, acceptance, and awakening on the search for peace and freedom. “Everything about this album elicits the awakening to our true nature and listening to ‘the Spirit,’” says Starita.The seven song collection showcases an intentionally open longer format that allows listeners time to drop in, access, connect, and flow with whatever emotions and memories that may surface throughout the sound journey.
TodayGlideis excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the video for “The Dream,” a sure standout on the upcoming EP that showcases Starita’s unique and open-minded approach to collaboration.With delicate instrumentation that is enhanced by fitting visuals of serene settings, the song is a soothing journey into the idea of purification.There is an element of orchestral pop that is elevated through the enchanting jazz trumpet of Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, who lets his instrument float beautifully over the sonic landscape.Trent Park’s vocals add a level of emotional power to the song, slowly building alongside the music to reach a cathartic release. “The Dream” is truly a collaboration between artists who managed to tap into the same musical wavelength and make something special.
“This song digs down and stirs up deep rooted emotions in the body to be purged and cleansed from the consciousness.The sound design, structure and production was designed to capture that purification.With the explosive journey that we all experience as humans – individually and collectively – this purification outlet is necessary and needed.To be able to use sound art to provide that access point is a tool that I tap into and hope that listeners can benefit from as well.While considered the most emotionally charged song on the album, it is also very relatable.The vocal melody and chord progression quite naturally reflects the visceral quality of the human emotional experience,” Starita remarks.
Drawing inspiration and guidance from ‘Spirit’ along with the textural and emotional range of his influences, Olafur Arnaulds and Nils Frahm’s bodies of work, Starita created a dramatic, neoclassical, compositional ambient, cinematic sound design (a blending of acoustic with electronic elements and instrumentation with analog synths) on this track that holds the expansive range of emotions – from intense devastation to hopeful – artfully. “This very special feature from Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s trumpet solo adds a unique layer of emotional intimacy to the song.Trent Park also dropped right into the spirit of this track; eloquently channeled this painful melody and conveyed the intensity of the song beautifully through his recognizably rich and soulful vocal interpretation.In the same fashion, guitarist Robin Applewood captured the energy left behind by his departed friend, playing the guitar part on an old classical guitar that was left to him.It has the original strings that came with the guitar when he inherited it.So, there is an energy and vibe to the sound although most would say the strings are dead and need to be changed.This track demonstrates the power of a masterful collaboration; bringing forth the best that each has to offer.With each piece that is added by an artist, we are symbolically weaving our collective stories, uniting our energies.I don’t think there could have been a better group of collaborators to express this message and piece of art,” Starita shares.
“When Starita first approached me about this collaboration,” Scott says, “I instantly resonated with this track because of the message I felt behind the song.There was a deep yearning energy; need for one to express their love and aspirations and holding that in a certain light.The reference to ‘someday’ in the lyrics was hopeful and grabbed me.This is a message relatable to us all.I wanted to use this time, during the pandemic, while the world was ‘resting’ and ‘reflecting,’ to explore musically.Starita’s genre-blending style of music, combining electronic and live instrumentation intrigued me.Listening to Starita’s initial interpretation of ‘The Dream’ piqued my interest and I was drawn to creating a trumpet piece to go with it.I wanted to explore what we can do together.The music industry is not set up to foster ‘building together,’ so this was the perfect opportunity to do so.As a conceptualist and producer, I share Starita’s vision of ‘letting go, not thinking, and letting it flow.’That was the basic premise that was agreed upon by all of the collaborators….just let the song come naturally with no force from the mind.Let the heart lead.With that, I listened intently and created a sound that was very specific for this track.Many have heard me speak about the ‘whisper technique’ which is a warm air technique that only a few of us use.The technique is basically using warm air and prioritizing your breath at the mouthpiece of vibration.The warmer air actually rubs the inner-workings of the brass a little bit differently, which gives more of a hazy sound.To be able to get certain phrases out while the core air is warming up, you have to learn to refine warming the air up in your diaphragm and feigning phrases from your chest air, or frogging.It is so interesting and rewarding to witness what we have created together.It is my mission to unify people via their musical and cultural voices by tearing down the sonic and social constructs that separate them.To me the idea of ‘genre’ is the same.It’s just an extension of that type of self-segregating and kind of linear thinking.Similarly for this collaboration or my work with Stretch Music, my stance is the same, in order to stretch music, you have to be able to stretch yourself.”
“After listening to this sound journey, I hope that the listeners felt cleansed, had a moment that they needed, and perhaps let go of some emotional pain,” Park closes.
Starita ‘The Dream’ feat Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Trent Park and Robin Applewood
Starita has shared a new visualizer for “Love & Pain” Featuring Singer/Songwriter Trent Park and Guitarist Michael Hays. The track will be released Via Be Still Records. The multi-artist is Known for collaborations with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, and...
GLIDE MAGAZINE PREMIERE: Starita 'The Dream' feat Christian Scott, Trent ParkFrom his collaborations with members of A Tribe Called Quest to Los Amigos Invisibles and Michael Franti and Spearhead, multi-talented artist and songwriter Starita has astounded worldwide...
The Chennai-based singer was recruited by the San Francisco-based composer, who also has guitarist Robin Applewood on the track from ‘The Wake Up Call’ American artists Robin Applewood, Starita and Chennai-based Pratika Gopinath (from left) collaborate on "Changing."...
The Chennai-based singer was recruited by the San Francisco-based composer, who also has guitarist Robin Applewood on the track from ‘The Wake Up Call’
American artists Robin Applewood, Starita and Chennai-based Pratika Gopinath (from left) collaborate on “Changing.” Photos: Tam Starita, Nikita Borges
After a few years of establishing herself as the soulful voice in Pune alternative act Easy Wanderlings, vocalist Pratika Gopinath takes a step into solo material with a transnational collaboration called “Changing,” for San Francisco-based electronic/ambient/new age producer Michael Starita. The calming song, part of Starita’s upcoming album The Wake Up Call, also features fellow San Francisco guitarist and artist Robin Applewood.
For Gopinath, “Changing” comes as a breakthrough in terms of finally putting out solo material. She admits that there’s often too much pressure in the music industry and a struggle to be expressive, but she didn’t want to let go of this opportunity.
Starita — who has previously worked with hip-hop artist Childish Gambino as well as Indo-American producer-drummer and singer Madame Gandhi — says he chanced upon Gopinath’s work via Rolling Stone India. “I was blown away by the purity, soulfulness, ease, and spirit of her voice. Nothing about the collaboration and making of this track was planned. This container allowed us to effortlessly unleash the uniqueness and qualities that are within each of us as distinctive artists… to create music that is pure, interesting, and honest,” Starita says.
US-BASED GENRE-BLENDING MUSIC ARTIST, STARITA REACHES ACROSS BORDERS ON A VIRTUAL COLLABORATION WITH INDIAN INDIE ARTIST PRATIKA GOPINATH OF EASY WANDERLINGS AND MUSIC RENAISSANCE MAN, ROBIN APPLEWOOD; RELEASING THE FIRST SINGLE ENTITLED “CHANGING” OF NEW AGE ALBUM ON NOVEMBER 18TH, 2020 …
Photography/Cover Art Direction Credit: Tam Starita
‘One of electronic music’s rising stars just so happens to be a Southern boy at heart. Mississippian Starita has wowed international crowds with his innate knack for blending acoustic instruments into an electronic song, which he argues is indicative of his roots.’– PopMatters
“Changing” is the first single release from Starita’s new avant-garde, ambient, new age album, “The Wake Up Call”; a body of work that expresses his journey of introspection across the various stages of the human experience (from openness and curiosity in childhood to pain, closure, resistance, and darkness in adulthood), leading to awareness, acceptance, and awakening on the search for peace and freedom. Due to the reflective nature of the message, “Changing” is the most open and approachable song on the album. While this neo-classical and ambient soundscape direction differs from his previous releases, Starita’s signature sound blending resonates clearly on this track and album, as he masterfully combines acoustic and electronic elements using analog synths and sound design. This is also a well-matched global virtual collaboration between US and India artists; featuring the soulful and jazzy vocals of Pratika Gopinath, lead vocalist of the group, Easy Wanderlings of Chennai, South India, guitarist and musical renaissance man, Robin Applewood, of the San Francisco Bay Area, US, and genre-blending artist, Starita, also residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, US.
“The basic premise agreed upon by all of the collaborators for this track and album was to allow the song and its elements to flow together naturally with no force from the mind; letting the heart lead. As a result the song, in a sense, wrote itself,” says Starita. “It started with Robin Applewood who channeled the guitar part masterfully; played on an old classical guitar that was left to him by a close deceased friend. Since it has the original strings that came with the guitar, there was an inherited energy, meaning, and vibe to the sound, even though most would say that the strings are dead or need to be changed.” Starita expanded. “I wanted the guitar piece to create a pillowy bed of clouds with layers of arpeggios that could be expanded upon,” Applewood added. “From this, I built electronic elements around the guitar piece, leading to the theme of the song. As this all evolved from a natural flow state, I invited Pratika Gopinath to collaborate as the vocalist after hearing her performance with Easy Wanderlings through Rolling Stone India. I was blown away by the purity, soulfulness, ease, and spirit of her voice. Nothing about the collaboration and making of this track was planned. This container allowed us to effortlessly unleash the uniqueness and qualities that are within each of us as distinctive artists… to create music that is pure, interesting, and honest.” Starita concluded.
“After listening to the opening track on this album, I want the listener to close their eyes and sink into the song. Instead of thinking about their opinions of it, I want them to feel the song, take note of where the song takes them, and be in the moment. Music is powerful in that it offers us the opportunity to feel instead of think, yet we often don’t allow ourselves to do so. As this track is called ‘Changing,’ and is about the journey of new beginnings, it’s the perfect opportunity to try something NEW.” says Gopinath.
Starita’s “Changing” is available across all digital service providers on Wednesday, November 18, 2020.
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ABOUT STARITA:
Starita, is a Mississippi born, 2-time GRAMMY®/Latin Grammy recognized multi-talented producer, songwriter, and artist whose work spans a multitude of genres. His work and unexpected collaborations with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, Madame Gandhi, Rebelution, Los Amigos Invisibles, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and many others, offer a unique genre blending style incorporating electronic elements blended with live instrumentation that stems from his deep roots in electronic, ambient, classical, and new age music. Fans are often pleasantly surprised by the unexpected outcome; an out-of-the box production resulting in a lush yet complex soundscape.
HIPHOPDX PREMIERE – Explosive bi-lingual MC Deuce Eclipse (Zion I, Bang Data) has joined forces with Grammy Award-winning producer Starita for a new single called “Too Strong.” The track effortlessly brings two cultures together and allows Deuce to flex his bi-lingual prowess.
“I’ve always been a bi-lingual rapper,” Deuce tells HipHopDX. “My music is about non-exclusivity. It’s for everybody. It’s music without borders. It’s a universal worldwide sound in the way that it combines the cultures that I’ve experienced — Nicaraguan, first generation American, Californian, Hip Hop rapper, bi-lingual artist — and the message that comes through me.
“What’s resonant with me right now is going back to my Spanish roots and connecting with other parts of my community beyond Hip Hop — Spanish speakers, immigrants or just others that may not speak English in general. I want my music to be the voice for everyone in terms of what I do musically.”
Deuce adds, “‘Too Strong’ is about strength and positivity, in a way. In another way, it’s putting out there how we live around the system and survive in this country by uniting and coming together; being strong in our beliefs.
“As I look at my environment and the separation of families and what’s going on in the world, I work to balance the negativity that’s placed us and remind myself not to give up on humanity…at the end of the day, we are all good at heart.”
Deuce and Starita’s collaborative relationship stretches back years. In fact, Starita engineered Bang Data’s La Sopa album in 2012. Their chemistry continues with “Too Strong.”
“When the opportunity came up for ‘Too Strong,’ it just felt right to make this a bi-lingual track,” Starita explains. “Deuce’s ability to blend Spanish and English in lyrics is masterful. And considering that I love pushing the boundaries of genre-bending, collaborating with Deuce and making music that resonate across cultures is a natural progression.”
Both artists want fans of the track to feel good after hearing the song. It’s all about creating a mood.
“When fans listen to ‘Too Strong,’ I’d like them to feel that this music is timeless,” Deuce concludes. “I always like to create something that feels good but puts you in the mood. Making music is about the whole, not its parts. It’s not necessarily about the lyrics. It’s everything as one thing. It’s not just the voice.
“The voice is just one instrument. People forget that. I want people to realize that music is a vibration. It gets in where it fits in. There’s so many different vibrations in the world and this is just one of them.”
“Too Strong” serves as Starita’s fifth track as a solo artist, following “Rules” featuring A Tribe Called Quest’s Jarobi and vocalist Trent Park, “Lights On” with singer-songwriter, Trevor Hall, “The One” with R&B singer/songwriter Trent Park and “HUMAN” featuring Oakland-based MC RyanNicole.
HipHopDX Premiere – During the UnderCover Presents’ A Tribute To A Tribe Called Quest event in San Francisco earlier this year, Oakland MC/singer RyanNicole nearly stole the show with her effortless rhyming style and powerful on-stage presence.
2x-GRAMMY®/Latin Grammy recognized producer, songwriter and artist Starita — who’s worked with artists such as Childish Gambino and A Tribe Called Quest — knows this. So naturally, he recruited the explosive talent for his new single, “Human.” The Hip Hop/Tech House hybrid bursts with a sharp uniqueness, simultaneously delivering plenty of heart and soul.
“This track is especially relevant in this divisive time with the most divisive rhetoric,” RyanNicole tells HipHopDX. “It’s a reminder that despite the stark differences, we are all the same. The song comes through me and emerges from the beat. “As an activist, black woman and Oaklander, I can identify with this track. Everyone can connect as humans.” The Queen of Everything, as she’s sometimes called, isn’t afraid to take risks and step outside the Hip Hop box.
“I accept opportunities like making this track because it allows me to challenge and stretch myself,” she says. “Through my work, I hope to inspire others to explore; believing that Spirit is leading us and to not living in a box. TRY! LIVE! This collaboration is an example of me working with a producer that people wouldn’t normally see me with.
“Having worked with Starita on the last UnderCover project, I personally witnessed his talent, respect for the creative process and openness to doing things differently. I wanted to continue this collaboration as he pushes artists to do things that are out of their comfort zone. And I value these creatively challenging experiences. The list of artists he’s worked with is impressive. I want to be a part of his A-list of collaborators.”
Starita jumped at the opportunity to work with RyanNicole. He’s also a fan of the song’s message. “This song speaks to what it means to be human, to be ok with the range of our existence — the dark with the light, high with low, left and right,” Starita explains. “And more importantly, to realize the oneness of it all.
“If we could, just for a moment, live in awareness, we would realize that we too are all part of this whole and together as one family.”
Starita adds, “I’ve stopped forcing making music and instead let myself be guided by the message of the song and in a way, channel the spirit the song conveys through sound. My process is usually to take a simple rhythm and melody and make it expand, grow, evolve into something massive; a complex soundscape.
“Using classical elements/instruments and incorporating it with electronic music, allows me to take the listener on a musical and emotional journey and tell the story sonically.”
“Human” is the fourth track Starita has released as a solo artist following “Rules” with ATCQ’s Jarobi, “Lights On” with Trevor Hall and “The One” with Trent Park.
