Get Down

The song finally saw the light of day in 2024, but its journey began over two decades earlier. It had been sitting quietly in a drawer, untouched and almost forgotten, since the day I first recorded a raw guitar riff with a childhood friend. Even back then, that riff struck a chord with me—its simplicity carried an emotional weight that was hard to ignore. However, despite its potential, the rest of the composition didn’t hold up. The arrangement felt unstable and lacked the flow and structure needed to bring it to life. It was as if the piece was searching for its voice but hadn’t quite found it yet.

Years passed, and life took me in different directions, but the memory of that riff lingered. When I stumbled across it again, I was struck by how vividly it brought back memories of those early days—experimenting with music and dreaming of creating something lasting. Revisiting the piece, I realized that the heart of the song—the riff—still held a unique charm. Everything else, however, felt dated or out of place.

With a sense of renewed purpose, I decided to rebuild the song from the ground up. I stripped it down to its bare essence, keeping only that original riff, which now felt like a precious thread connecting the past to the present. Starting over allowed me to explore new directions and breathe fresh life into the piece.

This journey, from an unfinished idea to a fully realized piece, was as much about rediscovering my roots as it was about pushing boundaries. The song not only honors the past but also embraces the possibilities of the present, standing as a testament to the power of patience, reinvention, and the enduring magic of music.

One of the most transformative decisions was incorporating an African influence into the arrangement. I’d been deeply inspired by the entrancing and hypnotic melodies of Malian music, known for its rich textures and soulful rhythms. These elements added a depth and warmth to the song that it had been missing. The blend of the original riff with these African-inspired tones created something truly special—a fusion of nostalgia and innovation that felt like a celebration of both where I’d come from and how far I’d grown as an artist.