In Talks with Rising Star: SAFFELL
Saffell is quickly becoming a star in his own right. Not your average singer-songwriter, Saffell is having a big year between releasing his new album, "Lay It On the Line," as well as the epic new video for "Be the Love You Need." Hailing from San Franscisco his music interwines with his bold and sentimental voice that brings his music and storytelling journey to life. We sat down with Saffell earlier this Summer as we dive into his newest release, and beyond.
Watch it here! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0yJrdT7TttWXwxGd_cDCvw
1. What is the inspiration behind the single and title track "Lay It On the Line"?
The inspiration for “Lay It On The Line” was from my decision 2 years ago to let go of everything and focus on building a studio and recording my own album. I was terrified to let go of my band and to stop booking gigs. But I found myself at a crossroads where I could no longer keep pursuing music the same way that I had for years. I had been touring, recording, and promoting with a band for many years, and now I was going to go in a whole new direction. I was taking a chance by completely re-focusing how I was making music. I was going to invest a lot of time, energy and what money I had into making this album. I was going to lay it on the line so to speak. It was also time for me to let go of old, habitual patterns of negative self-talk and to let go of old story lines I had been carrying around. This song is about that time period in my musical and personal life when I decided to, “take a long minute to find the right rhythm, get the rhythm to call my life back”.
2.What made you discover your passion for creating an eclectic blend of your own sound?
I was inspired by other bands like Sylvan Esso. They use electronic production but the singing and the lyrics were so soulful and had so much depth that it felt more like a singer songwriter. Also, hearing the artist Jack Garratt was inspiring. He was using electronic production but it was soulful and had a kind of grit. I began to realize that using synths and drum samples didn’t necessarily mean you were making cheesy, superficial pop. And I became curious about blending synths and programed drums with funky soulful sounding Rhodes riffs and other more traditional sounds like a real grand piano. And when I discovered the sound design aspect of electronic music production, I was blown away. The complexity of designing your own synth patches and all the ways you can manipulate sounds with hardware and plugins, it just felt like the possibilities were endless.
3. What places in your mind do you channel to craft your songs?
The perfectionist in me definitely comes out when I’m crafting a song. I can be very critical of myself and I get very detail oriented. But that is more toward the end of the process. In the beginning I aim not to be too much in my mind at all, but to be playful and adventurous, more like a child would play, using instinct and natural improvisation. I think you can feel when a song is coming through you as opposed to when you are trying to force it with your mind and be clever. The latter tends no to yield the best songs for me. I know it sounds a little cliché to say, “I just allow the music to flow through me”. But the truth is, thats where the good stuff comes from. For me, the mind is most useful when it comes time to edit. Thats probably far too oversimplified, but close.
4. What are your favorite venues to perform at? and if you had to choose, do you feel more comfortable in the studio or onstage, and why?
Daytime festivals are my favorite place to perform. That would be a tough choice to make if I had to pick only one. I would probably pick the stage because that is where I feel less comfortable so that is where I would have the opportunity to grow the most. To be honest I feel varying levels of discomfort in both places. But I think live performance on stage takes more courage, and when it clicks between the audience and the performer there is nothing quite like it.
5. How do you create your songs? What is the process like? Does it take you days, weeks, even longer?
How does the perfect piece come together? My songwriting usually starts with an improvisation session with just me and the keys, either a Rhodes or a piano, but now that live looping is a big part of my creative process it might start with a live-looped synth part but usually the former. I mess around trying different things with my left hand creating the bass and my right hand riffing until I find a chord progression, melody or groove that strikes me. I always keep a little voice recorder handy that can start recording at the touch of a button and I gather little fragments of ideas there. I might have 3 to 6 song starts on there at a time, each at varying degrees of competition. I go back to them and build on them. I start ad-lib singing over chord progressions being adventurous with phrasing and timing, the lyrics are just stream of consciousness in the early stages. Again, I record on the little voice recorder as the piece evolves and capture any snippets that feel juicy. Eventually a chorus or verse takes shape and I start to build on it. Sometimes I go back and riff on the same little phrase for weeks before anything worthy comes along to add to it. Lots of different ideas come and I try different things but many of them don’t strike me and they get let go. Sometimes the next pieces come very quickly, a bridge, an outro etc. Towards the end of this process it gets less improvisational and more about editing and crafting. I get out a notebook and start gathering lyrics I liked from the recorded vocal ad-lib sessions. Often times something I sang off the top of my head ends up being the lyrics I use, sometimes I replace most of the lyrical ad-lib but keep the phrasing and melodic idea and fill in new lyrics. During this time I’m thinking “What is this song about?”, if it wasn’t already clear when the seed of the song germinated. I begin to I get more critical and I’m always recording and listening back after playing through what I have so far. It’s easy to listen back the next day with fresh ears and tell right away which ideas are working, which are questionable and which can be tossed. For me, a song should be able to stand with just my voice and a piano without any extra production. So it stays that way until the song is done, I usually don’t start adding extra production until the main structure of the song is done and I can perform it live on just a piano and feel satisfied. Although, there are no rules and their have been many variations to everything I just stated. I follow the song, does it sound right? No? Then keep working. Sometimes it takes a couple days, sometimes months.
6. How did you create a sound throughout time that is so uniquely your own? What defines your sound to you?
I think this sound has been in the making for quite a while now. Up until a couple years ago I had always approached music by writing songs and then trying to form a band to go out and perform those songs. My instruments were piano, Rhodes and maybe a B3 organ sound. The band was mostly just a trio with myself, bass and drums and later we added an electric guitar. It was a funky, soulful sound with a swagger and an attitude and the lyrics at the center. I loved rock bands like the doors when I was younger but also listened to hip hop like A Tribe Called Quest and I wore out my Paul Simon album, “Rhythm Of The Saints” where I fell involve with different rhythmic syncopations using multiple percussion instruments. This all informed how I played keys and sang my lyrics. Then I went through a period about 2 years ago where I needed to let go of the band and explore life as a solo artist. This got me into live looping which led me to the Microkorg synth which was a gateway drug and sparked a new love of synths. After saving up I was able to outfit my studio with a Juno 6 and a Moog sub 37. As I mentioned, I was also enjoying artists like Jack Garratt who were blending electronic music production with soulful songwriting. So as I went further and further into investigating the many ways in which electronic music production gets used, I still retained my love of a funky Rhodes riff and of the soaring swell of a B3 organ. So I began mixing all these ingredients together. What you don’t see is all the failed attempts. I tried many things that failed many times. I just basically followed my taste until the groove felt right and the mood struck me the way I felt it when I first wrote the song. For me my sound is about groove and lyrics and above all, serving the song.
7. This year is shaping up to be a great musical year for you. What do you hope to accomplish as we head further in 2019?
I am hoping this album connects with a bigger audience. Like any musician these days I would like to have a stronger presence on Spotify. And I would love to have these songs move people the way so many great songs have moved me. To be honest, my main goal is to enjoy myself more, weather I’m on stage or in the studio, weather I have 100 fans or 100,000 fans. Because I can’t control how people will respond to my music, but I can control how I respond to what happens in my life. I would like to feel genuinely comfortable in my own skin regardless of the level of success I reach or don’t reach, to me, that would be a real achievement. It’s easier said then done and I am definitely still a work in progress.
