East Coast production team Beat Author is back with their second single this year called Breathe. Brian Cohen and Cristofer Arthur, professionally know as Beat Author, enlisted the help of indie artist Melanie Muñoz to sing on this tender ballad and their combined efforts have turned out a song that with some hard work and a little bit of luck has the potential to open some doors for them in the record business. Because of the fickleness of public taste and trends it's still too early on in the game to see if it will certified as a "Hit". An overused term I'm very cautious about tossing about too freely these days in what I consider to be a totally oversaturated entertainment market.
What Breathe really has going for it is that Arthur, Cohen and Muñoz may have names that really sound like a law firm they each possess talents that when united result in the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. On the production side the guys come across as being experienced in the basics of record production and competent in translating musical performance to recorded tracks. On the performance side this new girl on the block has a good set of pipes that get an added boost from her ability to take a composer's song and work it well enough to leave little doubt to listeners that she owns it outright.
With a solid sense of confidence they take their sweet time in rendering the tune. It opens softly, builds as it goes along and provides the anticipated payoff as it comes to a close. As producers and arrangers Beat Author embrace a minimalist approach in the counterpoint relation of the instruments they choose to use. They keep the melodic lines simple and this weaves a nicely uncomplicated fabric for their artist to wear like a well crafted haute couture evening gown. In turn, Ms. Muñoz wears it like a top model as she struts down the catwalk during Fashion Week. As any major fashion designer would tell us, what makes a creation eternal is taste, grace and beauty.
Breathe takes aim for a Top 40 market. In this day and age with this soft rock piece Beat Author may have some trouble breaking through the barriers that the major industry players seem to have a lock on. While it is a good introduction for this collaborative new trio it may not be able to edge out the Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift corporate clones from the domain they dominate. Often it feels like those major label minions have sucked all the air out of the room and left little or none to nurture newer recording acts. But then again, every now and then and once in a blue moon some kids come along to shake things up with a breath of fresh air. Maybe Breathe is the contender who will be like their little engine that could up that high hill. Who knows? Only time will tell, only time will tell...
www.beatauthor.com
