“lemonlips” was originally written in 2019 to a youtube beat. I found a guitar track, pitched it down using a chrome plugin, and wrote a motif which I later named “say yes”. Here’s a glimpse of that 2019 version:
In 2020, I set out to produce my first EP “After Thoughts”. With a little research I found Sho. Sho, known as JAN3T now, is an independent artist/producer. Sho opened my world to how much collaboration can elevate my craft. He sat with me for hours producing and helping me understand what it took to develop my sound. Here’s a snippet of the version Sho and I created back in 2020:
Notable Elements:
Re-made Nylon Guitar Loop (0:00)
Distorted Vocals (0:15)
“Record-Player-Like” Snare (0:15)
Piano (0:45)
FKJ-esque Outro (1:14)
Inspired by the success of this collaboration, I decided to share the project to other creatives throughout 2021, without any specific requests or plan in mind. Here are some cuts of the different versions that came to be:
Notable Elements:
Brand New Production and Sounds Used with the Distorted Vocals
Notable Elements:
Sounds from the Demo with Sho used to Create a Completely New Vision.
Chopped use of the Piano, Chair Snare, and Guitar (0:02, 0:13, 1:07, and 1:39)
New Rhythm to the Guitar Loop (0:15)
Bouncier Percussion - Masego-esque (0:15)
RnB Inspired Piano Section (0:45)
Added Rap Feature (1:08 and 2:12)
Notable Elements:
Sliding Bass (0:15)
New Drums (0:15)
RnB Inspired Piano Section (0:45)
Distorted Vocals on Rap Section (1:07)
High Freq Panned Vocal FX (1:45)
Finally feeling comfortable with all the data and stems I had collected, I sat down in 2022 to take pieces from each of the different versions and produce my own track. Here is the first official “lemonlips”:
This draft of “lemonlips” came the closest to scratching the itch in my brain I’ve been chasing for years. Blending, editing, rerecording and improvisation often led to unexpected results like when a clip of me shuffling a wooden chair around the studio became an integral piece of the soundscape. Building off of the additions of different producers, I created a piece that more accurately reflected me and my sound.
Notable Elements:
New drum pattern inspired by Justin’s production
Snares (0:10), guitar (0:08), bass (0:23), vocals, and piano (2:23) from Sho’s production
Chopped up snare (0:20) and piano (1:24) from Justin’s production
High frequency vox panning and the sliding bass (0:55) were sampled from Rose’s production
The song was almost complete but to take it up another notch, I brought in Sammy Rosario. In 2023, we added vocal FX, recorded new ideas, and balanced out all the different pieces. Here’s the upgraded mix I made with Sammy:
Notable Elements:
Playful Use of the Octavized Motif Vocals with Distortion and Panning (eg. 0:30, 0:40, 1:15)
Stem Quality Reduced due to Over-Processing
Whisper Motif Vocals (1:53)
Raw Outro Vocal Stacks (2:07)
Slowed + Reverbed Outro (2:44)
Now, however, I struggled with a different challenge: the track felt “over-produced.” With so many influences the essence and quality of the samples that originally inspired me had been lost. Plus, it had been four years since I wrote that first draft over a YouTube beat and it was time I made up my mind on tempo.
I returned to the workshop, stripped it down, and rearranged it to create this version:
After one last push, I went back to Sammy and re-mixed and mastered this version to create the “lemonlips” that is heard above. To hear the final version check out my soundcloud below:
she’s got those lemon lips i,
tend to her every need
I know i’ll never heal from,
all of the pain i feel
Collaborator Commentary
“This was my first time shooting dance and man was it awesome! Shout out to Jylah Bah, assistant camera on this flick for getting some great lofi camcorder moments that I believe really encapsulated the lemonlips vibe. Also shoutout to Franco Aguirre, our lighting designer who made those interior blues so beautiful and really painted some great dual-height shadows. Thank you so much Isha for having me on this project!”
- Jane Doucette
“The Portal Plugin, which I had access to at Phoenix Down Recording, is a “magic box” sort of plugin relying on presets and arbitrary OSC parameters to achieve a sound that is distorted, chopped up, delayed off time, and pitched. I call it a magic box because you don’t have individual control of everything you hear. While using the plugin on this project, I was reminded that fidelity only exists with distortion, dirt, and “t shirt stains” in the mix that give the listener a reason to make the song their favorite t-shirt.”
“During the shoot we did get quite intimate - this video would not have looked anything like it does without the circumstances of the shoot day. That day I really needed to take a step back from everyone and everything going on to get my body warmed and go through my notes before we began. It was a big push to get through 3 hours of freestyling to the same song. With each take, my body kept getting more and more worn out and I didn’t know how many more takes I had in me, but I knew I was going to give no less than 100% and more regardless. In the moment, I was not proud of my movements or who I was, but what came together in the end was beautiful. You gotta connect to that pain and it was nuts to see how my pain and struggle that day came through in the video.”
“My favorite part of lemonlips was the creative freedom, pushing the boundaries of fidelity and space in a record. I’ve often manipulated space with time based effects. On lemonlips, we took a dry approach, using effects that reduce the frequency response of certain phrases in a verse.”
“My favorite part of this project was dancing to the lyrics and projecting my emotions through movement of Krump and freestyle. Going in, knowing I would be working with someone who moves so differently from me, I was curious, and in the end, very pleased to see the juxtaposition of Alex and my styles. Even more so, how we interpreted the music so differently.”