I was hired by these girls father to produce 2 tracks for Alex (left) and Julia (right). When SambaDá was in Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Festival, we had an 8 hour session at 5th Street Studios to record a demo with these girls. (http://www.5thstreetstudios.com/)
The song selection was quite last minute as it turned out, and we finally decided on an original tune by the girls dad (Van Levy) called "your eyes", but we took some time to figure out the second song. We wanted to do a cover song that showcased the girls' talent, but also brought the strengths of SambaDá's percussion and funky sound.
A family friend suggested "As" by Stevie Wonder. I don't think they could have come up with a better track. We did the initial tracking that day in Austin, but now I have gotten my hands on it, we have added Tammy Hall on Fender Rhodes, (left) and Reuben Rodgers (reubenrodgers.com) on Electric Bass.
These two musicians are above and beyond. It is honestly a humbling experience working with both of them. I was pleasantly surprised when both of them seem to have such a great time...
Anne from SambaDá has been an incredible support for me during the process... she patiently waits for her turn to record... For the Stevie Wonder song, she spent 2 full days in the studio helping out before she got her turn to record. We did most of her tracks in less than 90 minutes, and I think it might be the best work I have ever heard from her! FONKY... that's right, FONKY! To really add the Brazilian flavor, Marcio Peeter from Bahia, Brazil helped direct and record the percussion.
Tonight, I just put the final major tracking down for the song "Your Eyes", which was sung by the younger of the two sisters, Julia. Anne started at 3:00, and we did Bari, Tenor (2 tracks) and Flute.
Then, I decided we needed a little tambourine, cowbell (who doesn't need COWBELL???) and a little shaker (literally, it is a very small shaker)
I am very impressed with these two young girls, and have had lots of fun... I have worked my butt off because I feel that the music deserves it. Ahhh... now to sleep to get ready for another day....
