Chapters talk production, process, and collaborations in full Q&A - Interview
Always diversifying their sound as producers and keeping us guessing as to what’s on the way, the duo of Chapters were nice enough to answer our hard hitting questions surrounding their process, what’s on the horizon, and so much more. While we of course recommend taking the time to read their answers, we’ve also listed all of their information below to follow along, experience 3 wonderful yet different songs, and keep up with everything else on the way. Enjoy our Q&A below!
WWAM: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions. What's new in the life of the members of Chapters?
Chapters: Hey guys, thanks so much for taking the time to interview us! We’re writing this from Lake Huron in Michigan, we are on a writing retreat with our artist Faime as we are making his next EP up here. Faime is originally from here so we thought we’d dig deep into his roots and get a cabin on the lake. So far so good, if we need to release 3 songs, we’ll make about 10 and choose the best 3 out of them.
WWAM: To start, these recently released tracks absolutely rock from start to finish. Would you mind breaking down the message of them all?
Chapters:Thank you so much! We really appreciate that. We spend so long crafting the sonics to be just right. It’s kind of incredible that as producers, the sounds we choose to use can evoke such strong emotions. Of course most importantly we always listen to the story and figure out how we can pull the most amount of emotion out of it. We also like to mix the records we produce too. We always dive really deep into making sure the story is being told not only in the lyrics and melody, but also sonically as well.
WWAM: The production is unsurprisingly the standout of the listen. Do you do all of your production or do you have help putting together the final pieces?
Chapters: That’s great to hear and it's honestly so humbling to hear that! Like we said, for us the story comes first, and the production’s role is to aid in the storytelling. We certainly try our best to have unique sounds that really feel like the Chapters sound. We used to do most of the productions ourselves, but recently, we’ve been having a ton of fun collaborating with really incredible songwriters, producers, engineers, musicians, arrangers, orchestrators, and mixing/ mastering engineers. It's not about doing it all by ourselves but about getting the right people for the right piece of the puzzle so to speak. For a lot of our artists we are the executive producers which means we oversee the whole project not just one song. It's been so rewarding growing with our artists and forming the teams behind the them. We also would like to recognize all of the other roles that make a music team, such as managers, A&Rs, coordinators, agents, and assistants. The last few years we have been expanding our team and now more than ever, we realize how absolutely crucial each role is in an artist’s team.
WWAM: If you had to put a label on these song's genres, how would you label them? Are you going to be looking to experiment on further tracks?
Chapters: The easiest way to categorize our music as a whole would probably be pop. We have both always been super obsessed with sonics, and we have been diving deep into what other producers we love are doing and how they’re putting their stamp on music. We also have always gravitated towards simple but unique songs. Songs that make you feel things you haven’t felt before and lyrics that make you say “wow I never thought of it that way”. Since we also started in the Film/TV world, film scoring has opened up a whole new avenue of expression for us, especially on the orchestral side. Both of us are classically trained and have played in orchestras as kids so we love including strings, horns, live drums, guitar and any sort of live instruments we can get our hands on in our productions.
WWAM: Are you trying to model your sound after your inspirations or trying to for your own sound?
Chapters: That’s a tough one… Our sound is definitely unique; however, it’s made up of all of the tastes and influences that we’ve had over our lifetimes. That includes orchestral, rap, pop-punk, alternative, and electronic. There’s absolutely a little bit of everything in there but I think that if you listen to our work, you’ll be able to hear a little bit of each of those, as well as the specific Chapters sound as a whole. With each of our artists however, we try to find their sound. Every artist has something unique to them as people so we try to find that within the music in our own way.
WWAM: Were there some key artists or albums in your life that inspired you to take this path as a musician?
Chapters: Simon - for me, I was definitely an emo kid growing up. So some of the most important records for me were Yellowcard’s ‘Ocean Avenue’, Fall Out Boy’s ‘From Under The Cork Tree’, or MCRs ‘The Black Parade’. Luke - My brother introduced me to Snoop Dogg’s ‘Doggystyle’ as a toddler before I could even remember haha. Ever since then I always had a love for hip hop that seemed deep rooted in who I was as a person. West coast hip hop has always been a huge influence from the likes of Ice Cube’s ‘I Am The West’ to Kendrick Lamars ‘good kid, m.A.A.d city’.
WWAM: What’s your process? How do you go about creating a song?
Chapters: The process is always different for us. Usually we’re with an artist so however their work is usually the workflow we adopt for the project. On this retreat we’re currently on, it’s been really great just taking some time to start a bunch of different ideas and listen to all of them to see which of them is really resonating with us. It’s actually pretty cool, one of us will be producing a track at one of the workstations, another one of us will be writing down by the lake, and the artist is going wherever the vibes are.
WWAM: What does your music say about you?
Chapters:We hope that our music really reflects us as people. We hope that it reflects our attention to every last detail, how carefully we choose to craft these records, and how our experiences as people has shaped who we are. We’ve had the pleasure of getting to work with artists who are just starting out their career, as well as artists who are further down their path. Either way our aim is to use our toolbox to bring their stories to life.
WWAM: Trying to tour this year?
Chapters: Hahahaha this is the constant struggle! I think with the amount of traveling and touring we’ve done already this year, we’re trying to stay home. But if we do, we have some soft holds for Faime over in Southeast Asia, and a few dates we’re out on the road with Tayler Holder. But you never know what else might come up! What are you looking to accomplish with your music as a whole? The answer is two fold for us. One is making art at the highest level possible and pushing the art form as a whole forward. Two would be having the most amount of fun possible as we approach that. Accomplishments are always tricky because it always creates this sense of dissatisfaction until you actually achieve it. For us, we definitely have to make sacrifices for our art and to be in this industry, but no one says you can’t have fun while you wait for what you really want!
WWAM: There’s been so many incredible releases throughout the year, what have you been listening to in your free time? Watching anything maybe?
Chapters: We’ve honestly been spending a lot of time in nature. We definitely have our moments where we sit and listen to new music and analyze the production; but a big part of our brand is nature, and that is very purposeful. It’s something that gives us both a lot of peace and understanding of the world, and the moments that we are really just alone with nature are the moments where we feel most tapped into music.
WWAM: What message would you like to pass off to the listeners? Where can they find your music and is there anything else they can look forward to?
Chapters: We’d like to say thank you for listening! You listening to the music we make and the artists we produce are the reasons we get to do what we do! We’re on instagram at @chaptersmusic and you can find us both individually at @luke_chapters and @simon_chapters. There you can see our latest releases and our most recent projects. And thank you again for taking the time to listen to what we have to say!
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