“Like This” – Discussion of a Chicago House Music Anthem

      Over the course of my musical career of many years, I have been one of my harshest critics. It is the very essence of such stringent self-analysis that provides an artist/songwriter unending opportunities to evolve into a greater professional. For this reason, I would like to share my personal thoughts about the most successful work of my career to date, entitled “Like This”.

      "Like This" is a classic Chicago house music track that garnered international acclaim in 1985, when it was first released, and it peaked at #15 on Billboard Hot 100 Dance Club Play charts during that time. I was the performer/songwriter of the single, under the stage name K.Joy, and writer name of Kim Salter (also misspelled on some vinyl as Kim Sutter). Chip E. was the producer who received the prevailing credit and notoriety, due to the fact that the first press of the records only listed Chip E. as the artist. Later pressings of the record listed the artist name as both K.Joy as the solo artist, and then as Chip E. featuring K.Joy.

      DJ International, one of the two main Chicago labels releasing house music at that time, probably recognized the hit potential in this song. It had a catchy hook coupled with honest lyrics, about the underground club experience and the pivotal role the house music DJ played for partygoers and dancers alike. Such lyrical content merged with a magnetizing beat, containing a banging, sultry bass line, was most likely bound to make a good profit in the mind of the label owner. He ended up being right, because the single reportedly sold over 100,000 copies in the U.S. and abroad. It was an excellent business decision, in my opinion, to release a track during a time when house music was in its infancy. It was also good because radio disc jockeys were clamoring to be the first one to break out with anything hot, new, and unheard.

      The followers of house music were also hungry for the next track that would drive them to the dance floor in a frenzy. It even made them committed and loyal enough to stand outside of a record store in the cold, for hours, just to get as many copies as they needed of this house track that seemed to mesmerize them. The original “Like This”, despite its raw, inexperienced, un-mastered, and lightly mixed vocals, combined with unstructured lyrics that failed to follow any pattern whatsoever, became an instant favorite that people all over the world still profess to love even today.

     Although in the genre of house, this song is a classic adored by many, as the co-creator, I am baffled by its appeal since it is such a simple song. It is even further apparent when I compare it with my more recent releases of "Like This" re-sung with less imperfections, over all new professionally mixed and mastered tracks. Yet house fanatics still respond to the original version more than any other, and they request that I perform that version most often.

      I suppose the young, raw, unpolished vocals, over the gritty sampled beat (produced out of a basement studio) captured the heart of the listener because of its simplicity and purity. Apparently, they could relate to the song as a whole, and it made them feel free. It doesn’t make sense to me in some respects, but sometimes things in the music industry don’t always follow what we as creators or artists think that they should.

      The main lesson I learned from this consumer response is that perhaps simple, gritty, real, and honest is best when it comes to songwriting.

Tiran McClam: Professional Insight On Mastering Audio

      Tiran McClam has been a professional audio engineer/producer for over twenty years. Due to the ever-changing music business, his job description changed slightly four years ago, adding mastering engineer to his title. Originally, McClam was the owner and chief audio engineer of a thriving business, which averaged over 30-40 clients per week, and he also employed an assistant audio engineer. As a testament to his skill set, he has had the honor of completing some very successful projects such as: recording songs for Angie Stone; and recording songs for a Timberland protégé, multi-platinum producer named Danger. In 2010, he opened his mastering business, MasterSonixx Mastering, and this year, he also became a managing partner, producer, and chief mastering engineer of Art Of Audio Productions. He has completed hundreds of mastering sessions in the last four years, and is considered an expert in his field, since his mastering tutelage came from one of the top mastering engineers in the Southeast region.

      When asked about his general philosophy on mastering audio, Tiran was very forthcoming about his thoughts. McClam stated that mastering is one of the most underrated and misunderstood processes of audio engineering. He explained that many people in the music business, specifically music artists, do not understand the importance of mastering and the necessity of it being done correctly. He elaborated with the following: For the last 15-20 years the loudness wars have been a perfect example of this lack of knowledge, where people have been making music louder and louder, due to this competitive trend of having the loudest music on the market, at all costs.

      Tiran also stated that today’s independent music artists do not have a lot of knowledge on the technicalities of recording, mixing, and mastering a record. He explained that they think their music is being mixed and mastered simultaneously when they go to the studio, when in actuality, true mastering requires a complete separate process. Furthermore, mixing and mastering require two separate sets of criteria, and professional mastering is usually not done in the same session as a mix session. McClam surmised that artists might be getting one or two processes that are used in real world mastering, out of a multitude of significant treatments that are required to produce a radio quality product.

      Tiran’s additional insight about mastering technology was that both technology and software have come a long way. He stated that despite the fact that digital technology is superb for recording and mixing, it has not quite risen to the challenge for mastering strictly in the digital domain. McClam added that there are still numerous advantages with using analog hardware, such as equalizers, limiters, and compressors, in comparison to their digital software counterparts. The reason is that in a software program, such as a compressor plug-in for example, it is actually molded from a piece of analog gear. He further explained that the difference, however, is that the original analog gear has an infinite number of qualities making it sound the way that it does. Tiran stated that the software program just couldn’t possibly capture all of those qualities; it only emulates a limited number of characteristics.

      When I asked McClam to tell me what skills he believes are necessary to be a great mastering engineer, and how to get those skills, his response was very specific. He was adamant about the fact that the best mastering engineers are almost always people who have started out as recording/mixing engineers. Learning the craft from the bottom up is crucial because you would end up with a developed ear, which is extremely important since 30% of mastering is critical listening. Additionally, you should have a good understanding of sonic dynamics and how they work, along with an extensive knowledge of various types of music. Finally, he stated that you must have a true passion for what you will be doing, because it is not as glamorous of a job as it might seem.

      Tiran’s final advice was to be sure to align yourself with a qualified and reputable engineer who has been mastering for a long time, and see if you can intern, apprentice, or obtain tutelage from that person. He also strongly recommended buying Bob Katz's book, Mastering Audio – The Art and the Science SECOND EDITION. He concluded with the recommendation that you should also diligently research any and all information you can find on mastering, and practice repeatedly what you have learned. After all, practice makes perfect!