“Without Love” music video (Mandarin subtitles).
I saw Aubin Wise perform when she was a student at Berklee College of Music. The way she sang really stood out even amongst all the other talented students. I hired her to be the vocalist on my recording and chose the song “Without Love” to showcase her powerful voice. I worked with an arranger and musicians and mixed and recorded the strings, horns, and layers of vocals.
T: Recording string section; B: Filming music video.
After the recording was finished I wanted to shoot a music video, so I hired a camera operator and editor who were former students of mine. Wanting to spread the appeal internationally, I got a translator to provide Mandarin subtitles and post the video on social media in China because their sites are completely different from the rest of the world.
The Manta Rays Sugarbeat album cover. Listen to the full album on YouTube, click here.
Inspired by bands that appeared on early cartoons like The Flintstones or The Jetsons to lampoon pop musicians of the late 50s, I started a band with a geeky, awkward, retro sound and sarcastic undertones called The Manta Rays. Using intentionally simple instrumentation, I played a snare drum without cymbals or kick, just the one drum, and produced and engineered the all-analog album which was only distributed on vinyl. The Manta Rays had a small cult following and inspired a song by They Might Be Giants called “Twisting.”