Nero Simon and the Sunsetters‘ new track “Starboard (Escape to Cozumel)” is a real blast. Welcome to this fascinating sound fiesta, which is brimming with happy echoes and energising impulses. Nero Simon has skillfully created a welcoming atmosphere and gotten us in a good mood. With a somewhat repeating melody rhythm, the intensity just continues growing in you, and as the song progresses, he brings in really innovative breather to relax and immerse you once more. Throughout, there is a pleasant feeling and an environment of festivity.
Nero Simon’s journey begins with immigrant parents in Latin America. Nero spent his summers as a teenager working in the marinas of the Florida Keys, breathing the salty air and taking in the lucidity of his surroundings, from Miami to Islamorada to Key Largo to Bahia Honda across the Seven Mile Bridge all the way south to Key West, having been born in New York City and raised in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Nero Simon incorporates natural and life-inspired themes. In terms of sound design, he mirrors such elements, and the songwriting has an organic flow that appears to be quiet joyful, with enthusiasm building as it progresses.
The song begins with strong piano bottom notes, and the primary drum and bass arrangement is perfectly balanced by the Congo performance. The vocals are written with enough room for listeners to sink in and become engrossed in the tune. The combination appears to be quite well-balanced. On the guitars, there’s a wonderful surprise that really adds to the track’s excitement. After minutes of jubilation and dancing, the sound gradually fades away, cooling you down. The strumming guitar is used in a creative way to keep the music alive. The song contains some fantastic arrangement elements. The vibe of the song would be well appreciated by the listeners. Overall, it exhales a lot of uplifting air.
We also have an interview with Nero Simon, who provided us some insight into the song’s creation as well as a few other intriguing insights.
Fantastic elements of production. How did you come up with this Congo pattern in the rhythm section, with the regular drum sequence? Would you like to share some of the unique and interesting production ideas you used in the song?
“When I’m writing songs, many times I start out with congas before anything else. There’s something beautiful about conga rhythms, they are mysterious and captivating and mentally they put you in another world the moment you hear them. The rhythm pattern in Starboard (Escape to Cozumel) was essential to the story I wanted to convey. The song also begins and ends with the sound of waves crashing on the beach. All of these production ideas are there to help visualise the story, which as a songwriter is for me the most important thing I need to do for the listener.”
What inspired you to write the song? What was the process of putting it all together?
“The song is a story about two lovers who commit a crime and are forced to escape in the night, they steal a power boat and embark on a high speed chase to an island paradise where they hope they will be free. It was based on a true story. So yes, the congas and the percussion elements you hear in the song help tell that story… the excitement, the mystery, the adrenaline they must have felt when they were making their escape. I wanted to get all of that across in the composition.”
Phonetically, the phrases fit in perfectly with the overall soundscape of the track. Is it a conscious effort to make the lyrics sound pleasant and fluid with the arrangements?
“We have a lot of singers in the Sunsetters so there’s a lot happening with those voices in the arrangement. The layered harmonies throughout the song are there to provide intrigue and mystery, and we have a lot of fun with it. If you see us perform live you will hear five or six different voices on stage.”
Please share some insights about the recording sessions. Do you have any amusing anecdotes to tell us about?
“The album is just about finished and it was recorded mostly in Atlanta with some tracks written and recorded with the help of a mobile studio in beach locations. One of my favourite places to write and record is Gulf Shores, Alabama because it’s such a gem for live music, you can catch live music there 365 days out of the year and it’s a hotbed for really good singer-songwriters.
I like to be near the beach when recording songs since the Sunsetters’ music is completely inspired by warm and sunny tropical weather. But Atlanta doesn’t have any beaches so it gives me a good excuse to go South whenever I can and set up a studio near salt water where the weather is warm. All of our music is produced and engineered by myself, so I have a lot of freedom to go where I want to be to record and mix the music.”
Tell us a little bit about your musical inspirations and how they impact you.
“The Sunsetters are inspired by a lot of the classic soft rock hits from the 70’s and 80’s, the kind of music some would call yacht rock. It’s great music that has made a comeback in recent years. There are the big hitters of course like Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan which I love, but there are some cool artists that never really got their due that made fantastic music like Dane Donohue. Check out his self-titled album from 1978 it’s great!”
What do you hope to get out of this record and what’s next?
“This is our first album so this will be the first time people hear the Sunsetters, I just hope people like it. Next is bringing the music to a live setting wherever people will have us. We are an eight-piece with a bunch of high quality musicians so there is a lot of great energy on stage. Just want to have fun playing good music with people that I like and I feel blessed to have that with this group.”
Listen to “Starboard (Escape to Cozumel)” by Nero Simon and the Sunsetters on Spotify!
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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