Josh Cumbee’s Harmony Track

Josh Cumbee’s Harmony Track - Not So Different

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Josh Cumbee's music links:
/ josh-cumbee
tidal.com/browse/artist/8825828
open.spotify.com/artist/5deoi...
Help charity and enter our prize draw by making your own Harmony Track, visit genelec.com/harmony-tracks
Listen on SoundCloud: / josh-cumbees-harmony-t...
#GenelecHarmonyTracks #Genelec45 #Genelec
Josh's Harmony Tracks interview
1. Who are you, and what do you do?
Hi! I’m Josh Cumbee - artist/producer/songwriter out of Los Angeles. I grew up here in the US listening to everything from 80s music to gospel, and the musical breadth has certainly stuck for me - I’m now lucky to work in a bunch of different genres with unbelievably brilliant humans around the world. I grew up playing keys but can usually hack through enough guitar/bass/drums/the occasional trumpet to put a record together.
2. Can you tell us about your usual creative process?
Every day is different! I’m always looking for that thread of “dang I haven’t done this before” - whatever that might be. Sometimes it starts with a concept I feel like no one has tackled/done justice, working with someone who comes from a totally different background than me, or totally changing up my production/creative workflow and starting with a weird sound or instrument. No matter what, the goal for me musically is to be constantly challenged and always feeling like the dumbest one in the room!
3. How did you apply your creative process to this Harmony Tracks challenge?
I decided to play on the idea of “harmony” and thought about how cool it would be just to start with a vocal doing a 3rd interval rhythmically. I did a voice memo of just that, then played the first chords I could think of on my beloved Yamaha U1 directly into the phone. I decided to make those imperfect sounds the base of the track, then built around it in Studio One with more harmonic parts, which only left a bit of a song to write. Topically, I went to both the feeling I get traveling around working with humans from radically different cultures - and set that back against the personal side of when you feel like you’re in disharmony with someone and trying to bridge the gap. “Not So Different” was an interesting phrase to sing, and I kinda built around that.
4. What is behind your choice of sound and what fed your inspiration?
I think we could all say a lot about the US, but I will say that on its absolute best days I think it is an absolute melting pot of culture and experience. Musically that is very much what I aspire to - a world without genre or predefined lines, in which influences from all over come together regardless of if it’s technically “right”. The acapella harmonic bits brought me back to some of the gospel harmony structure I loved; the drums remind me of some of the work I’ve done with artists from places like the Dominican Republic/Argentina; the piano is just everything I’ve loved about film music boiled down into something pop-forward.
5. What advice do you have for our community who’re about to create their Harmony Track?
Get messy! I think we can get obsessed with getting “the perfect take” or “the perfect sound” - sometimes the best thing you can do for your process is force yourself to use something suboptimal. That piano distorted on the way in? Try to keep it and embrace the vibe. That rattle from the dog shaking its head during your vocal? Maybe it’s the new snare/perc for the song. Some of my favorite sounds in songs have just been things I’ve captured on my room mic or voice memo - your creativity really is the limit if you just give yourself the freedom to “start with dumb”.
6. Do you have a nice memory of Genelec you would like to share with us?
Oh yeah. I think I’ve been in love with Genelecs since my second job ever in music, which was assisting (and eventually being mentored by) the brilliant Toby Gad. He had a gigantic pair of 1038s in his studio with matched subs, when I heard one demo on those I felt like I had been missing things in music my whole life! I worked for years on other monitors with the goal of one day getting to that place, and eventually was lucky enough to finally buy my own pair of 8351’s (which I now cannot live without). I have a lot of fun toys in my studio, but those monitors probably bring me more joy than anything else!
Help charity and enter our prize draw by making your own Harmony Track, visit genelec.com/harmony-tracks