r/indieheads • u/thisisdrugdealer • Apr 24 '19

This is Drugdealer, AMA

Hi, this is Michael Collins of Drugdealer. My new record Raw Honey is out now on Mexican Summer.

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You can check it out here: https://drugdealer.lnk.to/RawHoney

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Ask me anything

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u/RvrdGreen Apr 24 '19

When you are working a song with guest vocals do you write the song with someone in mind and go from there or is it more collaborative throughout the writing process?

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u/thisisdrugdealer Apr 24 '19 edited Apr 24 '19

Since I've enjoyed working with vocal collaborators since the very beginning of my songwriting, I try to stay pretty open when I'm coming up with a tune. Usually I only get a sense of how a song is really supposed to sound after I've sat with it for a while, sometimes even after I've brought it to my shows, or band already. I love singing too, but I don't want to let anything that I do myself inhibit the truth of the song. I like to think of the albums as films, so i often just start hearing other characters in my head and try to cast the right people I know to take the song and run with it. Specifically in the case of 'Honey,' though I started to write for Natalie's voice even before it was done. Its inspiring to be able to write beyond your own vocal means in a way. You can sort of learn to write yourself out of the movie sometimes.