The WE. Music Productions Inc.
The hook is usually the first thing that comes to me when I write a song and as everyone knows, the hook is very important. It’s what catches everyones attention. After that TJ and I will track guitar, drums and bass, in that order because I need a ghost track to drum to and then he will come back and redo the guitars and then put down the bass. Then he’ll go and drop lead guitars on top of that, we’ll create a rough mix and give it to the artist. They’ll sit with it for about a week to practice the song, get the feel of it, and see if they like it. Then they’ll come in the studio and we’ll track.
Tracking vocals is usually a day long process it takes the singer some time to warm up. We’ll do about 3 layers of vocals, lead, background and any adlibs. Then I’ll sit with it for about another 7 days and mix. I take about a day or two break and then go in and Master. The reason for the break is just because I need to give my ears a rest. Being so close to a song from conception to reality, you won’t necessarily hear things you should because you’ve heard the song so much. If everything goes well, it takes about a month to finish.
THE RIZE: Is there an artist you'd love to work with?
ALLON: That’s a very good question. I haven’t given it much thought because I’ve been so focused at trying to be the artist that everyone wants to work with. My goal is to create music that people say I really want to work with him. That’s my mindset, that’s my focus right now.
The Rize: Take us through a typical workflow from idea development to conception?
allon: TJ Dunbar is a good friend of mine and a guitar player by trade. He use to play bass in my band Delivery. How it works is he’ll come up with riffs and I’ll take them, sit with them and I’ll write. He’ll come over and just strum guitar, I’ll be able to dissect songs just from him playing. I take those riffs, put them together and make a song. After the composition is done, I write the lyrics. Depending on the inspiration, the lyrics take me about 24-72 hrs max. I record the melody, I give it to him and we’ll discuss it. The great thing about how we work together is, I don’t question him and he doesn’t question me. It works well. He knows I can write songs and I know he can compose songs. It’s a beautiful friendship. Then you take that song and give it to the artist. The artist sits with it and we discuss any changes needed. All I ever ask is that the hook remains as I have it. You want to change the verses, that’s fine.