Interview with Studios 301 about the story behind 'The Jewel', how the remix differs to the original mix and the mastering process with Ben Feggans.
The original mix had a more of a world music vibe – lots of Indian / ethnic style drums and densely packed with organic instrumentation. The first step I took was to strip all the instrumentation back so that Jo’s vocal could have more space to come through. The only instruments which remained from the original mix were the harp and piano, but I ended up re-recording the piano to make it better fit with the new mix. The original arrangement was longer with extended choruses to reflect the way in which Edo & Jo would perform live, with the call and response sections that are the hallmark of devotional music (a.k.a. kirtan). I cut these back to give the track a more traditional song structure and to ensure that every section of the song kept pulling the listener in. In terms of the sound, a strong influence was a track called ‘Sapphire’ by Bonobo from his latest album ‘The North Borders’ – solid and snappy beats, a tight groove, delicate organic instrumentation and the way that every sound has its own place, were all things that were inspired by ‘Sapphire’ and that I worked to bring to the ‘The Jewel’ remix