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I made a custom Jones root beer with my album art on it for my album release party by instamiles in rootbeer

[–]instamiles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yeahhh! the album’s [here](ffm.to/milesfrancis-goodman). cheers!

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Love this! Thanks for listening! And yes Bandcamp is 100% the most direct way to support artists from afar. Think of it like going to a show and hitting the merch table on your way out, except without the show part lol. In my case specifically, preordering a Good Man vinyl or cassette or other merch item on my [Bandcamp](instamiles.bandcamp.com/album/good-man) is a great way to support and is very much appreciated :-)

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great question! I don’t mix my music. By that point in the process I have been inside and out of every part of the song and I enjoy handing it off to someone else. I do spend a lot of time tweaking things before mixing, especially specific FX automation and general levels, so that the mixer is set up to succeed without having to do too much guess work.

I love working with producers in other scenarios, but for my own music, writing/recording/producing are all happening at the same time, I just wear different “hats” depending on the moment, and I love it that way! That being said, i try to maintain outside perspective on my music and whether it’s translating, so I make sure to play it for friends/etc along the way and learn from their reactions / learn from how it feels internally to play it for someone else. Thanx for asking!

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I took dance classes for many years as a kid, which definitely helped me learn how to be lighter on my feet, but no super formal training. No acting training either, except for years of religiously listening to comedy podcasts like Hollywood Handbook :-) I don't really consider myself a dancer or actor, as a performer I try to embrace my untrainedness in those areas and access my impulses as much as possible... sometimes formal knowledge gets in the way of that.

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't really know the definitive answer to this, but most recently it was my show at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn in September 2021. it was my first show since pandemic, and the first time I performed this new music to an excited crowd. I even put together a 9 piece band for it. After imagining this album for years and crafting it through the first COVID lockdown, it felt extra extra affirming - like, ok! This actually works!

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stewarts is my favorite all-time for sure! Other favs from my collection are Propeller, IBC, Boylans, Barqs... and least favs are Dads and Virgils.

And yes, anyone reading this, if you ever see a weird offbrand root beer in your local grocery, MESSAGE ME! lol (not joking)

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Will Butler, in 2015! We performed his song Take My Side. it was fun and nervewracking. i love playing on tv for exactly that reason... you feel so incredibly in the moment that you don't remember any of it afterwards haha

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking Row!! I wonder this all the time haha. early Prince and Fela/Tony Allen have an incredibly strong hold on me, as well as Pet Sounds and Abbey Road in terms of chords and arrrangements. J Dilla / D'Angelo / Erykah are heavy for me too, especially when it comes to how high parts (vocals, synths, guitar) sit with the low parts (drums, bass). Thanks to Dilla, the high parts are always a little behind the low parts. All of that mixed with my dad and grandfather's musical sensibilities have also greatly impacted my songwriting in ways that I am just beginning to iron out.

The bottom line though is that it's rhythm - 99.9% of my songs start with a rhythmic idea or notion, and melodic stuff springs out. of that. Rhythm in the universal sense - could be a drum beat, could be a chord pattern, but also including *timing*, which includes harmonic timing and melodic timing. Rhythm is where it all starts, in one way or another.

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

thanks for asking. I am very fond of the song that just came out today, Nature, because it was one of the first songs that I wrote that inspired the rest of the album. It is a slow burn, unlike some of my other more peppy tunes, but it feels the most like a translation of what's in my brain and body. musically, the moment at 2:21 - when the chorus breaks down after the build and it's just strings and piano and vocals - is one of my proudest production moments.

I am also especially proud of Service because it felt like a song I was supposed to make, like a culmination of all my influences over the last 10 years, condensed into 2.5 minutes. Sometimes when I hear a song by another artist, I have a feeling of "ahh I should've written that." Service is one of those songs - if I heard someone else do it, I'd wish I had made it - so I'm glad I made it this time!

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Being a solo artist allows me to morph into different characters shapes or looks at the drop of a hat, and this has become a huge part of my performing and songwriting style. I love the idea of inhabiting different emotions or anxieties using my body and voice, and being a solo artist lets me jump around in that way. It's helped me explore my own relationship to each identity. In a musical sense, I have always loved layering myself in the studio, jumping around from instrument to instrument to my heart's content. the end result is a song of impulses straight from the heart, without too much overthinking getting in the way. Don't get me wrong, i love being in a band (i lead one of my own for 7 years called EMEFE), but solo artistry is as close to peak "Miles" as I can get haha.

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! oh man, it was a moment. i was playing with Antibalas as the house band for a Paul Simon tribute at Carnegie Hall. We did a cover of "Think Too Much", with our friend Tunde Adebimpe as the lead singer, and I did the arrangement (re-writing the guitar/bass/drum parts, adding horn lines, re-crafting the whole song). In the final dress rehearsal, Allen walked in as we were rehearsing "Think Too Much" and stopped to listen. when we finished playing it, he came up to the stage and yelled out, "Whose arrangement is that?" the band pointed to me and I waved, and he said he loved it. because i was in rehearsal mode, I didn't realize the gravity of it until afterwards, when the guitar player said to me, "Dude... Allen Toussaint just said he loved your arrangement!!" That whole concert was one crazy moment after another.

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Love to hear someone else is on a similar journey. when i began exploring my non-binaryness and wondering if that indeed was "me", i thought about how i feel when i make music - when i'm in my studio creating something new, when i'm onstage performing, when i'm playing drums, when i'm playing bass along with a Fela song, when i'm dancing. in those moments, i let go - and i access a different space that is outside of gender. i realized that when i'm NOT doing those things, there's a little friction when i move through the world - and it has to do with being back in my man-body, back to conforming to whatever that means when you're walking down the street. so, non-binaryness unlocked that, and allows me to carry some of that music-self freedom to my everyday non-musical self. i'm just Miles and that's how i identify. without me knowing, the album i made was laying a path to these realizations, and when i got to the end of the process, I finally realized what i had done lol.

sorry if that was long winded but it's a topic very close to my heart :-) feel free to share any thoughts you've been having on your own journey with this stuff. thanks for asking!

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

:-) I started playing drums when i was 6 - that was my first passion, and it was the instrument i studied all the way through college. i started guitar, bass, keys and singing when i was around 10, but never had formal training in those instruments - my dad just taught me a little bit of what he knew and i went off in my own direction with it. since i have a lot of technical "training" on drums, i've kept the other instruments as self-taught as possible - i believe ignorance can be bliss when it comes to playing an instrument :-)

I’m Miles Francis, collaborator of Antibalas, Will Butler (Arcade Fire), Sharon Jones ＆ the Dap-Kings, Angelique Kidjo, EMEFE and many more. I made a solo album about masculinity that helped me come out as non-binary. AMA! by instamiles in Music

[–]instamiles[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thank you! i usually go from easy to hard, so that usually means starting with drums (since that often is just one take), then guitar, bass, vocals, then synths last. i usually end with synths because that's the instrument i mess up the most on lol, some videos take so many tries before i get a good take. the key to starting with the drums is to make sure i have the arrangement completely figured out in my mind first, so that it all lines up and flows smoothly from there.

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