Songwriter, vocalist and musician Chase Frank, originally from Long Beach, CA, but who currently resides in Austin, TX, has released five solo albums, and four with her band The Harms – a surfy, garage band founded at the prompting of long-time friend and Producer, Ikey Owens (RIP). She is also a member of the Austin improv group Dub Seance founded by Joseph Woullard. Her most recognizable song “Sweet Apple” has been featured on the FOX/Netflix series Lucifer (S3 E5) and is featured as the title credit track for the movie Falcon Rising. She has also shared the stage with Nels Cline (Wilco),Free Moral Agents, Banyan, Minmae, The Happy Hollows, Thee More Shallows (Anticon), The Pity Party, Rademacher, The Good The Bad (Denmark), Mia Doi Todd, Cold War Kids, and more.
Joseph Woullard is a saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist with over a decade of experience touring and recording with popular and critically-acclaimed artists. He is highly awarded and highly requested, with experience writing, arranging, and performing with talented artists around the world, including work with Hard Proof, Black Joe Lewis, Cilantro Boombox, Gary Clark Jr., Ocote Soul Sounds, Antibalas, Spoon and Golden Dawn Arkestra, and Hard Proof Horns – to name only a few.
Today Glide is excited to premiere, “The Only You,” one of the new collaborations between these two talented artists. Incorporating disturbing news audio from recent protests and footage involving police shootings, the song features a sly and mysterious instrumental groove that progresses into a melange of flute and electronic effects. There is a mournful tone to the mostly instrumental track that seems to reflect on the sadness of the past year, ultimately manifesting into a dark yet funky track featuring a layering of musical textures. There are influences of hip-hop and downbeat as well as funk, acoustic folk and pop music, making for a listening experience that is truly unique.
Chase Frank reflects on the process behind the track:
“We were working on the song “This Big Blue”. I realized how strong it was without vocals and we decided to put it out independently. At first I just wanted to highlight the amazing musicians I was working with, then decided I wanted to capture the emotion of 2020 and how intense it was in America. I wanted to capture how I felt at the black lives matter protests I had joined in Austin. I also wanted to convey the profound loss of life and honor those lost to Covid. I started hearing historic moments all around me through the news headlines. Those moments were swirling around my head and I could already hear the montage. I thought it would make an amazing old-school intro to the instrumental. It was a timestamp that we were living through. I had to document it. I approached musician and engineer J.P. Bendzinski to create the montage using public sound clips I had chosen, and he simply nailed it. I also love the way Joseph Woullard’s flute lead came across, if you listen to him, you’ll understand what he’s saying, no words necessary.”
Joe Woullard adds his own take:
The title “The Only You” was derived from a lyric from its sister song “This Big Blue,” a sincere plea for listeners to take pride in their unique existence and not give up. This was a literal challenge for us too, given that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed our work on this song and our lives in general.
During the recording of “This Big Blue” I approached the flute parts like a Gil Scott-Heron song: responding in dialogue with the vocals. That idea was reflected by layers of flute and bass clarinet that support the more lyrical statements like a chorus. We also “sampled” contributions from our friends John “Fingaz” Caldwell on keys and Jesse Carzello on guitars, as well as Chase’s “This Big Blue” vocals, to help form the structure of the song.
LISTEN:
