Well, that took longer than expected.
When I first became aware of Kiko Loureiro's "Overflow Jam" song, I thought it was a great idea and something I had to do. For those that don't know, Kiko put out a modified version of his song "Overflow" - from his 2020 solo album Open Source - that stripped away all the guitar solos and melodies. Left in its place were the rhythm guitars, drums, bass, and some keyboards (which didn't play a lead role).
The concept was that you had the freedom to write and play over this stripped down version of the tune and add yourself to the video along side of Kiko. A very cool concept and a great way to "play" with one of the best metal guitar players out there.
So I quickly downloaded the files and started jamming to it. I also bought the album and Kiko's notation package. (I didn't listen to the album version of "Overflow" or any of the jam versions while working on the line. Didn't want to be consciously or subconsciously influenced. Going to have to now take a listen!)
Writing The First 95% Was The Easy Part
I listened to the tune a few times and had a general idea of what I wanted to play and where I wanted the bass to go. Immediately, I knew I was going to use my hybrid bass; an Ibanez SR 300 4-string fretted bass I converted into a hybrid fretted/fretless. So I grabbed the bass and started jamming along.
My goals with the tune were several:
Keep the bass in the bassline
Use the fretless strings where appropriate
Add a little melody
Do a little noodling
Since there were no lead or melody instruments, and the tune clocked in a little north of 2 and 1/2 minutes, I felt like I had to do something to keep it interesting. Taking advantage of the fretless strings was one way. Doing a little noodling was another. Building up the bassline and making it a little more "notey" and aggressive as the tune progressed was still another. I also wanted to do a little shredding because, hey, I like shred and this is, after all, a Kiko Loureiro instrumental guitar tune.
I wrote around 95% of the bassline in about a week's time, jamming to it between 30 minutes to an hour or so a day. It was all there...except for that "shred" part.
Painting Myself Into a Corner
I don't repeat any one part 100% throughout the song. I was set on this (why, I'm not sure). I build upon a couple of themes, but never play something exactly as it was played earlier in the tune.
There's this one part I play before and after my planned "shred solo." I felt it would go into and come out of the section very nicely (markers 1:49 and 2:04 on the final video). I really liked playing it and it wasn't something I was going to change. Everything was now done, worked out, and recorded, except for this measly, little shred part. Really, how long could this take to record? Corner now painted.
The Torture of the Last 5%
When I finally sat down to write the shred part, nothing satisfied me. Nothing. I probably wrote around 12 different licks with a few variations of each over the course of weeks. All this for a section that's only 4 measures long! The process went like this:
Write something
Practice it
Record it
Listen to it a day or two later
Immediately hate it
Start over
This went on and on...and on...and on...and on. So much so that I walked away for several weeks at a time hoping I'd come back with fresh, inspired ideas and finish this thing. Nope.
After a long break from working on it, I picked up the bass, started playing and something eventually did click. I do like the final part, but, honestly, it still doesn't sit with me 100%. But it was time to finish things up. Had I waited any longer, Kiko would be releasing his next solo album.
Overall, a great experience. I learned a few things about my playing and had a lot of fun trying to give the bassline a little melody, a little shred, and a lot of bass!
- DD
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