Behind the scenes...

Although this track is the first on the mixtape, it was the last recorded and its inclusion was by no means certain up until 24 hours before we sat down to the final mix and mastering...

Originally I drafted a 4 page concept for the opening track because I had very specific messages I wanted to convey to specific groups of people impacted by suicide.

The higher profile artist I had originally pitched the concept to was unable to get on board due to competing priorities. So for a while it didn't even have a name against it.

Then in August I heard a demo recorded by MC MJD with 18yo Jacob Brizzi from Myrtleford. It featured Jacob's acoustic guitar, MJD rapping and Jacob singing. You can hear it here (note language warning) soundcloud.com/mc-mjd/close-your-eyes-mc-mjd-x-jacob

Inspired by the sounds I bought them the obligatory coffee, showed them the concept and they said they'd have a crack.

MJD was under a bit of pressure at the time as he still had to finalise and record 'Witness' with Hendo, record tracks for his own EP, and prepare for a trip to Sydney where he had won a spot at an open mic gig.

So I played with fire and pencilled in the writing and recording of the opening track, during the week before the absolute deadline.

Early in the week MJD told me they'd spent a lot of time and it wasn't working with the acoustic song. But they HAD however, found a Cool Poindexter beat on the Suicide Watch soundcloud page that was perfect for it...

I confess I was disappointed as I loved the sounds of Jacob's guitar and the mixtape was already full of pre-composed beats. But when a muso tells you something isn't working... I have learnt ... there's no point forcing it...

They finished the track the day before we were booked to record and I got my first listen the night before, when MJD uploaded it to soundcloud. Another surprise, it was a sweet little song to be sure... but nothing like the 4 page concept i'd been carrying around in my head for 5 months...

Long story short, I listened, I slept on it, I thought of other options and in the end I just let my attachment go. Always an adopter of the 'one door closes' philosophy...

The more I listened to 'You're not alone' the more I liked it, and now I absolutely love it, and I hope you do too. They also did a great job over laying the intro and shout outs, and I think it is a perfect opener for the mixtape.

Well done guys :) xx