“I done seen everything...dope, coke, hope, all in between; it's everything. If life gone throw a strike at you; on all that's good, you better swing.” - Jon Bolds

— Tension

AfterDark

 The 215 native has seen a lot of good from those around him, and copied their ways. Likewise, influenced by elements that some may deem as "corrupt". Being from an area where survival is the name of the game, many lines become blurred.  When you win, there is no cheering, confetti falling or congratulations, and when you lose you won’t even be around to know.  

 Through musical elements ranging from Hip Hop, to soul and fusing genres such as R&B and Gospel, this is the North Philly native's story being told. One of journey, confusion, doubts, revelation, and redemption through God.  

Songs like “Blessed”, “Put em on skates”, and others, perfectly show the duality between what’s known and what’s being discovered about faith, mentality, and the way the world is perceived. Afterdark is as oxymoronic as it can be, whether day or night, we all reach a point where we are standing at cross roads in life.

LaRoo

Meet the man behind the music!

Klaudellsh a.k.a LaRoo has always been intrigued by sounds. The busyness of the Big Apple, specifically Brooklyn, plays a huge role in his musical upbringing along with the mesmerizing rhythms of the Carribean, colors and shapes. His love for music blossomed when He and his family moved to Philadelphia. It was there where he took private lessons in piano, violin and classical guitar; later on jazz piano.

 

 Quote moment : What is Music to me

A culmination of high and low frequencies that have been quantified using hertz and have been set together to create something at the creators discretion. Where words fail, music succeed. 

 

LaRoo’s passion for producing stemmed from a class in Community College, where He learned the basics of production. Along with producing, LaRoo also composes and arranges in a classical and hip-hop context. His biggest musical influences are Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Thelonious Monk (coincidentally most of the people in this list are pianists). These musicians/composers are from different time periods and genres, which shows the depth to his musical palette. By nature, LaRoo has a knack for taking things apart and putting it back together; in a musical context, building music from the ground up through analysis and synthesizing the material. This fusion is apparent in LaRoo’s style and in AfterDark.

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LaRoo Afterdark

Creating the soundtrack to the life

My vision for AfterDark is a simple one. It’s to create an audio biography of Saeso’s life; My interpretation of (His)tory.    -LaRoo

 

From top to bottom, AfterDark goes through a rollercoaster of emotions by giving different perspectives and philosophies of life.

A.o.W. (Art of War) is a piece concerning the issues of the Black Urban Experience through the eyes of Saeso. Being that the Black Experience is similar for Black people but isn’t monolithic, I tried to convey that by using different samples, instruments and drum patterns. Each layer was meticulously put together with the thought of highlighting different hues of red and yellow. This process was one of the longest from the album; 3 beat revisions, added samples, different sound designs. The journey this beat has taken me was an enlightening one; literally and metaphorically.

J.B.T.  (Jon Bolds Theory) is a modern day take on a traditional ballad. The inspiration for this track came from the smooth era of music, The 70s. I wanted to replicate the film scoring orchestras of the 70s using digital sounds. The picture that comes to mind is a purple ocean with waves of yellow and orange. Purple is a perfect blend of passion and tranquil (Red and Blue) with a hidden hue of uncertainty, while the splashes of yellow and orange represent hope. My approach for this track was an odd one. I started with the harmonic rhythm of the bass and built up my chords using a Classical music technique called Figured Bass. I added guitar, strings and synths to provide the wave texture and color. This is definitely a track to cruise down the road with a sunset hovering over the horizon. 

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