Welcome to Singled Out! where we ask artists to tell us the inside story of their latest single. Today Jensen Reed' tells us about "After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" from his new album "Forget About The Cameras". We now turn it over to for the story: "After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" started out as a completely different song that I finished prior to bringing it to producer Christian Hand. I always felt that the beat was bangin' but was never completely sold on the song being strong enough to make the cut for my album Forget About The Cameras. Christian felt the same way and we stripped it down to only the drums and a few elements that preserved the chord changes I had written.
The breakthrough came when we found the distorted synth sound that bounced perfectly with the drums. From that point we laid out the structure of the song and added new sounds and reworked some of the originals. Hearing these exciting changes, I knew the song was going to be special.
I immediately wanted to write verses and suggested that Christian work on the chorus to get things started. He killed it. Using his lyrics and direction, I wrote verses reflecting the internal and external battles that everyone goes through at some point in their life. On my first attempt, I actually wrote a verse spewing anger and fire from a dark place in my life. After hearing it, Christian was very insistent that the song, although dark, was triumphant and ultimately positive and challenged me to write something better.
This first verse is a personal introspective of difficult times that I have been through but ultimately came out of a better person. The second verse echoes the same theme, but I tell it in an encouraging way directed at the listener. One of the things I love about the structure of the song is the four bar atmospheric melody parts within each verse. They really add another dimension and texture to the vocals that set it apart from others on my album.
The middle 8 section is extremely dark and we used some interesting filters on the vocals to convey the idea of disillusionment and despair. These feelings are ultimately resolved as the third and final chorus explodes back in. Each chorus builds with new elements and layers until the final comes at the listener like a wall of sound with heavy guitars and more synth sounds.
I see "After The War (feat. superbeautiful)" as a far-reaching song that will resonate with a lot of people. No matter how big or small, each of us goes through difficult times. It is how we react to those situations that determine if we grow. Sometimes there are moments in your life that you know are pivotal. You have to seize opportunities, take control and keep moving forward�
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album - right here!
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