The process of co-writing is extremely gratifying, especially when each person has several layers of musical influence. Different nationalities automatically enhance this further. Early conversations with Randy about music led me to believe that his listening and playing preferences were entrenched in a quite specific area of styles, but as time has gone on he has sent me recordings that have surprised me in a "oh you have that going on too" kind of way. It keeps the whole process exciting as you don't quite know what you might be working on next. I've certainly had to step outside my comfort zone when asked to provide a solo over a few things that Randy has thrown my way.
On the tech side, we share the Logic platform which has helped massively. It ends there though as we don't share 3rd party sounds/plugins. That's a shame, but it is what it is. You have to be very methodical and deliberate about your workflow and initial DAW setup as this can come to a point where it becomes a big problem.
This track came to me pretty much with the whole harmonic architecture in place and with Randy having improvised an alto sax melody over it. His opening line was so strong that I totally went with it when recording the tenor part. It took me several runs to get my head into this tune and not to waver despite being a 'straight through' play. Randy added guitar when he could hear what I'd done with the sax and where the variances in texture were.
The strings came about a month later, after working on another tune that I threw the kitchen sink at. Indeed, had I literally done that it wouldn't have sounded out of sorts. Perhaps Randy can share that on here too. Orchestrating that was really fun. I could indulge my love of Stravinsky, Holst, Ravel... he has to post it now!
