Brooklyn New York has never had it quite this great...
Introducing Producer, Song Writer and an essential component to the resurgence of New York City's abstract musical movement J. Face.
"What exactly does 'Outside the Box' refer to?" As Face cleverly poses a question while putting back on an expensive pair of headphones that he uses only during studio production. "These are for my artists, they get the good stuff" he chuckles while turning back to his keyboard to pluck the latest melody from his mind. His peers hadn't given him the name Face for no reason. That reason can be clearly seen as his facial expressions go from that of somber searching to excited emotion all as he composes a melody, he's very expressive. However when the music stops he is back to being the quiet thinker. "That plus the girls always said I had a baby-face, Edmunds, no relations", said sarcastically as if he was purposely trying to be humorous in a "cheesy" way.
"No really? Where is this 'Box' that everyone is trying to get out of? I can't see it, can't feel it, nothing." We ask for a little background information between the rhetorical questions and he pauses...
Born in Bedford-Stuyvestant Brooklyn and now residing in Flatbush, Face's ancestry hails from Costa Rica. "Nah, no father. Just me and moms here." an all too familiar equation for today's musical youth. In his early years he would rather draw and write himself into short stories rather than playing football and other sports with the neighborhood kids, "I always wanted to be an astronaut when i grew up, I was never really into playing sports too much." Now J. Face "plays" around on expensive recording equipment. Being in the house so much led him to be influenced by the sounds of the Latin Jazz and Soul records that were played so frequently by his mother. "Almost everyday, my moms would blast Salsa or Soul...dancing to it, sometimes draggin' me to dance too" His uncle would occasionally upset that by injecting the mostly latin household with Rock & Roll and contemporary music. It was only until public school when he got his first taste of hip hop and rap.
Growing up in a christian household, J. wasn't allowed to purchase, listen, or play rap because of its explicit content. "My classmates must of had cool parents because they always had the newest rap album out. I use to listen to their walkmans and hear Wu-Tang, B.I.G, or Nas. I got jealous and started sneaking to the cd store and buying it. Then, I would just tape the cd and listen to it on my walkman. My mom couldnt hear a thing, so I got away with that, heh".
Back to the present, We asked Face what is in his arsenal for production......
Face has a taste for classical sounds (i.e. piano, strings, orchestra, etc) and instruments used in Middle Eastern and Asian music. A mastered technique he loves to use when Sampling is distortion (i.e. changing notes, reversing sounds, removing different wavelengths, etc.). Rarely does he loop samples in their original form as he feels he’s cheating and couldn’t take full credit. This belief pushes his imagination and skill giving him his edge amongst other producers.
"That's all I'm going to tell ya! Wouldn't want any biters." He smiles and throws on a set of more worn, used headphones. "An artist is coming soon. I have to finish something before he gets here."
With a spin of his chair he's back to figuring out where to place twisted strings and snares. A head nod signals a farewell and we show ourselves out as we pass an artist in the hallway that has obviously arrived too early.
J. Face is ready.
Abstract Minds N.Y.C
