I just discovered it’s American Craft Beer Week! So to celebrate (well it’s a good excuse anyway), I’ve been drinking some New Belgium – more specifically the Ranger IPA. Apparently that makes me a beer ranger.

Anyway, what I like about this beer is how it combines the citrus / floral / fruity flavors of three different hops with the dark caramel of malts. The Ranger IPA is definitely my favorite of all the New Belgium beers, and I highly recommend it.

And if you like chillout music, “Les Nuits” can’t be beat.

Classic instrumental hip hop and downtempo music.

A couple of months ago I had the privilege of hearing Atlanta-based music producer Billy Hume talk about the ins and outs of  mixing and producing.  When asked about mastering, he said that it was (and I’m paraphrasing) a special kind of science (or magic or wizardry) that was best left to those who only do mastering.  That is, he focuses on his art – mixing and producing music – and leaves the art of mastering up to someone else. I’m sure he was being humble (just check out his resume), but it’s an interesting point.  Should you master your own music or get someone else to do it?

Well Billy is more knowledgeable than I am so I trust his judgement.  But I’m a fan of getting mastering help for a couple other reasons:

First, I prefer to do what I love and what I like to think I do well, which is writing and recording music.  After I mix everything down, I rely on experts to handle the mastering.  While Billy was being funny, he’s right.  It really is different from anything else you do when recording.  I don’t want to spend a lot of time learning about the complexities of mastering when I could use that time to write more songs.

Second, if you’re a solo musician like me, you’d benefit from another set of ears hearing your music, and contributing some sonic support.  Actually I think everyone who is recording music would benefit from this.  Of course if you’re a perfectionist who has to do everything on his/her own then you might disagree.  But I like getting the help and suggestions of a professional.

Finally, and this is the most important point, mastering is an art unto itself. The people who do it well add a quality, a warmth, an extra sparkle to your music.  And this is absolutely worth the investment.

A couple of recommendations:  my most recent music was mastered by Frank Marheineke at Analog Mastering and I think he always does an amazing job.  My first release was mastered by Lorenz Vauck at Xarc Mastering and I would definitely recommend his work as well.

I write about music all the time, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace to talk about one of my other passions: beer.  While I try to take all things in moderation, I do consider myself a connoisseur of IPAs, pilsners, stouts, and other brews.  My love for all things ale might stem from my proximity to the beer capital of the USA, or maybe I just have a taste for the tang of hops.  Either way, I like beer so it seems appropriate to share some suggestions.  Maybe you’ll discover one you like too.

One of my current favorites is Founders Brewing Co.’s All Day IPA.

I love hops.  I don’t know why, but the hoppier, the better. The flavor is phenomenal, and that’s why I like beer: the taste. And while I enjoy inebriation as much as the next guy, I don’t drink to get drunk.  In fact, I prefer the opposite.  If I don’t get lit right way, then I can enjoy the beer longer, and appreciate all the complexities more.

That’s why Founders All Day IPA might be the perfect beer.  It has the hoppyness and aroma of an IPA, but an alcohol level of 4.7%, which makes it extra drinkable, hence the name: you can drink it all day. Now I’m not saying you should drink all day, and I’m not admitting to doing that myself.  But hypothetically, if we were to imbibe for an entire afternoon – and it would be our little secret – this would be my beer of choice.

Founders says the All Day IPA “keeps your taste satisfied while keeping your senses sharp. An all-day IPA naturally brewed with a complex array of malts, grains and hops. Balanced for optimal aromatics and a clean finish. The perfect reward for an honest day’s work and the ultimate companion to celebrate life’s simple pleasures.”

It’s only available in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Chicago though so if you can’t find it, I recommend you request it. Or move.

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It’s always exciting when you get to communicate with your inspirations, and I’ve had the pleasure of getting to talk with a number of them when writing for Leisure Lab. But hearing from Bluey was even bigger than that. He and Incognito helped lay the foundation for many of my favorite styles such as Nu Jazz and Broken Beat.  They were at the forefront of the Acid Jazz movement, and the group has continued to make amazing music for 25 years.

So of course his input on the subject of musical genres is pretty meaningful to me, and I thought you’d be interested in it too…

Here’s what was in my email:

What do you think about music genres?  I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.

Some musicians hate them because they think they’re too restrictive.  Some artists try to perfect specific sub-genres in order to be more successful financially – they find their niche and use it for all it’s worth.

I actually find them creatively useful, like paints on a canvas. Whether it’s downtempo, deep house, or drum and bass, the different styles inspire me to communicate different emotions or ideas. But that’s from a musician’s perspective.  As a fan of music, I like them because they give me a way to explore all kinds of different sounds, and find new music.

I wrote about that on my blog recently, but I’d love to hear what you think.  What are you favorite styles of music?  Or do you even care about genre?

Bluey responded:

They help people make a connection to a style of music and they use that description to discover similar sounds. Some will take the label of the genre and make it their badge of honor, and some will feel a sense of belonging.
Though many Artists don’t like genres as they feel it pigeon holes them and limits them to a category, I am not of the same opinion. In fact for my band’s first album in 1981 I felt that the genre Jazz Funk (Which I was a fan of) perfectly described the music that we had recorded, so I call the album Jazz Funk.

Fast forward a decade and we were signed by Gilles Peterson to his label Talkin’ Loud and we were suddenly put into the Acid Jazz category. Though I was still feeling my music as predominantly Jazz Funk  & Soul the input of the DJ’s and the dancers that followed the scene demanded that it had it’s own identifying label as a new genre. Acid Jazz (A play on words of the Acid House movement) perfectly described this new fusion of sounds seeped & influenced by a cool and groove laden Jazz era and sometimes spiced up with an element of Brazilian or Afro Cuban Jazz. The lines between the sub genres had become so corroded and fused that the word Acid became very descriptive.

Each new generation will have their own take on established genres or create totally new ones. This marks their own creative input and celebrates their music culture forever. it is important as I have witnessed first hand with my son’s career in Drum & Bass (AKA drum ‘n‘ bass) & Neo Soul.
What’s in a name… Quite a lot it seems!

Quite a lot.  I love the positivity in Bluey’s approach to genre, and the positivity in Incongito’s music. And it’s pretty cool that he’d take the time to respond to a fan

When we meet people and they ask us what kind of music we make, we tell them we can’t be labeled with any particular style.  In fact, we have such disdain for these labels, we’re offended when anyone attempts to categorize our music, even if that listener or critic likes what she hears.  Why is that?
For some, the contempt for genres stems from an identity problem.  The artist hasn’t found her unique voice yet, and thus can’t describe it.  Most of us experience this – it’s normal, and part of discovering our identities. Nearly all of us go through it, and most of us grow out of it as we learn more about ourselves and the music we love.

Others may have insecurities about the genres or sub genres with which they’ve been associated.  That is, a musician may not want to be tied too closely to a trendy sub genre that could fall out of favor by next year.  This view is a little short-sighted since styles always come back around.  However, more unfortunate is the musician’s concern over trend and stylishness.  I think artists who worry about not being too trendy while still trying to maintain some sort of relevance water down their music for fear of over-committing to a particular sound.  The result is moderately popular, and somewhat bland, music.

I’ve known some artists who dislike genre and sub-genre for an altogether different reason.  They began their careers with very specific sounds, and became well known and very successful among particular audiences.  Soon though they wanted to experiment with other styles.  They made some creative and artistic music, and some of them were successful. They reached new listeners, and found new fans, which was great.  Somewhere along the way though, they developed a pretentiousness.   They became above genre, and critical of those who would commit to one.

I still don’t know where this one comes from.  Maybe their old fans didn’t like their new sounds, and complained. So this pretense was a defense mechanism to being rejected by their old fans (despite having reached even more new fans).  They didn’t want to be tied to the genres that made them successful, and developed creative frustration.  Admittedly I’m speculating here because I haven’t sold nearly as many records as they have.

All of that being said, I think there are more positive approaches to genre, and three of them stand out to me.

Perfect a very specific sub-genre, finding your niche.  If you’re an independent musician you’ve read about this approach plenty of times.  Derek Sivers explained it best: “Have the confidence to find your niche, define who you are, then declare it again and again and again and again.” The point here is to own your sound, and embrace it completely.

Let a genre be your painting, and sub-genres your colors.  For example, I make electronic music, but I use a different palette or sub-genre for each song.  Sometimes it’s downtempo; sometimes it’s deep house; sometimes it’s drum and bass. This allows me some creativity, but doesn’t confuse my audience.  I can’t tell you this approach is financially successful; it’s just my personal favorite as an artist.

Shape and transform an entire genre.  I think this hardest goal to achieve.  Dilla did it for hip hop; Monk did it for jazz; Hendrix did it for rock.  If you’re doing this all I can is God bless you.  Close your browser, and go make more music.

Actually that would be my advice, for whatever it’s worth, to any musician reading this now.  If you spend too much time trying to avoid classification, you’ll actually be focusing more on genre than creating art, which probably isn’t your goal. On the other hand, if listeners or critics are labelling you then they’re listening to you.  Let them!  Now go and put something new in their ears.  Do what you do best, focusing on your strengths, and guided by your passions.  Stay positive, and let someone else worry about pigeonholing.