We just lately caught up with our good friend producer Ivan Barias for an interview. Throughout our dialog, we mentioned his historical past with DJ Jazzy Jeff’s A Contact of Jazz, linking up with Carvin Haggins, his work on Musiq Soulchild’s debut album “Aijuswanaseing”, his work at The Recording Academy, and extra.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zUMnxlGXro]YouKnowIGotSoul: Discuss coming from Atlantic Metropolis to even touchdown at Jazzy Jeff’s A Contact of Jazz studios.
Ivan Barias: Right here’s the factor. After I was in Atlantic Metropolis, my curiosity was by no means actually in direction of music. I used to be at all times into sports activities. I fancied myself to be a ballplayer which most likely wasn’t the perfect thought, I sucked! *Laughs* One of many locations the place I used to play basketball at was a rec heart. I met Darren Henson who was a producer at a mall we used to work at. I labored at clothes retailer, he labored at one other store. I knew he rapped and he was at all times into hip hop, and I used to be a hip hop fan. This was the early 90’s like 91, I actually bought this sturdy curiosity in eager to be a rapper. I began writing and recording demos. Up till that point, my thought of eager to be within the music business was me being an artist. I had run with this crew they usually gave me beats, after which it bought to the purpose the place I began dabbling and having hand me down gear. This little Casio SK1 sampler that usually has 24 keys. I began messing round and making beats and I bought good. The blokes who used to present me beats began asking me for beats! Quick ahead to me enjoying on the rec and working into Darren Henson once more there, I came upon he was in a crew, he related and stayed in contact. Then someday round 1995, we reconnected once more and we began hanging out, I’d come over his home to take a look at some data. We’d at all times speak about beats and stuff like that. We went on a visit to New York, a report digging journey, and began speaking about placing collectively a beat tape. I knew he knew Jazzy Jeff. So I stated we should always put collectively a beat tape and go as much as Philly and play it for Jeff. We lastly determined to do this and went up one Friday evening in ’95. It was most likely an important transition level in my life as a music creator. After I went as much as A Contact of Jazz that day, that they had all of those wonderful musicians enjoying all the devices within the model that I’d solely hear on data I wished to pattern. At that time I knew I needed to be there. We performed Jeff the beat tape, it was hip hop beats, staggered between Darren and mine. Jeff heard it and stated we should always come again subsequent week. It turned a convention he’d invite us each Friday evening. Each time we might get off work, we labored on the on line casino at the moment, come to Philly and keep till like four within the morning and drive again to Atlantic Metropolis and sleep an hour and return to work. We did that for about three or four years. To start with, Jeff would simply invite us each Friday, after which ultimately stated we may come every time wished with out an invitation. So then we simply turned part of A Contact of Jazz. There have been about 16 individuals there at the moment after which it bought scaled again. It was a camp made up not solely of producers, however you had been songwriters, artists, musicians. Little by little, individuals began transferring away and doing their very own factor. The 6 that remained had been the 6 that had been concentrated because the A Contact of Jazz model and labored on all of the albums. So I used to be simply developing on my days off once I was not working, till I bought let go on the Tropicana On line casino the place I used to be working in Atlantic Metropolis. In about 1999, that was the yr I used to be just about that is it, I needed to go at it onerous. That was the yr the place we labored on Jill Scott, Musiq and met Floetry and quite a lot of wonderful music.
YouKnowIGotSoul: We all know Carvin and Ivan as a manufacturing crew through the years. How did you find yourself forming a partnership with him?
Ivan Barias: The factor that was cool about Carvin was he was a songwriter. He may additionally do beats, he had one of many dopest beats on Jill Scott’s debut album, which is the “Honey Molasses”. His curiosity was by no means to be a producer, he at all times wished to be a songwriter. I had beats, and lots of people weren’t writing to my music. We related. He couldn’t get beats, I couldn’t get songwriters, so it was like a mutually helpful connection at first. His hip hop aesthetic was in direction of having these onerous beats with samples and wanting to jot down hip hop leaning r&b songs. So with my sound, I aligned with what he was attempting to do. It simply turned a pure factor. It wasn’t even a factor about teaming up. We had been simply continuously working collectively. Finally once we all went out separate methods, him and I had labored a lot, and we had a chemistry to the purpose it made sense. We wished to maintain it going and make it official.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was the surroundings like at A Contact of Jazz.
Ivan Barias: It was a kind of issues that’s actually onerous to quantify into phrases. At the moment once you’re dwelling by way of it, you don’t have any idea of what you’re doing by way of shifting the narrative and altering the best way data are being made. So far as camps and the way we labored, nobody taught us that means, it was completely different. Loads of it got here from being aggressive and us being household oriented and collaborative. I might be engaged on a monitor and Vidal or Dre or Keith Pelzer will stroll in. They had been the musicians on the time earlier than I really developed abilities and began with the ability to play. If I had a beat enjoying, and Keith would stroll in, he’d say it’s loopy. So I’d ask him to do a bass line on it. I might be strolling into one other room and Andre Harris is perhaps engaged on a monitor. He’s bought some chords, and subsequent factor you already know I’m doing drums on it. It was a extremely penalty free means of constructing data. You’re not likely aligning your self with the music business ethos. It actually wasn’t a factor with us. We weren’t considering of the financial facet of doing it. It was extra so let’s assist one another. It was measuring stick for all of us. If somebody did one thing dope and bought a placement, we’d all cheer for them, and have a good time, and know we needed to stage up. It was an amazing surroundings the place we increase one another and lean different one another and study. It was in contrast to something I’ve ever been part of.
YouKnowIGotSoul: The liberty of creation you guys had been capable of have sounds epic.
Ivan Barias: Let me backtrack as a result of I don’t wish to misrepresent A Contact of Jazz being the bottom zero of music creation. We noticed what Mr. Gordy did with Motown. We knew what was happening with Stax. We knew what was happening with Philadelphia Worldwide with that period with the Philadelphia Sound. All of that stuff predated me, I wasn’t even born when quite a lot of these data had been being made and quite a lot of these nice artists had been launched. There was a communal facet to that these data being made in that period that influenced the best way A Contact of Jazz operated. It was a distinct kind of vitality. Jeff by no means got here at us in a means that was tyrannical. It was in a means that he gave us all the chance. He gave us the keys to the studio and the gear, he wasn’t going to inform us what to do, however he’d inform us what hours we may work within the studio! All of us had entry to the studio and gear. I positive as hell blew loads quite a lot of tweeters and woofers! I by no means knew how a lot they price and the place the cash to restore them got here from. I used to be lucky to have entry to what he supplied us with. I’m nonetheless eternally grateful, it was an amazing alternative.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was your first impression of assembly Musiq Soulchild?
Ivan Barias: When he first got here round, I simply thought he was tremendous dope as a result of he had this dope vibe about him. After all he was an R&B/Soul singer, he was attempting to develop into additionally an artist like Stevie, Donny, and following on what D’Angelo had achieved. He was an extension of that lineage. What attracted me to him was, his means to essentially perceive hip hop. The way in which he approached music, he had this hip hop vitality about what he was doing. It didn’t really feel like common R&B/Soul music. I establish with hip hop tradition a lot. I at all times felt just like the music wanted a way of urgency. I believe he aligned with that. Us collaborating actually tapped into that lane of with the ability to make these data that align with issues that hip hop followers may gravitate in direction of and never really feel prefer it’s too mushy for me. I believe between him and Carvin and I, we had this fascinating vitality. We had a standard admiration for lots of the identical music. He liked J Dilla, I liked Dilla. That’s somebody that I had the distinction and pleasure of assembly and hanging out and happening a beat digging journey. Speaking about data with him. I used to be actually drawn to that tradition of rap music, like The Ummah, A Tribe Known as Quest and that jazzy hip hop sound I at all times liked. I believe with him having such a ardour for that sound made it simpler to make the data we made. They had been coming from a spot the place it felt enjoyable. In all probability what made me really feel like R&B music at the moment wasn’t for me. I felt like R&B was so superior by way of the method and the way it’s important to have a distinct mindset once you’re in a studio engaged on these tasks. The periods I used to be used to being part of with hip hop stuff was completely different. That’s what was so distinctive about Musiq. He disproved the parable of what an R&B artist must be. It was completely re-calibrated from what we labored on. Even to at the present time you possibly can nonetheless really feel his affect. The hip hop affect of soul music we had been capable of inject into these early data. It resonated and helped advance the style in a means it couldn’t have if it didn’t have that factor.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You had a giant hand within the creation of Musiq’s debut album “Aijuswanaseing”. Speak concerning the creation of his first single “Simply Buddies (Sunny)”.
Ivan Barias: That may be a particular report. To me it’s the seminal report for that evolution of Neo-Soul. Even to at the present time there are such a lot of artists, writers, and producers who come to me and reference that report. It actually makes the story of it even larger. I do not forget that beat journey that I discussed, we went to Pittsburgh. It was myself, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kenny Dope, Darren Henson, and Dilla. All of us took a visit to Pittsburgh in 98. We began in Philly sooner or later, and by the point we bought again two days later, we had gone all the best way to Pittsburgh and again. We hit all of those report retailers. Throughout that journey, Kenny Dope had already knew the kind of sound I used to be partial in direction of. He stated he knew I’d like any such sound, take a look at this label, it was known as Muse. They’d quite a lot of dope, jazzy, funky, soulful grooves. The sort that I appreciated to pattern. He handed me a Pat Martino dwell album. Once we bought again to Philly a few days later, I went by way of the stash and put it on. I knew the report from Bobby Hebb, it was known as “Sunny”. I at all times appreciated that groove. Put it on, I assumed it was dope. Sampled it, loaded it down, looped it up. At the moment I used to be nonetheless rapping and attempting to be an artist. I bought the beat enjoying, and right here walks in Vidal and hears it. He thought it was dope and added a bass line and performed a bit of keyboard embellishment on prime of it. I’m looping it up and Musiq walks in. Hears me engaged on it, and he thought it was dope. I had this little bizarre little factor, just a few little lyrics. He heard it and began singing these lyrics and enhancing a bit. After which he disappeared. I believe I made him a tape of that beat and a few different issues after which he disappeared for like a yr! He went to Atlanta to go to his household and moved down there. He already had recorded fairly just a few songs with Carvin. Then a yr later he comes again, and I bear in mind this was round Thanksgiving. We had been within the studio, and requested if I nonetheless had that beat. I pulled it up and him and Carvin completed writing it. It turned that track. That report has so many various tales hooked up to it for a way lengthy it took. Darren had stated we should always begin it with a beat field! Musiq was within the studio beat boxing whereas Keith recorded it. He was the engineer for the vocal session. As we had been determining what was happening, we had been doing technical stuff, and Musiq is beatboxing within the sales space! Simply enjoying round. Darren stated it was dope, and advised us we should always begin the report like that! So when Musiq went and put it in there, it sort light in and also you hear it begin with the report. It turned probably the most recognizable intro to a report of ours. It simply set the tone for the lifetime of that report that it might ultimately dwell. It was simply completely different. That pattern was actually off too, the best way I caught it too make it loop completely, I needed to program the drums in a means it didn’t really feel sloppy in opposition to the pattern. You had this groove the place the kick was form of on however the snare was rushed. Then the hello hat was actually laid again. It form of helped improve the sound which was form of this little fascinating bounce it had. Undoubtedly was some Dilla-esque moments and affect in it. Dilla had given me and Darren a few of his beat tapes on the time. Me and Darren had been nonetheless in a gaggle on the time attempting to rap to among the beats. Then it turned a part of this manufacturing facet of mine. It was in contrast to something we had in R&B on the time.
YouKnowIGotSoul: You additionally produced the track “Poparatzi” on that album as nicely.
Ivan Barias: That’s one other one the place I simply discovered a pattern and thought it was loopy. I used to be engaged on it and for no specific motive, only for the catalog. I bear in mind engaged on it and Andre Harris walked in. That was A Contact of Jazz, anybody would stroll in at any second and simply add to it. He got here in and added these strings below the pattern and it simply made it so epic. It was a dope pattern to start with, nevertheless it injected this different vitality to it. We additionally had one other report we did throughout that session known as “Cease Playin” which ended up on his second album “JusLisen”. It had an identical vibe. Dre and I used to work on quite a lot of music collectively. These had been two data we labored on collectively for Musiq not directly. I simply had these tracks and he got here in and added to them. Musiq at all times liked that sound. “Poparatzi” was one other one manufacturing smart that didn’t really feel typical the best way the drums hit. It was a distinct your typical groove. It was one thing a bit of bit completely different and it labored for what they had been doing. It’s humorous you say the title isn’t within the lyrics. They didn’t even spell the phrase proper! It was a intelligent means of claiming “image me whereas I’m sitting right here down and out”. It’s a kind of deep cuts on an album that generally early on individuals didn’t get, however over time it turned a fan favourite.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Discuss serving to to create the bonus monitor “Substances of Love” with Angie Stone.
Ivan Barias: Produced that one as nicely. That was impressed by A Tribe Known as Quest track on “Midnight Marauders” album. It was a replay, Frank Romano performed the guitar over. It was a extremely dope report. I bought a report with Marsha doing that track first! She was doing a track for Bilal, and it was tremendous dope, I’ve to dig it up. Marsha did a extremely dope track to that for Bilal. I don’t suppose Bilal heard it. I bear in mind a couple of yr later we had been within the studio with Angie and I performed that beat and Carvin and Musiq heard it and thought it was a dope beat for that track. We simply ended up doing it with Angie.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What do you bear in mind about the remainder of your time at A Contact of Jazz working with artists like Jill Scott and Floetry.
Ivan Barias: They match proper in. I believe we had a extremely fascinating tradition at A Contact of Jazz, very household oriented, we at all times joke and frolicked collectively. Whether or not we had been going to South Avenue or L.A. or wherever else. We at all times had this clique, very insular tradition. They match proper in. Jill was tremendous cool, she was the most effective issues that occurred to A Contact of Jazz, as a result of up till that point, quite a lot of the artists that will come by way of that main labels would ship down, we actually couldn’t management the sound. We’d work on a bunch of data after which they’d simply take one report. We felt like we had been doing wonderful music on all of those artists and on the finish of the day you possibly can’t management it. When Jill got here in, she contributed immensely to that sound. With out her, I don’t suppose now we have that sound that turned so related to not solely A Contact of Jazz however Philly. I believe what she did for lots of us that had been working at A Contact of Jazz was give us the platform to create these songs. It was a mutual labor that allowed these songs to be particular. She positively had a novel method as a result of she was additionally a poet and actress. Her vitality was not so consolidated into this R&B factor. That’s the humorous factor about it, all three of the artists, Jill, Musiq, and Floetry, weren’t R&B artists! They positively had soul affect, however Jill was a poet at first. Musiq was a beatboxing, rapping, singer. Floetry you had Marsha who’s dope as a singer, then The Floacist who was a poet and a rapper, who additionally appreciated hip hop beats, they usually had been from London. They had been inflicted by quite a lot of Jamaican music. All of those various things so as to add to the dynamic that basically confirmed you that R&B was not the foundation of A Contact of Jazz. That’s what makes it distinctive. You have a look at the title A Contact of Jazz, which was a play on Jazzy Jeff’s title, Jazz is every part. It’s the foundation and the seed for lots of the indigenous artwork types that got here out in America. All the music you heard was actually part of the DNA of jazz music because it advanced through the years in our tradition. That’s what made these artists so distinctive and so particular. They actually slot in, they slot in with the tradition, they usually gave it as a lot as they acquired so far as the jokes and all of that. It was actually a household environment. Nothing too out of the abnormal aside from to say they by no means actually had that separation between artists and producers, and by no means made us really feel like they had been higher. We had been all constructing one thing collectively and it turned one thing particular in direction of the top.
YouKnowIGotSoul: What was it like leaving A Contact of Jazz and stepping out by yourself.
Ivan Barias: I believe at the moment the rationale all of us left, it’s no secret, the financial facet performed an enormous function. It might need been a little bit of pressure at the moment, however one thing that through the years has develop into non existent, contemplating the connection and friendship I’ve with Jazzy Jeff. At the moment I felt like once we all left, it was one thing that I felt was certain to occur. I want it might have maintained, however the trajectory we had been going in direction of, it lent itself in direction of us having to exit and do issues on our personal and develop as enterprise males and creators and contributors of the tradition. I believe that it was one factor I felt Jeff at all times facilitated to quite a lot of the individuals he mentored. I checked out his studio and manufacturing firm as an incubator of kinds. James Poyser and Vikter Duplaix and Eric Roberson and Raheem DeVaughn got here out of that camp. While you actually have a look at quite a lot of the artists and producers and songwriters that develop and evolve, that’s one factor I’d say that Jeff is, a facilitator and he teaches you numerous and it’s as much as you to study it. Finally individuals must develop and do issues that may additional their mission and maintain the trajectory going upwards. That’s what it was. As a lot because it was a little bit of pressure and folks attempt to play it up into a significant beef.
YouKnowIGotSoul: Speak concerning the thrilling stuff you’re doing with The Recording Academy for The Grammy’s, in addition to any current manufacturing you’ve achieved.
Ivan Barias: I bought concerned with The Recording Academy again in 2007. I used to be taking part within the awards course of after which ultimately I turned a governor a few years later for the Philadelphia chapter in about 2009. Then in 2012, I ran for chapter president which I served for three years, after which I stored being concerned. Doing my work there, I helped implement some adjustments to the awards course of. The class that you simply referred to that was modified. We had some restructuring achieved just a few years in the past, and a class known as Modern R&B Album was condensed into R&B Album, which created this gridlock between conventional legacy based mostly R&B vs the extra trendy aesthetic of R&B manufacturing. It ended up on this hodge podge to the place you had Chris Brown going up in opposition to Ledisi and Chaka Khan. It really resulted in Chris Brown being nominated one yr and profitable. So I knew we had an issue. We had Frank Ocean, Miguel, The Weeknd, all of those artists popping out doing this advanced model of R&B music. You may’t penalize them and put them on this class with different R&B artists who’re extra conventional in holding the spirit of R&B alive. I wrote and submitted a proposal to create a brand new class and at the moment I got here up with the title and it was City Modern and it encompassed all the derivatives that contributed to the progressive model of R&B music. It was the primary yr that it was a class and Frank Ocean received it for “Channel Orange”. It was cool, however individuals requested why we used City. So ultimately 2 or three years later I began having to defend the time period City. Folks had been taking pictures, my title was being thrown on the market with it being racist. We did it within the spirit of preserving the integrity of each classes and ensuring R&B was not diluted. So I stated we needed to change the title, and it took about four years! It pre-dates the stuff we’ve been coping with because the loss of life of George Floyd. Lengthy earlier than we determined to do away with City. We wrote proposal and had dialogue. Had so many signatories from the group. We proposed we rename it to Finest Progressive R&B Album, holding the definition intact. A solution to future proof the class. So what’s been taking place created this noise and it turned so polarizing it pitted individuals in opposition to one another with respect to black music on the report label construction. Ought to we maintain city? Should you dispose of city, which means you’re eliminating black music and pull it into different departments. We bought caught in all the noise. By the point we introduced it, and we had handed it lengthy earlier than that, however we couldn’t announce it as a result of early June is the conventional time for that. By the point we had been set to announce it, we had quite a lot of the protests happening, and the academy felt we shouldn’t take away from that vitality, by saying one thing so self serving. We punted to June 10th, and by that point, Republic had introduced what that they had introduced. We did a few panels and occasions to get individuals to grasp that this was not achieved as a solution to hijack the momentum. It was achieved to essentially future proof our processes and our classes and make them extra inclusive. Eliminating the phrase is extra the duty of the report label construction, how we did it was extra for educational functions. Hopefully it can show to be the proper choice over time. I additionally presently chair the producers and engineers wing on the academy, which is among the committees that represents producers and songwriters. Out of the 12,000 voting members, 7,000 are producers and songwriters. We foyer congress throughout the Recording Academy advocacy construction. We attempt to advocate for the rights of all music creators. I’ve been to DC lobbying so many instances to get them to cross laws, in addition to regionally in Philly.
Additionally creatively I’m nonetheless very lively. I’m presently working with a band out of Brooklyn known as Phony Ppl. We presently have a single performing fairly good at radio known as “Messin Round” that includes Meg Thee Stallion on it. At present attempting to complete up their album. They’re an R&B/Soul/Funk with Hip-Hop components, so it’s proper up my alley. Acquired a track popping out on Ledisi’s upcoming album. I’m very lively and Zoom life is the life. I spend a lot time working with individuals by Zoom they usually can hear what I’m engaged on. Simply being as lively and concerned as I will be given the present circumstances