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A meeting last year between Jimmy Whoo, A.CHAL and the Gleeson Crystal Synthesizer resulted in a dreamy, ethereal electronic mix with an insistent beat called “6 De La Mañana.”
The song drops on January 5.
Jimmy and the Gleeson met at the Vintage Synth Museum in Los Angeles a year ago.
“There are just 10 synths like this in the world,” he said. “It was very special for me to do a song with it.”
The Gleeson Crystal is so named because it has a crystal case beneath the keyboard and around the electronics. The synths at the Vintage Synth Museum can be rented and used, which is what Jimmy did.
“It’s crazy beautiful,” said Jimmy. “I tried the synth, and I made the chords of the song ‘6 De La Manana’ with it.” The Gleeson Crystal Synth is such an important part of the song that it is the song’s cover illustration for the song.
When he returned to Paris, where he has his studio, Ciel Rouge, he laid down the tracks to the song. It was there that a photographer friend introduced him to the singer/songwriter/rapper and producer A.Chal.
“A.CHAL listened to the track and he loved it, and we recorded the whole night,” said Jimmy. We did the song in a week. He was supposed to go back to the States, but he stayed, and we did a few songs. This is one of them.”
He said the Gleeman, one of the rarest synthesizers in the world, is itself a main character on the track along with himself and A.CHAL.
When Jimmy talks about his music, he talks about “meetings” between artists, cultures, genres and, in this case, an instrument. “6 De La Mañana” is special to him because of the meeting between the three main parts — him, A.CHAL and the Gleeman.
“But the meeting with A.CHAL is important because it’s a mix of both our universes to create something new. The track is a bit punk, a bit disco. It’s a weird track at the end, but it’s an interesting mix of genres.”
Jimmy’s universe — French, electronic, experimentation and “meetings” among genres ranging from hip-hop to jazz to soul — is known and followed by millions.
A.CHAL’s songwriting and music production comes out of a Peruvian-American background. His music has also drawn millions of fans.
“For me, the music is linked to the people I work with,” said Jimmy. “I like to inject some of my universe and to meet with other people’s universes and other cultures. So, A.CHAL, born in Peru, he put some of his roots in, and that’s why the song is in Spanish and English, and me, I’m French. I think it’s important to put this multicultural thing in this track so we can feel a little bit of everything. It’s not a new direction, but a new meeting with an artist.”
He likes the mix of musical background, styles, genres and cultures that comes from working with other artists. The payoff is making the blend work.
On “6 De La Manana,” the work itself was a blend of places. The song took shape in Los Angeles and in Paris at Jimmy’s Ciel Rouge Studio. Though new, it has already drawn a number of artists, such as King Krule and Jared Leto.
“It's a place where a lot of people meet these days,” he said.
“6 De La Mañana” will be part of a series of three EP/mixtapes he is working on, 24 tracks in all. They will be released from now into July.
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Instagram, Ciel Rouge Studio
