By Bob Makin
originally published: 10/25/2024
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is “Love & Let Go,” the new single from Jersey Shore-raised cr0wcallz. PHOTO BY STAR
My Jersey Shore-raised nephew who goes by the stage name cr0wcallz has been killin’ it as a DJ in his new hometown of New Hope, as well as his future hometown of Brooklyn.
But cr0wcallz also is a sensitive, yet very edgy singer-songwriter-instrumentalist-producer who just dropped his sophomore single and its video. “Love & Let Go” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Love & Let Go” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on Oct. 25 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and Mixcloud.
“I wanted to make a song that allowed me to be honest and vulnerable with myself, and sing about things I wouldn't normally say,” cr0wcallz said. “The hook/chorus that repeats has almost a double meaning, ‘If you just stay in my head, I'd never have to love,’ talking about when you idealize a person but are too afraid to actually move forward with the connection. The end of the song discusses your favorite things being ripped away from you, sudden health problems, and being grateful but stubborn about it at the same time. The sonics are heavily inspired by ‘90s jungle/liquid drum and bass synths, combined with some more modern-sounding breakbeat drums. I have wanted to make a song with a longer solo piano part for a while now, so this is the time that I finally got around to writing and recording one. This is a very cathartic song for me, and as an artist, I am focused on bringing higher levels of honesty and quality to every project following this one.”
While “Love & Let Go” was written, recorded, performed, and mixed all by himself, cr0wcallz worked with friends on shooting and editing the video and hired an engineer to master the tune.
He said he hopes to raise the funds to hire a mixing engineer with his next recording project.
"I strongly believe that you can't wait for something to be perfect to release it, especially in the beginning stages of sharing work with an audience,” cr0wcallz said. “No one even knows who you are yet, so you could be waiting a decade to perfect your mixing skills just to have completely passed by so many great ideas. So I'd rather have a rough mix than an empty library.”
Having recently spun in Brooklyn on Newtown Radio and at Honey’s Rooftop Bar, cr0wcallz has two big DJ gigs coming up. On Oct. 27, he’ll spin a two-hour Halloween set at Union Coffee in Lambertville, and on Nov. 9 at DJ Fat Frog's Smash Bash at Wonderville in Brooklyn.
He also recently launched “Kill Content Create Art,” an online server dedicated to recentering artwork and building a caring artistic community at https://discord.gg/dBhkKyBH.
“I might never be set on what style of music I make,” cr0wcallz said. “I am constantly being inspired by many different works, whether it be music, film, writing, or design, and I can't say for sure what any next project will sound like. Within these past five years of making music, I always stick to my own taste and try not to worry about what a certain style ‘needs’ to have in it to be ‘correct.’
For more about cr0wcallz, visit https://cr0wcallz.com.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected].
About the author:
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
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