Pentatonix at the 57th GRAMMY Awards in 2015
Interview

How Pentatonix arranged tight harmonies on 'Daft Punk'

Facebook Twitter Email
Mitch Grassi on the challenges, nuances and tweaks that yielded their seamless GRAMMY-winning a cappella tour de force
Mitchell C. Grassi
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

(The Making Of GRAMMY-Winning Recordings … series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of music's biggest recordings. The series' current installments present insight and details about recordings that won 57th GRAMMY Awards.)

We knew this wasn't going to be a particularly breezy task. We first chose some of our favorite — and the most notable — Daft Punk songs from their more popular discography. We then created an order in which we thought the songs would flow the best into and out of each other. This was our loose structure, which we stitched together slowly as we began to arrange each voice part.

Once we had the order of the songs, we chose keys for each soloist, and then arranged accordingly to transition seamlessly from one song to the next. We've found that tight three-part harmonies make the track seem a lot fuller. Amping up the low end of the bass and capturing all the discrepancies of the percussive elements really helped, too. Toward the end of the process, we filled in holes and tweaked otherwise ineffective musical moments and nuances. The only difficulty we had with [arranging the songs] was making them less simplistic and more complex. Dance music is notoriously hard, in my opinion, to cover with just voices. 

 

It was [a] very collaborative [process], with Scott [Hoying] and I spearheading the project. I am very familiar with [Daft Punk's] work because I've been a huge fan since high school, and Scott is intuitive about what our audience likes to hear. I think it took about a week [to finish the song], maybe a little more, from start to finish. We definitely didn't think it would be as successful as it turned out to be, and certainly never imagined it would be GRAMMY-worthy!

[Daft Punk's] manager reached out and let us know that they were really pleased with our work. That was pretty surreal. They're so legendary!

(At the 57th GRAMMY Awards, Pentatonix — Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado, and Kevin "K.O." Olusola — won their first career GRAMMY for Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella for "Daft Punk," which comprises a medley of the Daft Punk songs "Technologic," "One More Time," "Get Lucky," "Digital Love," "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," "Television Rules The Nation," and "Around The World." Pentatonix are currently in the midst of a world tour, with dates scheduled through September.)

 

 

Interview

Pentatonix, Dolly Parton parlay 1 day into a GRAMMY for 'Jolene'

Facebook Twitter Email
Pentatonix's Scott Hoying recounts the blueprint for rearranging the country classic and how a nerve-wracking studio experience with Dolly Parton turned into magic
Scott Hoying/As told to Chuck Crisafulli
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

(The Making Of GRAMMY-Winning Recordings series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of music's biggest recordings. In this installment, Pentatonix's Scott Hoying details the making of "Jolene" with Dolly Parton, which won Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 59th GRAMMY Awards.) 

We got together with Dolly through the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Spotlight Music series. They suggested we record "Jolene," which is what we would have wanted to do anyway. The Pentatonix members got together first and we spent a couple of hours working through the song section by section, figuring out our harmonies and what rhythms we wanted. We came up with an arrangement that was slightly different from the original — something we thought would work better a cappella. When you don't have instruments, an arrangement can start to lull really easily so we wanted to try things that would keep the energy of the song up.


I teamed up with Pentatonix (@ptxofficial) to do an all new version of "Jolene.” It was absolutely magical singing with such a talented group! Special thanks to our friends at @crackerbarrel for making this happen! Watch the video on @youtube (#linkinbio) #PTXDollyJolene

A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton) on Sep 16, 2016 at 7:19am PDT

We were on tour and Dolly was on tour so we just had one day to meet her at her studio and rehearse, record and then shoot the video. At first, our arrangement was a little confusing to Dolly because we'd taken a measure out here or added a measure there. She said she'd been singing the song the same way for 50 years and that it was going to take a little time to get used to the adjustments. We said, "We'll change it back! We'll change it back! We'll do whatever you want us to do!" But she said she loved the changes and told us it was the coolest version of the song she'd ever heard. We were so nervous and intimidated because we were working with a legend, but a compliment like that really helped us relax.

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }

Dolly's one of those amazing artists who's even more impressive after you meet her. She was early to the session — all glammed up and ready to go, and she had the best attitude. Not a single bit of divaness about her. She's exactly what you'd hope for when you meet one of your idols. She took some notes on our version and we sang through it a few times and it was just magic.

We recorded live in the studio all singing at the same time, and the second Dolly started singing it was just a big "wow" for all of us. She has one of those iconic, beautiful voices — whether you like country music or not, you can't help but love her voice. When she started singing, the song just totally came to life, and I really loved all the new ad libs she put in. We were assuming that she would sing lead on the whole song, but she suggested that we have a part of the song where we kind of take the lead, so we did — though that was pretty nerve-wracking for us.

Watch: Pentatonix Perform The Jackson 5's "ABC" On The 59th GRAMMY Awards

We did one take and then just a couple more safety takes to make sure we had everything and that was it. We all listened to the playback together to hear how it all sounded. The arrangement really worked and Dolly just sang it so perfectly — we were all extremely happy. You don't always get that feeling hearing playback in the studio, but this time after one listen we were confident that we'd been part of something really amazing. 

(Pentatonix — comprising Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado, and Kevin Olusola — won their third career GRAMMY for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Jolene." The collaboration earned Dolly Parton her eighth career GRAMMY Award. Parton's original 1973 recording of "Jolene" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2014.)

(Chuck Crisafulli is an L.A.-based journalist and author whose most recent works include Go To Hell: A Heated History Of The Underworld, Me And A Guy Named Elvis and Elvis: My Best Man.)

Superfruit
Interview

Superfruit: From Pentatonix To 'Future Friends'

Facebook Twitter Email
Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying detail how being members of Pentatonix influenced their collaborative writing style, their two-part EP 'Future Friends' and what's next for the power-pop duo
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Sep 13, 2017 - 10:05 am

You'll recognize them from the GRAMMY-winning hit a cappella group Pentatonix, but Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi have broken out on their own with a colorful double-team project called Superfruit. For fans of the duo, this isn't a new development.

Hoying and Grassi founded Superfruit as a vlog channel in 2013 as a creative outlet outside their time in Pentatonix. They covered everything from Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj's "Feeling Myself" to Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" while also branching out into fun lifestyle topics such as waxing and the game Cards Against Humanity.

But eventually the two came to a point where they wanted to do more with the music and expand their footprint as Superfruit.

"We wanted to do something a little different," said Grassi. "We've always wanted to do music together as a duo and I feel like we have a really cohesive sound that just kind of makes sense for us."

Enter the two-EP set, Future Friends, the first official output from Superfruit. Released June 30, Part One of the seven-track collection includes "Bad 4 Us," "Worth It (Perfect)" and "Vacation." The second installment of Future Friends — seven tracks on part two — will be released Sept. 15.

As you'll hear on the EPs, Superfruit aren't a cappella — they have instrumentation and slick productions backing their smooth vocals. Regardless, the transition from writing and performing sans instruments with Pentatonix to their new approach in Superfruit  wasn't a huge change.

Hoying revealed Pentatonix use production and instruments as they write their tunes, and then "flip" to their signature a cappella arrangements later, leaving only the group's voices. With Superfruit, the duo follows the same creative procedure, except this time they keep the production.

That's not the only way Superfruit gained valuable musical insight from their work in Pentatonix. A collaborative songwriting process has been key to the way Hoying and Grassi approach their melodies and harmonies together. 

"What works for us usually is just coming up with the melodies and just sort of throwing out ideas and being very collaborative," says Grassi. "I feel like spending so much time arranging these songs with Pentatonix has really given us our style, and it's helped us to fill in the gaps and put things together melodically."

While Pentatonix and a cappella influences are apparent in all their work, there are many unique inspirations at play for Superfruit, from 1980s vibes to J-pop, Motown, R&B, and funk. Grassi sites GRAMMY winners Bruno Mars and Daft Punk and GRAMMY nominee Jazmine Sullivan among their artistic inspirations.

The first part of the collection packs a punch with upbeat, danceable tracks. Part two, meanwhile, will slow things down a bit and provide listeners with a totally different vibe.

"For the second [part] the production gets a little weirder and there's a little bit more of an emotional moment on it," says Hoying. "There's a song in particular I'm obsessed with from Part Two called 'Fantasy' and I think it's probably my favorite of every song we've ever done."

The choice to release two EPs as opposed to a single debut album was a conscious decision Superfruit made based on the modern way most fans consume music, another lesson the duo learned from Pentatonix.

"It's a good way to just kind of keep throwing content out there and keep people wanting more," says Grassi. "You don't give it all up front."

As Superfruit close in on the release date for Part Two, they're already looking at what's ahead.

"Superfruit's such a baby right now, so we're just trying to grow," says Hoying.

"I think we're just always thinking about Superfruit and the brand and how we can elevate it and put the aesthetics together," adds Grassi. "I think we definitely want to go on tour with Superfruit."

How Pentatonix Arranged Tight Harmonies on 'Daft Punk'

News

Your Weekly GRAMMY Social Roundup

Facebook Twitter Email
Scott Hoying, Lenny Kravitz and Ludacris are featured in the 10 tweets and Instagram posts that we didn't want you to miss
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

Look what came in the mail! Still doesn't feel real.

A photo posted by Scott Hoying (@scotthoying) on May 19, 2015 at 2:11pm PDT

Looking back on two best friends and a lifetime of moments like this. - Team BG remembering #BBKing

A photo posted by Buddy Guy (@therealbuddyguy) on May 15, 2015 at 11:53am PDT

@therealmaryjblige @therealrobertglasper #vicentearcher #justintyson #chrissholar #ninasessions

A photo posted by Robert Glasper (@therealrobertglasper) on May 12, 2015 at 8:26am PDT

#cheers

A photo posted by @ludacris on May 17, 2015 at 9:18pm PDT

With the daaaaawg @jasonderulo !!

A photo posted by Zedd (@zedd) on May 16, 2015 at 7:48pm PDT

News

The Making Of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly

Facebook Twitter Email
Top 58th GRAMMY winner recalls the homegrown nature of his Best Rap Album winner and why he's thankful fans embraced the album
Kendrick Lamar
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am
GRAMMY.com

(The Making Of GRAMMY-Winning Recordings series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of music's biggest recordings. The series' current installments present insight and details about recordings that won 58th GRAMMY Awards. The following is a written excerpt from a GRAMMY.com video interview with Kendrick Lamar.)

[To Pimp A Butterfly] was a two-year process of me basically having a vision of what I want to talk about and how I can execute that. I knew from jump I had to get the best musicians in my own backyard from L.A. — Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Kamasi [Washington], Robert Glasper. I knew I had to sit in the studio for a year and just create [and] not let no type of boundary stop me from doing what I was doing. And that goes for concepts, that goes for the writing process, that goes for throwing ideas on the wall to see if they stick, and speaking on things that I feel like people don't have voices to speak on.

Knowing what all these other musicians put into making this album­ — it's a little bit more homegrown — and also knowing what's been going on in society [and] in the world, it makes it a little bit more special to know that this type of music is getting the recognition that it deserves. It's really bigger than me.

We [made] a lot of records from scratch. There were certain times where I'd just write to a drum loop over and over and over again till it felt right. I wanted to make this record dense. I didn't want to actually make it for radio. I didn't really want to make it for the car. That's just me being a fan of music and knowing the history on how people gravitate to an album. I want you to be able to walk down the street and sit on the bus stop and constantly play these songs back. And I want you to go to sleep playing these songs back in your ear because what happens is you grow to understand it more throughout the week, throughout the month, throughout the year. Ten years from now you'll always find another jewel in there and that was for sure the execution that I wanted to go for.

What's crazy about [To Pimp A Butterfly] that I love the most is it was me tackling my own insecurities, but also making it to where you can relate as well. That was the main thing I wanted to do. The whole body of the story is me basically accepting my role as a leader, learning how to accept it, and appreciating it and not running away from it. And I want to do just that but I want you to feel the same emotions because the main thing that we're scared of as people is change — from a social standpoint [to] a day-to-day standpoint. I wanted to embody that in this record.

I want to tell my fans a huge thank you because they allowed me to make this album that I wanted to make. They allowed me to step out of the box and touch these different vibes of music that may not be hip-hop. They allowed me to challenge myself and they challenged themselves to listen and to take it all in, and to get something from it — to live with it and love with [it] — and that's not something that every artist can do. I'm truly blessed to be in that position to have the voice and to have the people that's willing to listen and appreciate it. I'm truly honored by that.

(At the 58th GRAMMY Awards, Kendrick Lamar won five GRAMMYs, including Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. He received a total of 11 nominations, making him the third most nominated artist in a single year, following only Michael Jackson and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' 12 nominations in 1983 and 1996, respectively.)