Pieces Of Me - ave harris.
Cover Art - Pieces Of Me
“This isn’t a tape, it’s an album.”
Something that I don’t thinks said enough is that it takes guts to create something and share it with the world, no matter the medium. If it feels important to you, it’s important and it matters. Not everybody is going to support you though. No one’s obligated to cheer for you, and when times get hard, you have to be your biggest cheerleader.
Producer Ave Harris knows it takes a village, and his story is a testament to himself, his cohorts, and the life he lives behind his eyes and ears. His album “Pieces Of Me” is a culmination of his entire practice, with Harris reaching never before seen heights, driven by his fire to give himself, as he described to me on a Discord call, “a fair shot at the music shit.” We spoke for a little over an hour a week or so before his album went live, and Harris talked about everything from intentionality, to how this is more than just music. “It’s immersion.”
“I want to be known for more than just flips.”
I get what he means. Being known for something for such a long time period (6-7 years for Harris) can be a long road, but he’s also been incredibly focused and prolific in his work. There are multiple SoundCloud accounts full of Harris’s production with the biggest names featured from some of the most listened-to songs of the last two decades. Creating and joining this new fusion of familiar with the new, and he’s found community along the way. This is actually how I found out about Harris. Scouring SoundCloud per usual. In fact, evolution of Boolah Radio is directly impacted by Harris and his producer comrades. Then, I saw that he produced for two vocal artists, Jee Malik and Big Cozy, for their joint “Stay Home”. After seeing how his sound morphed from his usual production to a crafted, meticulously worked song for both him and with his friends, I was curious what he would put together for his first full journey into a project of his own.
“This is a representation of a lot of things for me.”
With eleven tracks, Harris shows not only his talent, but the talent of that community he’s built along the way. Previously aforementioned Big Cozy provides hyponotizing vocal dynamics on both “Purple” and “Midnight”, as well as the sermon on the end of “Push Thru”. You see the likes of JayDottCee, Nolais, Fe’ Astro, and Forestxfire featuring their various specialties in providing their collaborative efforts towards the final cuts of their track. “And while only a few of the homies made the album this time, I also pulled inspiration from some of the other amazing producer homies like el. & love ave. I’m literally fans of all my friends, so when we come together, it feels like magic. It’s hard sharing something as personal as your music with anyone, so being able to find community and trust with it is just invaluable,” Harris said. Those homies contributed massively, whether directly or indirectly, to this album that Harris released.
“I wanted to create experiences instead of songs.”
“This project is also a culmination of a lot of my inspiration over the last few months. From my favorite producers like Kenny Beats & Monte Booker, to some of my favorite jazz and alternative bands/artists like Yussef Dayes & Khraungbin. A lot more organic feels combined with more digital synths,” he went on to say. The three main themes Harris conveyed were “immersion, expression, and commanding the listener’s attention” and from the array of sonics that Harris chooses, he’s showing the other sides of himself. His willingness to accept synthesizers and diving into his hardware. His willingness to accept his so called “weaknesses” when it comes to making melodies and using his abilities as an instrumentalist to shine. That doesn’t mean he’s not sampling or bringing out the 808 (see “652, literally first track) but he’s treating the process more meticulously. More things to perk your ears up and get your *ahem* attention.
“One of my philosophies with making this album is ‘Small Steps’”
Funny enough, I didn’t learn about Ave Harris. I learned about Mr. Genius Idiot, Harris’s initial pseudonym when he was in the thick of his production career (You even get to hear his initial beat tag on both “Outersteller” and “RESET”). Most of the conversations I’ve had with Harris have been centered around growth. Not even about music, just as people moving through life, and you can feel the growth in his work when you listen to this project in it’s entirety. It took a while for him to get to this point though. “Small Steps every day will get you closer to achieving whatever goal you have. You don’t need to do it all at once, be real with yourself, your human too.”
“Everything is intentional”
The beauty of this whole thing is that it’s cohesive, with Harris leaving nothing to chance, and this album is an incredibly easy listen. Harris even commented, “I needed to make the transitions perfect”, allowing these songs to flow free like paint from a pallet to a canvas in the most natural of ways. “Pieces Of Me” solidifies not only Ave Harris’s abilities as a standalone musician and a Swiss Army Knife of artistic talent, but it also solidifies the strength of his friends and the music community around him. It’s hard to find real ones in this game, but when you’re going to war with your brothers and sisters, that feelings different. Those are the intentions set.
Stream “Pieces Of Me” on Spotify & Apple Music
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