Neal Wright of Wave Collector: Photo by Jason QuigleyNeal Wright has brought his musical mind to many local projects over the years including folk, pop and rock bands like Burner Courage and Fake Fireplace. But Wave Collector is his space for solo explorations into electronic music.
In 2016, he released his first album under the moniker after “recording a lot of interesting samples and composing songs around them,” he says. After a summer record from Fake Fireplace in July, as 2018 comes to a close Wright is ready to share a new direction for Wave Collector that features vocals more heavily. Last month’s "Stone Silence” was our first taste and was made around the same time as his latest, “Double Check.”
“Double Check” is a commentary on the times we live in. Whether you’re an artist, woman, person of color, non-binary individual or an ally, “This particular song draws a lot of material from past experiences with predatory people hiding in plain sight in the community,” Wright tells. “Coming to terms with the reality that we can all easily be fooled by appearances has been important but difficult. It's hard to see well-meaning people be targets for manipulation because of their trusting and optimistic nature. That said, it has been truly inspiring to see people come together to protect their communities. Making this track helped a lot in processing all of that in a way that felt productive.”
While Wright is currently at work on a second LP, Wave Games, he says “the feel of those songs is very different, so it felt right to release a couple of songs as singles while I finish up the full-length.” Recorded and mixed at his home studio, The Wave Kitchen, “Double Check” features “raw synth tones” and, “As with all of my tracks, I also used some samples I've collected over time, including some flute samples, a thumb piano, and some roller coaster sounds from Oaks Bottom in the outro,” he says. “I tried to push myself to write some tougher vocal parts and get out of my comfort zone a bit with that. My good friend Leb [Borgerson] of the band Quiet Countries was kind enough to do a really great remix of this track”—with trumpets Wright “absolutely loves!”
“This is the first time I've had a Wave Collector track remixed, so it was a real joy to hear the song reimagined in a fresh way,” he says. “Collaboration with other artists is really rewarding and I hope to do it much more often.”
