Generally, watching a performer push buttons doesn’t fill me with respect for their musicianship, but folks who can build beautifully layered tracks like Facesoul does kind of blow my mind.
Like previous BSOTW artists Madison McFerrin, Sean Angus Watson, and Ecce Cello, Facesoul (Faisal Salah) loves to create music by layering loops one on top of the other. Once each loop is recorded, he can sing over top of them, or have some loops disappear for a few bars before reappearing when the song’s momentum requires it.
It’s magic. Like a sort of audio 3D printing.
This particular track was apparently improvised, with the live recording also serving as the official video. It’s fascinating to watch, but the fact that the song itself is beautiful – regardless of the process by which it was created – is the clincher.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. If you’re going to layer your voice on top of itself this many times, your voice had better be an impressive instrument. Facesoul’s voice is fantastic, handling the rumbling bassline and high tenor lines and falsettos with equal skill and at any volume.
2. It sends a message of patience with oneself. Growth and change are hard, but every step and every mistake still count as progress.
3. The medium fits the message: that message of growth is sung over layered loops that themselves grow one on top of another.
Recommended listening activity:
Singing a duet with your reflection.