Guitarist, producer, and songwriter Jake Fine talks about his ‘cohesive vision’ for Lo-fi projects ‘azayaka‘ and ‘Tone Bo,’ retaining the essence of emotion in his music, how ‘the creative process kicks in,’ and using Downtown Music’s bespoke service to tackle unique music challenges.
The following recaps an interview with Jake Fine as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.
Jake Fine grew up in a ‘musical family.’ However, when he left his small Jewish school, which had 100 students for a public school in town with a jazz program, the moment marked a crucial step in his identity as a musician.
“I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to play Jazz and was yelled at by the instructors, but I had assimilated those steps into my identity. Those were the baby steps. [I questioned,] What does that mean in terms of what I do and how I navigate the world?”
Although Fine never sought a formal music education, he attended Berklee College to gain ‘a path to follow.’
Each step brought Fine an ‘in-over-my-head’ moment within that creative community, but he looked inward for the correct answers. “What’s my role at this music college full of skilled people? How deeply do I want to explore each aspect of the craft?”
That self-reflection followed Fine well through Berklee and beyond. “That existential question of what are the things I want to do to create within this community?”
Fine’s musical identity, he explains, is one that ‘doesn’t overwhelm or feel calculated. “It’s more fulfilling.”
“In my Lo-fi ‘azayaka’ catalog, you find melodies that you can hum to. Some people call it background music, but there’s jam. There’s the musical intention behind it. I try to retain that.”
Fine’s instrumental music catalog now has over 150 songs. “At the top of my mind is being perceived as [someone] retaining a high level of musicality, but also being intentional about giving the song what it needs.”
For Fine, true contentment comes from ‘making songs that last.’ He explains, “There are subtle ranges with jazz hop, chill hop, sad beats, and sleepy beats. Whichever one I’m making retains the essence of that emotional thread.”
Viewing his craft as a ‘sequel,’ Fine is constantly aiming to ‘achieve something just a little bit better, but with similar textures.’
“I like listening to my older songs. I had less skill, but my musical sensibility was still there. I’ll hear the instrumentation and the feel and the tempo and think: what was I doing in a beginner mindset that I can achieve better now?”
“As long as I can draw inspiration, I will be as prolific as I can. And there are plenty of artists out there to draw inspiration from. Hopefully, that keeps it fresh,” he said.
Fine is committed to going wherever inspiration takes him. “Ask me in two years. I’ll be making Lo-fi for 6 or 7 years at that point. Who knows? Maybe I’ll try to integrate more electronic sound design at that point. Maybe I’ll feel like I need something fresh?”
Diving into his collaborative creative process, Fine explains that it involves discussing life, then extracting the emotional context — ‘and trying to understand what they want to create and what they want to say.’
“If you’re doing something with an artist, you’re there to serve the music that they want to create — especially if there’s a writer involved.”
“Often, my job as someone more skilled in that setting with specific instruments is that I grab an instrument and offer up something. Certain chord progressions. Certain moods.”
“If you’re skilled with sound design or drums, you’re probably going to begin with that. So, I start with picking up a guitar. That’s just the way in. Find a chord progression everyone feels passionate about. Move forward.”
Although much of the creative process appears spontaneous, Fine clarifies that he has always made a lot of time investment behind the scenes.
“I’ve done my research. I know what [those] artists created. I’ve listened to their catalog. I’ve even thought of a few chord progressions.”
However, that preparation might fall short. “Sometimes I’m [collaborating with] an R&B artist, but they [say they] love Mitski.”
That’s when spontaneity comes into play. “Now, I’m trying to create a heavier indie world.”
When it comes to creative flow for his projects ‘azayaka’ and ‘Tone Bo,’ surprises and confusion are not part of the process.
“I know that whole ecosystem. I know the genre. I know what I want to create, and I know which drums I want to grab. That’s an easy flow state. I’ve written over 150 songs; I know what I want out of it.”
“I make a chord progression that I love on a felt piano or a guitar. Put the layers in and get the drums going. It doesn’t take too long now, but that’s after 200 reps.”
Fine’s cohesive vision for his Lo-fi tracks is about ‘finding my sound.’ “I want to create music that I genuinely feel proud of.”
As an artist, Fine aims to create music that people enjoy and appreciate. But as a producer, his goal is multilayered — with strategic ambition.
“There’s a certain level of success that I want to achieve. I’ve had to make space for that ambition. When you can circle back to allow yourself to be hungry to achieve something, it feels really good.”
“I want my name to be synonymous with a high level of quality. That journey is multifaceted because it’s such a hard craft to master.”
“After putting in 10,000 hours, it’s not wrong to want to achieve a certain level of quality in your work and a certain level of success to be attached to that. That is a positive thing.”
To fulfill his ambition, Fine requires a publishing process that can keep up. “Having a bespoke service with the Downtown team has made it easy for me. I’ve got my system going, and it works well.”
As most of Fine’s music is released independently, it requires a service that can overcome challenges unique to his genre. “I send in Atmos mixes and have them connected to the correct ISRC. I need all that done correctly because I don’t want to have to do it twice. With songs released every week and every two weeks, I need the Atmos connected.”
“Downtown has provided me with a good platform for consistently releasing songs, and my royalties are collected properly. And when something goes wrong, needs replacement, or that shaker’s too loud, [the team] have the ability to replace the master and update the publishing to different DSPs.”
To artists just beginning their journey as songwriters, producers, etc., Fine says, “Any platform that can help you collect money that is rightfully yours, and to capitalize on the intellectual property that is yours — that’s a good thing. A platform that helps you fairly split money without too much logistic complication. That’s a positive thing.”
“Downtown has checked those boxes for me. It’s part of my system as a producer and creator with multiple artist projects.”
About The Music Industry Lives Here: Downtown Music’s interview series allows powerful conversations with the voices shaping the music industry. To gain weekly access to exclusive interviews with music executives, artists, record label owners, and influential figures who drive the rhythm of the industry, join here.
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