Gideon King & City Blog, the critically-acclaimed New York jazz/ rock fusion act, teamed up with Elliott Skinner of Thirdstory to release the beautifully painful single “Audience of One.” Skinner’s trademark wince and emotive vocals loom delicately over King’s grounded jazz guitar. In their video premiering today, a live studio session captures the pair’s passion and chemistry heard within the textured track.
Here, King talks about recording the song, working with Elliott Skinner and what’s up next for Gideon King & City Blog.
AF: How did you link up with Elliott Skinner for “Audience of One”?
GK: A great singer I’ve worked with, Grace Weber, said she thought Elliott had this beautiful and soulful style of singing. So I checked him out. Grace was right. The guy is unique in the way he approaches singing. [The] talented cat he is, he ended up singing on my first CD and I hit him up again to do this tune. He can always sing my stuff – makes me look better.
AF: You’re gearing up to release some new music. Will it be a full project or singles?
GK: Yeah, I have written a bunch of new stuff. I will probably release some singles. On the other hand, this paradigm of releasing singles sometimes feels empty to me, as there seems to be less of a premium placed on creating a full expression, a full album. Not sure what to do.
AF: With this video, we get to see an intimate live session of the song. What was recording it like?
GK: Just as you see it. The tune just flows. It’s not meant to be “in time” or perfect or anything. Just a passing declaration of some form of desperation.
AF: What else are you currently working on?
GK: Well, we are working harder and harder at becoming a unique live act, a differentiated kind of crossover music presentation. I’m certain what I just said means nothing. This is our problem – we lack meaning.
AF: You’ve created music with several acclaimed acts. What’s one thing you’ve learned from working with a variety of talented people?
GK: To listen to their suggestions and incorporate at the very least a touch of their bent into my bent.
