It's Friday Night
About the Album
Wah! shares the songs and energy from her Friday Night online programs. Composed by Wah!, arranged in Ableton Live, recorded in Logic Pro. Produced by Wah! Mixed and mastered by Thomas Barquee.
International yoga music star Wah! releases her new album IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT, sharing songs and energy from the online Friday Night programs that started in 2020. Sanskrit mantra, plus one song in English. Her meditation tracks have inspired yogis for over 25 years and she is credited with being one of the founders of the yoga niche music market.
Here's a short clip made by Inner City Films for the Album Release
Wah!'s new album IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT is my favorite album of hers. Totally Old Skool.
SHERIDAN, fan
The Story Behind It's Friday Night
I was casually listening to some Wah! tracks one day and was horrified at how edgy they sounded. They were mastered to be gritty and punchy, to gain attention, to compete with other songs for media attention. In short, it seemed "SO pre-Covid." After lockdown and political polarity, medical mandates and economic instability, the mix on my previous albums seemed too harsh.
What we needed post-Covid was music and activities that were nurturing, soothing, with a message that everything was going to be all right. On a musical level, all the EDM beats had to go. All the harsh drum kits, gone. In fact, almost all drumkits, gone. Replaced by human sounds - finger snapping, hands clapping, hand drums, beat box, didgeridoo. These percussive beats felt human, natural, soothing.
Keyboard sounds had to be warm and inviting. Rhodes, Moog, Nord Stage 2. The vocals had to be simple and sing-along-able, catchy and hooky - something that could keep playing in your head long after the track was over. The vocals needed back up singers, a feeling of community. Into Love explored poly-modal harmonies, my idea of community represented in chord structure.
Thomas Barque mixed each song from the Ableton Live stems and vocal files I sent him. However, my files were not recorded well. My life was in upheaval, I wasn't paying attention to the small details so necessary for high quality studio recordings. My mother had died, and after 6 years of caring for her, I was exhausted. I had moved to a new location. I created a temporary setup for recording. The room was not secure (completely quiet), you could hear birdsongs and truck noises. I was out of practice, managing all the engineer details and keeping volume levels accurate. I probably was not the same distance from the microphone (4" is recommended, I was probably 2" from the mic). Many songs were not recorded at loud enough volumes because of a Gain plug-in that was attached to each track (thank you AI, I didn't ask for it). Thomas had to find solutions to all my sonic problems and imbalances. This album is a testament to his technical and sonic expertise. Thomas and I had long discussions about the "feel" of the tracks - how I wanted it to sound warmer, more human, more transparent (no auto-tune), more accessible.
Promotion for the album was a much bigger deal than it was for my previous albums. Post-Covid, every album distributed by The Orchard (my international digital agent) had to have a detailed marketing campaign attached. I hired James Schmitz at Inner City Films to do documentary-style short films. James handled lighting, set, audio, filming and editing. Lindsy Baldwin stepped in as my stylist (Thank you Lindsy!). Mark Sherman created the beautiful cover graphic (all his idea, thank you!). Fans kept sending good energy for the project to go through, and it finally did. A big thanks to all my fans. And gratitude to the folks at The Orchard for overseeing the metadata, licensing, lyrics regulations, graphic requirements, and digital distribution so this album could get to you, on all streaming platforms. Whew! and it all looks so seamless (just press and play in any country in the world).
Thanks to the teachers and great beings who hold higher energy on this planet. Thanks to all the tireless humans who work every day to find solutions, to inspire our hearts, to keep us informed and participating in this great global change. May all our efforts create a peaceful future for all of us.
I express gratitude for your loving participation in these Friday night gatherings online. Because of what we create together, I have a new album of songs for you. Thank you for listening, liking, sharing and streaming this music!
Our journey together shall manifest L O V E. Jai Maa!
Wah!