It's Friday Night
About the Album
Wah! shares songs from her Friday night online programs. With a career spanning over 25 years, Wah! — a founder of the yoga music niche — continues to innovate, offering a vibrant soundtrack for the modern practitioner. Her new album IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT captures the energy of the global online community and its healing, positive vibe.
Yoga music legend Wah! releases IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT, a collection of Sanskrit mantras inspired by her Friday night online programs. Blending ancient tradition with modern production, it’s perfect for fans of MC Yogi, Trevor Hall, and Donna DeLory. With a 25-year legacy, Wah! continues to innovate ancient tradition for the modern practitioner. Her new album IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT captures the energy of the global online community and its healing, positive vibe.
Production: Composed and produced by Wah!
Performance: Arranged in Ableton Live; recorded in Logic Pro
Engineer: Mixed and mastered by Thomas Barquee
IT'S FRIDAY NIGHT is my all-time favorite Wah! album. Totally Old Skool.
SHERIDAN, fan
The Story Behind It's Friday Night
I was casually listening to some upbeat Wah! tracks one day and was surprised at their edgy production. A gritty and punchy sound helped my songs compete with electronic dance music and inspire hard physical workouts. But after Covid lockdown, political polarity, corruption cover-ups and economic instability, it seemed we all needed something new.
What I felt we needed post-Covid was music and activities that were nurturing, soothing, with a message that everything was going to be all right. We needed inspiration. Not "fall asleep music" to ignore what was happening, but something to "cut through," to inspire, to feel hopeful and empowered.
The online Friday night gatherings had been going since 2020 and had gained momentum. People were signing on, adding their energy, sharing on the chatroom, sending emojis, and helping create a global space with a positive vibe. My Ableton Live production made it possible for me to be flexible with my song structures and performance. I took solos on the harmonium, we created an energy together.
On a musical level, the production style was cleaner, simpler. Prepared drum loops were let go. Auto-tune was dropped. Drum beats were 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.
I hired James Schmitz at Inner City Films to do documentary-style short films for my album launch. 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!