Starting off the fifth week of production live streams, Mike Shinoda began production on a brand new track titled “These Dreams” by artist Jordin Laine. Shinoda began working on Laine’s song on Monday, February 8, finishing it, as well as the previous track “In Defiance” by Matt Heafy, on Tuesday, February 9.
Shinoda began the production session by listening to Laine’s original piano and vocal tracks. Having discussed her submission with Shinoda beforehand, Laine ended up submitting Midi piano, a main vocal track, and a few other vocal tracks to provide harmonies.
“I love Ani DiFranco … To me, she’s like a songwriter’s songwriter … very lyrical and it’s poetry to music. It’s all about the storytelling, and the chords and the production and even the notes themselves are all in service of the idea she wants to get across … This type of a song [Laine’s] reminds me of that type of a song. This to me has that storytelling element and approach and there’s something about the style of the song that feels like that to me, in a good way.”
Trying to figure out how to develop Laine’s track, Shinoda started with experimenting with different styles of drums, as well as tambourine. Shinoda then tried various plug-ins and effects, including delay and reverb. About an hour through the livestream, Shinoda was still struggling a little to find the right sound for the song and debated whether or not to step away from Laine’s original piano and take the song in a more synthesizer-like direction. Trying to imagine what this would sound like, he created a few synth chords and played them with Laine’s vocals, which Shinoda decided fit fairly well together, especially in the chorus. He then added a few more things, including dominoes and other synthesized sounds.
When all the ✨@mikeshinoda magic✨starts to hit… #shinodaproduceme #twitch #twitchmusic pic.twitter.com/U6eyCepHJF
— JordinLaine (@jordinlaine) February 9, 2021
Jordin Laine is a singer and songwriter from Canada with a strong love for acoustic music. She is currently married to a fellow musician and producer, who goes by the name of Eklo, and in addition to singing, she can also play both the piano and the guitar. Laine started a YouTube channel about two years ago, where she posts mainly cover videos, but also vlogs and original music. She has covered popular songs such as “Yellow” by Coldplay and “The Funeral” by Band of Horses, both on YouTube and live on her Twitch channel. She is currently a Twitch Partner and streams live on Twitch regularly, performing song requests from fans, with Eklo and their son occasionally guest starring. Laine released her first EP, Shivers, in 2019 and has recently come out with two new singles, “The Light Inside” and “Beside the Tide,” last year, which can be found on Spotify and Apple Music.
If you weren’t able to see Jordin Laine’s “These Dreams” be produced live by Mike Shinoda, you can still watch the Twitch replay below! Make sure to check out Laine’s music, as well as Shinoda’s previous production sessions. Stay tuned to Shinoda’s Twitch channel weekdays around 10 a.m. PT, as he will be starting on a new song called “Space Boots and Jet Fuel” by artist Dusty the Stampede on Wednesday, February 10!
