Over the past five years, Bay area musician, Reese Posten has been writing and producing thoughtful tracks that blur the lines between pop, blues, jazz, and rock.
For his latest single, “One Less,” Posten teamed up with Midwest artist, FredTheBlackKid to create an atmospheric track inspired by a time when he had to question the integrity of a friendship.
We chatted with Posten about the single, discovering his interest in music, and what fans can look forward to next.
How did you first get interested in music?
I’ve been playing the guitar since I was six years old and it was my dad who exposed me to playing music. I remember being in the bath and hearing my dad play these classic rock songs and riffs in the next room and after a while I asked if he would teach me. After a while I just became addicted to playing and writing and it all kind of snowballed from there.
Who did you listen to growing up and do they have an influence on your sound today?
I actually grew up listening to a lot of punk rock influenced music and it wasn’t until high school that I got really into playing blues and blues pop kinds of music. I eventually started to write songs that had a more easy-going feeling and I loved creating those kinds of songs. I do think that all the rock music that I listened to has a powerful influence on the music that I write and the melodies that I create.
What inspired your new single “One Less”?
A while ago I was having some difficulty with a couple of my friends from high school and they did some things that were really questionable and that I thought were really out of character. I remember being really hurt by some of the things that happened and one day I came up with the chord progression and started writing lyrics. It was really easy to write.
How did you get connected with FredTheBlackKid and what was it like collaborating?
A bunch of my friends had a few of Fred’s songs on their playlists and I remember hearing him in the car and thinking “this is really good”. After writing the song I felt like something was still missing so I reached out to Fred and asked if he would be willing to write a verse and he seemed to be interested. It was honestly around four days later that I got a really well recorded verse from him and I was completely blown away.
What was the writing and production process like?
The writing process wasn’t too difficult but the production and arranging processes took up a lot of time and I didn’t end up releasing the song for another few months. I did have a really good time creating it and I’m glad that I spent so much time making it sound the way it did in my head.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to “One Less,” what do you imagine it looking like?
I feel like this song would be a perfect driving song and maybe a beach kind of song. Definitely a song for a laid-back kind of night. I remember mixing the song and every time I had a potential final mix, I would get in the car to see how it sounded while driving. Once it sounded alright, I knew that I could release it.
You’ve been releasing music for the past 5 years and have been creating music for even longer. Is there anything you’ve learned over the years that really stands out?
YES. Over time I’ve found out that arranging a song is one of the most important aspects of writing. You can’t have the verses drag out for too long because listeners are always craving the catchy part or the chorus. You have let your listeners anticipate the chorus without boring them. I try really hard to keep my songs interesting whether that means writing guitar parts to throw or avoiding exact repetition in the verses.
What can fans look forward to next?
I actually just finished mixing a new song and I’m planning on releasing that really soon. It’s a little bit different than the other singles that I have but I think it’s still in my style. I just hope people like it.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
“Do what makes you happy” I know it’s a really common one but my old guitar teacher used to tell me this all the time and for some reason, it always resonated coming from him.