Today is a wonderful day because Code:Echo has released a new single titled, "Osprey"! If you enjoy artists like David Maxim Micic, Intervals, Plini, Aviations, Satyr, etc. then this track should definitely be the next song to add to your playlists! "Osprey" is a truly beautiful track. The song encapsulates a cascading mix of guitar, piano, and drums, that leaves the listener feeling cozy, peaceful, and comforted. After listening, it leaves me feeling like I've just had a peaceful morning with a hot cup of tea and honey, in a comfy cardigan, while watching nature from my window.
I fortunately had the pleasure of sitting down with Cody Taylor, the creative mind behind Code:Echo, to talk further about "Osprey"!
MSM: Hello! Thank you for meeting with me to talk about your new single, “Osprey.” Can you introduce yourself and tell the readers more about your project?
Taylor: My name is Cody Taylor. My project is Code:Echo, and it's just a bunch of clean guitar with good vibes. It’s all instrumental, and I often have features from some of my friends and inspirations.
MSM: So your single, “Osprey”, has just come out, can you explain what this song means to you and your inspiration behind writing it?
Taylor: I tend to name my songs after different parts of nature that I enjoy, whether it's flowers, bugs, or birds. I wrote this one while just watching videos about Ospreys and taking inspiration from how they act. I just kind of go with the vibe of how I'm feeling at the moment when I'm editing.
MSM: What would you want to convey to the listeners with the song, “Osprey”?
Taylor: I often try to convey the way that I feel when on the water or in the woods. Just an overall sense of coziness!
MSM: There's other phenomenal musicians featured on the song. Can you tell us more about who they are and what they contribute to the song?
Taylor: So first of all would be Brody Taylor Smith from Invent Animate, and Satyr. Brody is a phenomenal drummer, and this will be the first track of mine featuring his live drums, as he's programmed the ones in the past. Next would be Richard Blumenthal. He is the piano player of both Blumen and Aviations. Richard is a phenomenal pianist overall! He plays many genres of music, including classical, prog, and jazz and is just an overall great dude to work with both personally and professionally. The mixing and mastering was done by Sam Harchick from Aviations. He really took this track to an even fuller and more beautiful overall sound. On top of the mixing and mastering, he gave me so much advice on how to better record and improve on the clarity of my guitar recordings as well as having his roommate/friend Dan Raney step in and redo the bass that I had improvised over the original version!
MSM: Were there any unique sounds or techniques used to write or in production of this song?
Taylor: Yes, so when it comes to writing, I like using the techniques that I've learned from Josh Martin of Little Tybee. He does private lessons and I've taken one with him in which I feel like I learned more in that one hour than I ever have with any other teacher. In the introduction of the song, I used his technique called glitch tapping, where you do a trill on a note using your tapping hand. Usually the way I do it is just ring, middle, pointer. And then I also used a technique I couldn't remember the name of, I believe it's waterfall taps, where you tap on a chord and then pluck it off with the same tapping hand, getting a much fuller overall sound. Aside from that, it's primarily just a lot of two handed tapping and large/warm chords.
MSM: What are you most excited about for fans and listeners to experience with the release of “Osprey”?
Taylor: I would most likely say the video recorded by Brian Krahe. This is the second video that I've done with him and he has absolutely killed both of them. And both experiences were great because it's just hanging out with a friend and playing music. That's always a good time.
MSM: Absolutely. And it makes things so much easier too when you're there with a friend or somebody that's just laid back and chill like Brian is.
Taylor: Absolutely, and yourself!
MSM: Thank you, it was so fun to be there for the behind the scenes for the video. Good people and good hangs! So my next question is, when it comes to writing instrumental songs, how do you write to keep the listener’s attention? I know that in the genre, it's usually listened to by people who get really nerdy about the music, so they are looking for a song like your’s. But in general, how do you write to catch someone's attention?
Taylor: So I usually see the songs kind of in a shade of color, and usually what I'll try to do is keep the same overall vibe going throughout the entire song. Usually it'll just start with a little melody in my head, and then I'll try to build a chord shape out of the first melody and see where I can go from there.
MSM: That's interesting, I've never heard somebody say they start with a color in mind!
Taylor: Yeah, this song just kind of had like a, I don't know how to describe it, but it was like a tangerine feeling to it. And every time I moved on to a new section, I just kind of had to keep that same overall feeling up until the outro, where I just shifted to more of a jazz club vibe, which I don't know how to describe it, but it just feels like the color of mahogany. Then with the naming and everything, I was watching a video documentary about ospreys that morning and they're one of my favorite birds, so I just kind of wrote it based off of how I felt at the moment after watching that. Ospreys are also local to the Charleston area and I see so many of them on my walks around here.
MSM: I'll have to keep that in mind when I listen to it again! How does “Osprey” fit into your future plans with the Code:Echo project?
Taylor: “Osprey” will be the first song that I release this year, in which I plan to write and release (ideally) a second EP. However, this is the only completed project at the moment.
MSM: So there’s a lot of writing in your future for this year?
Taylor: Absolutely!
MSM: That's great news! I am excited to hear what you come up with!
MSM: Did you run into any issues with the writing or recording process for “Osprey”?
Taylor: Yes, I would say that each little 10 second section was probably tracked at least 50 times. The techniques and tapping that I used on this were a little more complicated than some of my other songs in the past. Therefore, this one took so many attempts to get clean but will definitely pay off with the end result!
MSM: Absolutely! And with Sam's help, I'm sure that the final is going to sound the best! It really is a great song.
Taylor: Well, thank you! Yeah, Sam actually had me re-track all of the guitar from the version that I had already sent him.
MSM: All of the guitar?!
Taylor: Because he's a perfectionist, which I really appreciate, and there were pretty much little things in every section. So, that's what I spent my snow day doing.
MSM: Well, that doesn't sound like a terrible snow day.
Taylor: No, it was actually a lot of fun. And it does sound way better now.
MSM: That’s great!
Taylor: It sounded really good before, so I'm excited about the finished product!
MSM: What’s coming up next for Code:Echo aside from a lot of writing?
Taylor: Just reaching out to some more of the bands coming near my area as well as some of the local bands here and trying to get some more shows going to get my name out there in both the local scene and be able to promote myself more to a different audience.
MSM: I think this song is really going to push you further for those goals too!
Taylor: Thank you! I really hope so!
MSM: What’s one last thing you’d like to say to your fans and to any new listeners that are listening to “Osprey” for the first time?
Taylor: I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to and read about an independent artist! Everything I currently do is self-written and it means a lot that people take time out of their days to listen to it.
If you would like to check out the video for "Osprey", please watch below!
If you like what you hear, explore more from Code:Echo on Spotify!
