I study her and her expression softens a little, though it’s no less intense.
“I want this job. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And I don’t want one night in Vegas to ruin that. I am the person in the profile that you chose to hire, and I am going to prove that to you.”
“I have no doubt about that,” I say, matching her tone. “So, let's get started.”
Amanda grabs her bag and stands up. “Yes.”
We talk as I walk her to the studio where her office is. “Have you had time to listen to the demos I sent you?” I ask.
“Yes. They’re good but–”
I smile at her as we head for the elevator. “Yes. There is a but. What are your thoughts?”
“Every song feels like an extension of the last. If Lil Chaos wants to stand out, he needs something that will light a fire around his name. He needs to catch attention. Turn heads. Right now, he’s just background noise for the genre.”
Fuck me. She really, and I meanreallyknows what she’s doing. Where has this woman been all my life?
“I couldn’t agree with you more. I could sense his potential out the gate but right now he’s only the skeleton of what he’s going to need to be if we want to really make money off him.”
“You mean if we want to make good music,” Amanda corrects me with words that I would use myself.
I stop just inside the doorway of the studio and look at her. She looks at me. Any nervousness or awkwardness from the previous conversation is gone and we are talking music. There’s even a hint of smirk hiding in the corners of her mouth.
“Right. So, what did you have in mind?”
“Well,” Amanda bends down and pulls a couple tapes out of her bag and I stop.
“Wait. You still use cassettes for recording?”
“I like the way they sound and it’s easier.”
“It’s very old school.”
“It’s my method and no one has questioned me before.”
Goddamn.
She pops one of the tapes into a portable player and connects it to the sound system. The room immediately fills with one of the songs Lil Chaos’ team gave us.
“This is the song they want us to use as a single. But it’s only two dimensional. So, I played around with it at home.”
“You have a synth at home?”
Amanda smiles. “I have a lot of things at home…”
Focus. For the love of God, Callum, focus!
The song shifts. It’s the same at its base but everything else is completely different.
“I went with piano instead of guitar because it lines up better with the electronic sound that he is going for. The kid is crossing alt and electronic and the keyboard gives it a staccato rhythm which works much better with his sing talking.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I nod, looking at the floor as I focus.
“And the orchestral part in the middle pulls out the emotion. The song is upbeat but he’s singing about a breakup. The music pulls the listener in because it’s peppy–”
“But the lyrics grab the emotion,” I say, and she smiles again.
And I do too.
