The musical collaboration between Steve and Dolapo offers “Early Morning Glow” as a relaxing jazz performance which seamlessly unites classic musical elements with modern musical trends. The musical composition begins with piano notes that establish a feeling of tranquility which evokes a sense of dawn serenity.
This work features vocals as its main focus because both artists perform with strong emotional clarity and restrained power. Their musical harmonies demonstrate a professional connection between them which produces authentic artistic collaboration. Through paced saxophone lines Steve supports the singing voices and together with steady rhythmic backing and piano the accompaniment supplies necessary foundation to the song.
The song’s lyrics started as poetry written by Dolapo which intertwines the concepts of conserving both actual morning light and psychological optimism. The piece maintains an unexpected profoundness despite its peaceful exterior.
Through their work Steve and Dolapo have created a piece which explores both the peaceful moments of morning and loving relationships beyond time constraints. The song “Early Morning Glow” gives listeners a peaceful experience that shows how loveliness survives in everyday quiet periods.
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“Early Morning Glow” feels like a title packed with imagery. What inspired the name and the overall mood of the song?“Early Morning Glow” was inspired by both our points of view regarding the intrinsic beauty embedded in every breaking of the dawn of each passing day. Over time, we often shared photographs depicting how profound sunrises and the moments before them were and that in a way helped to put words to the thoughts we both share for this undeniably gorgeous part of each day.
The words of “Early Morning Glow” were formed through these pictorial exchanges, coupled with the fact that many people, including ourselves claim to be “Morning People”. The silent joys, hopes and aspirations that naturally come with each day break added more impetus to the poetry verse that would later become the full fledged song that we now call “Early Morning Glow” We hope all the “Morning People” out there would be able to relate to and fully connect with our song.
How did the songwriting process unfold for this track? Did the lyrics or the melody come first?For “Early Morning Glow”, the lyrics came first. The thoughts were fully formed and written as a poem. The lyrics later formed the basis for the melody of the song. As the melody took flight from the emotions encapsulated within the lyrics. For the melodies and lyrics that are penned by Dolapo as is the case here, the finished melody is given to Steve as an a cappella vocal.
Steve always hears the arrangement in his head fully the moment the song is sung to him by Dolapo. This song struck him as jazz immediately and he started by arranging and scoring the piano part. Upright bass was scored next, followed by a drum kit pattern. The piano part in the score is the finished piano part, whereas the scored bass line was then learned by Steve and played and recorded on a real double bass.
He then wrote, played, and recorded the saxophone parts on the horns themselves and added the parts to the score later. Later he performed and rerecorded the drums on a real drum kit. The finished backing track was sent to Dolapo to rerecord the final vocal. The final piece was for Steve to write, sing and record his vocal harmony on the fly.
Was there a specific setting or time of day that influenced how “Early Morning Glow” was created?“Early Morning Glow” was basically created out of the summation of the feelings that the break of each dawn gave us up until the time of its recording. We tried to capture its awe inspiring moment, the mystery that enshrouds it, the depth of its existence and the anticipation it brings. Ordinarily, we think its an unending phenomenon but we just wanted to register our appreciation of it with our tune.
How would you describe the sound of “Early Morning Glow” to someone who’s never heard your music before?To someone who has never heard of “Early Morning Glow” before, we would love to describe it as that one song that sets you out on a positive note, right from the very start of your day, as it speaks to the day ahead of you in a bid to affirm desirable outcomes to all human endeavours that are noble and worthwhile.
The song has been carefully orchestrated to softly and smoothly flow into your listening with the gentility and grace of the morning breeze and progressively carry you through the sometimes meandering nature of the day; till it climaxes at the peak of the activities of the same day.
There’s something intimate about the track—was that a deliberate sonic choice, or did it evolve naturally?The sonic choice that could be heard in “Early Morning Glow” can be said to be both deliberate and natural at the same time. As earlier mentioned, the lyrics of the initially written poem had embedded emotions in them which the sonic choice tried to explore and unravel. The relative softness and airyness of the sound in question interpreted the emotional landscape of “Early Morning Glow” as a whole. We could bellow our way through if we wanted to but the break of dawn as we know it, comes in softly and a similar approach informed the sonic choice therein.
What was the most surprising or unexpected part of working together on this particular song?One of the most surprising/ unexpected parts of writing and working together on “Early Morning Glow” was the fact that I (Dolapo) thought my poem was destined only to be poetry, but the arranger/producer in Steve instantly saw the musical potential of the poem as soon as it was written and published. I thereafter formed a melody out of the written verses, while Steve went ahead to co-record and produce the tune. The synergy, although not totally unexpected; going by the track records of the prior projects, remains surprising as the individual roles are more complimentary than we could fully fathom. We both find our process magically seamless.
What message or emotion were you hoping to convey through “Early Morning Glow”?With “Early Morning Glow”, We are hoping to tap into the positive vibes that come with each day. We strongly believe that starting and facing each day with a positive attitude could in some ways help to reinforce one’s outlook in the face of the multifarious tasks that await us on a daily. It’s a love letter to the incoming day, asking it to be kind, as it begins with the rising of the morning sun. There’s a bit of fantasy in there, if we’re asked and a tinge of optimism too.
The track feels personal—does it reflect a shared experience or two separate perspectives coming together?We would love to state that “Early Morning Glow” basically reflects one of the many unified fronts about our outlook to life in general. We both believe that kindness and positive affirmations and attitudes go a long way to birth the world we so much long and want to see. Apart from being Creative Partners, we are best of friends and our thoughts are often laid bare in every of our songs.
Is there a visual component (like a music video or cover art) that plays into the story of “Early Morning Glow”?Yes, as with every song that we have released so far, we equally have a visual component for “Early Morning Glow” It could be found on our website at www.steveanddolapo.com and our YouTube channel as well. It’s our way of putting faces behind each song.
Have you had any memorable reactions from fans or listeners to the song so far?Many! But, this quote from a listener we just recently met moved us very much:“This is amazing, you both, Steve and Dolapo! I listened several times to dive into what’s actually happening there. I don’t think I‘ve ever heard something similar before. I certainly agree with the positive energy! But there’s much more in there, something very bluesy and great Jazz handcraft (kind of a Gershwin-vibe), as well as musical/operetta.
It’s like beside the overall beauty of the morning glow, there’s also the shadowy and glary aspects in it and declaration of a majestic sun coming. Fascinating!” – Mark K.
Looking back on your growth as artists, where do you think “Early Morning Glow” fits in your journey?Every song that we create strengthens our beautiful friendship which at the same time nurtures and grows our creativity as artists. Each song multiplies the great respect, admiration, and love we have for each other and excites us for the adventure of the next one! As Dolapo often states “the music never stops”. Whenever a song is finished the next one is begun, sometimes even before! We both love many genres and styles of music and we always seem to do something fresh and new with each composition.
Is “Early Morning Glow” part of a bigger project we can expect soon—like an EP or album?We have a lot of songs finished as well as in the pipeline and we are hoping to release our second vinyl LP later this year!
What’s next for Steve and Dolapo?In addition to our LP, there will be several cover song releases to help us increase our visibility and audience. We are also actively working to bring our songs to television and film.
Any upcoming shows, collaborations, or surprises on the horizon?The cover songs we have coming are really fantastic and will likely surprise some of our audience. We can’t wait to see the reactions!!! As far as shows go, only the future can tell. We are physically separated by an ocean but if major label interest and means come about, we would most definitely love to do live shows!
