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Shefali Kumar and I began recording together in June of 2008. A mutual friend wanted to work on a film project which would document the process of creating a song in the studio from beginning to end. What began as a one afternoon session quickly developed into regular vibe sessions where we would discuss music theory, technique, and life in general. I had been yearning for the opportunity to work on solid pop music sounding pieces with an underlying message along the lines of love conquering all.
Our film maker friend never did document the “making of” but we spent the next 10 weeks developing 10 pieces which we didn’t expect to have come up with. It was during this time that I fine tuned my approach of entering sessions without any lyrics prepared, and I would use a “talk therapy” approach, much like a psychologist would during an office session, to write lyrics. Through a series of questions and answers, I would steer the conversation in directions I felt would yield a good story.
It was also during this time that I decided that I would nix the idea of re-recording takes in a proper studio and stick with using the Blue Snowball USB mic which travels with me. Once I was free of the constraint of conducting our sessions in a controlled environment, I felt that I wanted to push the boundaries of location recording and travel through New York and track vocals in a series of spots which Shefali and I found to be inspirational. Somehow, much of it wound up being in the meat packing district in Manhattan!
I have wanted to use the name Bonita Applebum (a nod to Q Tip’s heart throb on Tribe’s debut album) on a project for quite some time. After listening to all of the rough versions of the songs, I couldn’t think of a project which would be more suited for carrying the title. Bam talks about how unnecessary it is for contemporary pop and R&B to incorporate vulgarity and I agree whole heartedly. I have always been a fan of leaving things to the imagination.
Ultimately, with this project, I pose the question: If sex sells, why can’t love?
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