Generator - Chad Reynvaan
Contributed by Joshua Fryfogle
“Then I was a man, who found out the master plan, the one where you and I work hard until we die…”
Within the first minute of the first track, ‘Dreaming Still’, on this incredible new album from Chad Reynvaan, I was hooked by his existential wit. But it wasn’t just that. I’ve known Chad, as do many who are involved with the music scene, to be a talented multi-instrumentalist. He’s played bass with Medium Build, drums with the Jangle Bees, and guitar in several local music iterations, not the least of which are his own. Really, he has a renaissance man mystique, complete with iconic images. He looks like he stepped out of the past, while he’s helping to shape the future of local Alaskan music.
Chad’s production on the recent Jangle Bee’s record, “Feel Love”, was a triumph. That band has created a buzz since they first started performing, but they found their sting around the same time they teamed up with Reynvaan. Chad’s proximity to local music success has been a meandering approach, using his skills and talents to highlight the beauty in the music of others, and in so doing he’s made himself into a powerhouse of production.
“Generator” is an appropriate title to this album. Chad Reynvaan generates incredible output as an artist, so much so that other artists benefit from his shine.
“Chad is the secret sauce of so many of Alaska’s musical projects, names like The Sweeteners, Medium Build, The Jangle Bees, Casey Smith, Black Water Railroad and countless others all have Chad’s sonic finger print on them.”
- Matt Brenna, The Jangle Bees
I could say more about Chad Reynvaan, things that those in the know already know, but let’s focus on this new record.
The pocket is deep, and I don’t know why. One of the most difficult things about recording an album in a sterile, track-by-track process of sound isolation and separation is getting it to sound like the band is performing in front of an enthusiastic crowd. When a band of musicians is playing with feeling, all locked together into one unit, that’s called ‘the pocket’. To manifest that in the studio is a special skill set for both the musician and the producers or engineers involved. It’s even harder when the musician is also the engineer and producer! That’s what Chad has done with “Generator”, and it’s baffling to me. He did it, and I don’t know how.
“… That’s why I started Wattage, my personal recording studio, to begin with. I want to be the one in control of all those sonic and creative choices that happen during the process. Somewhere along the way I got good enough at doing it that other artists and bands wanted me to record them too. I think they come because there aren’t really any boring songs that leave Wattage or sometimes it’s because they have a built-in backup band in me and they need drums and bass on their songs but don’t play those things. We always find interesting instruments and sounds to inject to make a recording unique sounding. It’s really just rooted in the classic idea of ‘let’s get weird with it’. The studio is definitely my instrument of choice.”
- Chad Reynvaan
All that matters is that he did, and it sounds like most local albums don’t. It doesn’t sound local at all. It sounds like it should be on the radio. (I hear that they’ve already added several tracks to regular rotation on 95.5 The Pass, which can be heard throughout the Mat-Su and in most of Anchorage and Eagle River, or via stream online.) The song-craft alone is worthy of praise. These songs really hit that sweet spot, lyrically and musically, with their composition.
The sound of the album is full, deep and rich, powerful; the delicate high end frequencies sound present and real in the ear, while the low end can be felt proportionately in the body.
If I had to choose a favorite track, it might be ‘Zoe’, but that’s after initially preferring the first track, ‘Dreaming Still’. Who knows what my favorite will be in a week. It’s one of those records that hooks you, and then reels you all the way in. Highly recommend.