“This day is very special, it’s like a rebirth.”
Willie J. Clarke
For years, Willie Clarke had been telling Producer/Engineer Andrew Yeomanson that he wanted to bring Helene to City of Progress, Yeomanson’s recording studio in North Miami, FL. Yeomanson introduced Willie to singer/songwriter, Jason Joshua Hernandez of the band Ketchy Shuby. Hernandez was a fan of Helene’s music and jumped at the opportunity to collaborate. According to Yeomanson, when Helene met Hernandez, they immediately clicked and that eased the concerns she had about what type of material they were going to record.
“I felt like I had been knowing him A long time.”
Helene Smith
Once the recording date was set, Yeomanson assembled a group of young musicians who are re-defining the Miami Sound. According to Yeomanson he wanted to get guys in the studio “who get the song together quickly.” He arranged for the four piece outfit Electric Kif comprised of Jason Matthews on keyboard, Eric Escanes on lead guitar, Rodrigo Zambrano on bass and he brought in drummer Dave Chiverton on drums to sit in for Electric Kif’s drummer who was unavailable for the date. The icing on the cake was adding organist Adam Scone, a veteran of the New York City soul scene who recorded and toured with Dap King recording artists, The Sugarman Three.
The Musicians
Jason Matthews - Keys
Eric Escanes - Guitar
Rodrigo Zambrano - Bass
Dave Chiverton - Drums
Adam Scone - Organ
Jason J. Hernandez - Songwriter/Producer
Willie J. Clarke - Producer
Andrew Yeomanson - Producer/Engineer
In Between Takes
The end result of putting this team of talented producers and performers can be heard on Spotify.