Mr Waterman (Mercy Mix)

Bio: Arnell is a engineer/producer located in Chicago IL, who has been involved in the music industry for over 15 years. His influences came from legendary artists across many genres ranging from Sinatra to Santana through Bilal to the Beatles. In the 80s Arnell plunged into the house music scene where he began Djing and assisting on various music projects. After years of courses and technical training, Arnell has worked in major studios throughout Chicagoland where he has remixed/produced both major and indie label artist. http://www.myspace.com/velvetmusicgroup. A proud father blessed with a daughter Arnell states, " once she decides upon an instrument of choice, lessons will begin."

On the Remix: I was notified about the project from a friend who came across the Water Front Movie website in early December. After reading the story and viewing the videos of the people that were affected, I had to participate. The reality of people being deprived of water is overwhelming...I downloaded the original Mr Waterman from Joe L. Carter to listen to the message he was sending along with the music arrangement around him. After going through the song a few times, I grabbed a notepad and started rearranging the vocal and intro. I believe that if I can capture ears out of the gate, I can keep them focused. I laid the intro for Joe with the piano followed by the message of a cry for help allowing Joe Carter to tell the world what is going on. From that point I took the 4/4 format and pushed it with the bass and ride cymbal rather than the kick to create a natural jazzy feel. Keeping Joe Carter up front I applied a slight bit of compression and fader rides over various verses. In addition to a few eq adjustments and some drum group compression, I added a bit of air to the piano. I stayed away from applying anything to the mix buss for the simple reason of most jazz and blues projects like to keep it natural. Its all about the message and I wanted to let Joe Carter tell the story as if he was in a local venue.

http://www.myspace.com/velvetmusicgroup