# Barnyard Rhapsody
## Backstory

I was helping my dad's friend [flip a house in
Milwaukee](https://yiction.com/the-milwaukee-house/). We had just urethaned
the floors. If you're not familiar, urethane smells like chemical death, and
it's rather toxic to breathe a bunch of it in.

I'd been around the smell so much that day that I got used to it. When I
dragged the spare mattress into the kitchen to try and go to sleep, I didn't
realize how many fumes were still circulating around. Instead of sleeping,
though, I got the itch to create a song.

Barnyard Rhapsody is the product of mild fume-induced brain damage. And you
can really tell.

![urethaned floor](https://yiction.com/wp-
content/uploads/2020/09/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_2a5b.jpg)The floor itself

## Production Fun Facts

Barnyard Rhapsody has a really large beat. The kick and snare are massively
distorted, as are many of the other elements. During its production, I was
learning the nuances and intricacies of using [buses and
sends](https://9to5mac.com/2015/09/27/logic-pros-fx-sends-submix-
aux/#:~:text=A%20Bus%20is%20essentially%20a,when%20it%20comes%20to%20busses.)
to add effects to my music. I accidentally deleted the distortion on a send,
then somehow irreversibly changed the routing of a bunch of my sends. Long
story short, for the entire month of July, the song was entirely ruined.

I was incredibly discouraged by this turn of events. At that point in
production, I'd finished with the first minute and a half of the song and I
was starting to work my way towards the final chorus. This monthlong delay
allowed my ideas to brew - I think the break may have benefitted the variety
of the song as a whole.

Eventually, in August, I bit the bullet and spent a couple hours rerouting all
of my sends and recreating the distortion effect I started off with. And I'm
glad I did.

* * *

The main piano riff was inspired by the melody of [C.R.E.A.M. by the Wu-Tang
Clan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwAxmrE194), which was playing on my
phone speaker when I started producing the song.

* * *

Around 30 seconds in, after the peaceful quiet angelic chorus interruption,
the melody changes from a Yamaha Grand Piano instrument into a Chinese Erhu
Violin.

* * *

Right at the end of the Erhu Violin section, I put in a cat purr. It's
difficult to discern but if you listen closely, you can hear it.

* * *

Sonoma painted this album cover. Here is an early rendition:

![](https://yiction.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/barnyearly-1024x1024.jpg)I
like the finished version better.

* * *

## Listen now: