Collaborate, Don't Dominate

There's nothing like kickin' your day off with some good buzzy frisson.

I've always been a believer in collaborations instead of competition.

The idea of collaborating vs. competing presents itself in a lot of ways and is applicable in many different professions and industries. Why do I feel so strongly about collaborating over competing or dominating? So glad you asked. I'd love to tell you.

Today is Friday the 13th (2024) and that means some new music dropped. On Spotify, my old flame, Sage Francis, was gracing the cover photo which kicked my excitement up about 48%. Then my eyes drift down to the song underneath and we have a new one from Underoath. "Teeth?", I asked myself. "Is it a remix? Did I imagine them already having a track called Teeth?" I clicked play and my excitement shot up to 101%. Definitely a new song (I was thinking of "On My Teeth", silly me.). The enthusiasm was bursting out of my ear holes to make way for all the sounds coming from my speaker to infiltrate and massage my brain.

On first listen you may think you've clicked play on the wrong track. "Teeth" starts with a classic R&B style sampling that's both airy and groovy. Not exactly words that are typically attached to the fellas that brought us the bangers on "They're Only Chasing Safety". Yet, here we are. Spencer lures us into the track with some smoother vocals, leading us to a grittier pre-chorus with Aaron that throws us face first into the wall of head banging we've come to know and love.

But going back to that intro. The groovy sampling, the smoother vocals from Spencer. It feels... new. They've never fallen into just one genre, if anything they reinvent themselves on each record they release. But this felt... different. In my opinion, that difference came from all the collaborating they've been doing as a band as as solo artists.

Hi! Welcome back to the point of this blog. The past few songs with the Underoath name attached (or Spencer / Aaron individually) have been features on other artists songs. Whether a more electronic collaboration like with the Ukrainian-Canadian Rezz bringing a dark techno sound, banging out angry drums with Kayzo, sliding into a more pop rock sound teaming up with Bohnes, or hell, even hitting the dirt roads with Mitchell Tenpenny which was the most surprising and most smile inducing feature for me, personally. I do not often listen to country music on purpose - but lately there have been a number of partnerings with a wide variety of artists adopting that twang. (That's a blog for another day.) Opening up your talents, skills, and ideas with others is a critical component of creating something truly magnificent. Every single one of us has a unique experience in this world and you never know what part of you will pair with a part of someone else until you stop. Collaborate. And listen (to more Underoath).

Enjoy the video of Spencer's cute little dances and the pretty lights.

Whats a recent collaboration that shocked or thrilled you? Leave a comment below!