LAYERS: Peeling Back The Plies Of Eloise's "Soft Touch (Burnt Skin)"

It’s lovely when old friends meet up years later and discover that, though they’ve grown older, some of their interests still match up. Well, what I mean is that it’s great, but you probably wouldn’t give a shit unless a) you’re one of the two friends, or b) they made a really dope song that you like. And in regards to the reunion of producers Valentina and Miles Read (previously of Wealth), most of us fall squarely into category b.

The song these guys came up with, “Soft Touch (Burnt Skin),” kind of sounds like what would happen if you chopped and screwed a Plaid song and added in the distorted vocal from one of those auto-tuned Bollywood hits that my mom really likes. The result is a real chiller, and we’re glad to bring you its breakdown below in this week’s LAYERS.

VOCALS

We started with some vocal samples from Miles’ old band Wealth and washed them with a good amount of moans and reverb to add a dissident layer. We really dug the lines, “I found you in the burning club, back when I hung with those thugs…,” which Miles wrote. We decided that loop should be the basis for the track’s melody. Near the end, the vocals turn nearly unrecognizable through heavy revery, delay, and some pitch shifting.

BASS

We gave the bass an ominous tone to contrast the innocence of the vocal sample. We added a strong “bong”-ing sound, almost like church bells, and played around with notes until we found something that morphed the vocal sample into something new—a more melancholic and dissonant feeling than what the vocals originally presented. Near the end the bass picks up to a double-time by adding some delays.

MARIMBA

We wanted something emotive, with just a little cheese. Justin laid down the marimba running under the song, a driving force of disorienting melancholy. It also adds a little flavor you wouldn’t usually see in a track like this.

CRYING SYNTH

We added a synth melody which starts about 2:45 into the song. We wanted to keep the notes simple, but the sounds wide and big. The synth style contrast the marimba nicely. It’s almost as if a kid was hitting at the high notes of a synth, adding a playful element, and then is shocked by how big a song the keys can produce. The track has no real hook in it’s progression so the last playful synth lines add a finality and climax to the track. The synth’s are very playful by themselves, but again take a darker toned when paired with the bass and vocals.

DRUMS

When playing around with all this reverb we got a nice creaky sound that we liked and started looping. The creak formed the basis for the drums, which we wanted to keep minimal and deep. The outcome is something pretty simple but intricate, and sounds crazy alone…

When we wrapped the drums we borrowed a piece from our good friend Armando Veve for the art.

Put it all together and here’s what you get. “Soft Touch (Burnt Skin)” by Eloise featuring Vernous.

@ImYourKid