After only a few seconds, the swelling string intro drops out in "Hero," and is replaced by Halle Abadi's warmly saturated vocals. They tantalize as their glowing textures are enhanced by a heartbeat-like pulse deep in the backdrop. Every space is accounted for as beautifully drenched delays and reverbs drip beyond this production—the whole piece frames like a portrait for Halle's voice to contour with. The entire production is centered with a cleverly placed soft snaps, where most others would go the conventional snare samples found on most Pop song's backbeat.
"Hero's" chorus injects a more intrinsically tropical rhythmic bounce as the song feels like it evolves into a whole new level of smoldering sensuality.
The chorus is embellished with another BuzzMusic favorite, Evolsi, as the two vocals harmonize with each other to heighten the original character of this proving single. It's easy to get absorbed into how the music makes you feel by the song's swaying feel. As you get more rooted in the song, a message unseals itself: trying to please everyone by being their "hero" is just not sustainable. It stifles you for a second as Halle sings, "Do you know to be there for me, hero's need saving too?" and the song reintroduces back into its final chorus. Finally, we're immersed in the climax before it all quietly dissipates back into the air. It's no doubt that anything that C-Ray encounters he manages to enhance, and "Hero," is one for the Pop song playbooks.
Discover "Hero" here.
Hey there, C-Ray and Halle! Welcome to BuzzMusic! We're thrilled to be featuring your newest single "Hero"! Could you tell us some more about how the writing process worked between the two of you and how the overall concept for this song developed?
Hey! We’re thrilled for people to hear Hero. I (Halle) toplined with the talented artist Evolsi and we finished writing the song in a day. It helps when you’re writing with someone who understands your vision for the song. When we were playing the track on a loop, I just kept hearing the word “hero” and decided that it should be the focal point of the song. From there, we conceptualized what someone looks like when they’re trying to play the part of the hero for someone in their life. It worked out to lyrically show the timeline of the hero’s journey. For the first couple of verses, the hero shows confidence and wants to portray complete control and capability over the situation. For whatever reason, they believe it is their duty to “save” this other person. Then, we see them start to doubt themself and progressively become more emotionally drained. The hero realizes they need reciprocation and that they can’t always be sacrificing their own well-being for the sake of saving somebody else, hence the lyric “But will you know to be there for me? Heroes need saving too.”
You come up with impressively catchy top-lines Halle, it seems like it comes naturally. Are there any habits you've been able to attribute to your abilities as a confident writer?
Thank you! Personally, I try to write a lyric or melody line every day to keep my creativity flowing. When I’m writing a full song, I try my best to write whatever feels good at the moment and save the judgment for later, which helps me create more confidently. I’ve learned that whatever feels good to me on the track in terms of lyric and melody will feel good for the listener too. For me, the notion that everything and everyone can provide you with a little inspiration if you look for it definitely has helped my writing process. I look for what makes someone or something unique and I write about it.
What has been the most notable milestone for your growth this year as a producer C-Ray?
Believe it or not, being in Quarantine has allowed me to slow down and focus more on fine-tuning different attributes and learning new techniques that I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. So, more of an elongated milestone, haha. I have added so many new creative tools to my process that will carry me even further in the development of songs, especially when building from scratch with the artist in the room. On “Hero”, I’ve been able to experiment and reshape elements in the music that I’ve not done before and I hardly could leave it alone. It was like the song kept revealing more of itself to me. Definitely a vital part of my creative growth for 2020. I did check off one of my goals for the year and had a track picked up by Spotify’s “New Music Friday” in Malaysia. Very humbling. Now we just need to hit that playlist here in the states with “Hero” ;)
Thank you for joining us here at BuzzMusic! It was a joy featuring you! We're wondering, what's been the best part about working with each other on this song? Do you plan on releasing anything together again soon?
Thanks for having us! The best part about working together is being able to bounce ideas off of each other in a safe and non-judgmental space, especially when our vulnerabilities are in the forefront. For “Hero”, the process was no different which made writing and recording the song an incredibly smooth and almost therapeutic process. We absolutely plan on releasing more records together in the near future - much, much sooner than you think. C-Ray and I are super appreciative for all of the support BuzzMusic has shown us and love you guys!