August 29, 2015, my Grandfather on my father's side passed away — Gramps.

It was just a few short months before my college graduation in that approaching December. Just days earlier, I was on a roadtrip with him to & from New York. We got together for an anniversary reunion with his band, Intensive Heat. I got to meet some amazing musicians that grew up playing with my grandfather. Yet what was most special to me, was the time we spent fellowshipping while on the road traveling together.

For whatever reason, I decided to grab some audio recordings of our conversations, because I appreciated his perspective & insight so much. We talked about life, music, love, lessons, joys, pains, sanity, and all of the things that mattered. I made him listen to Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly"... And I also had the privilege of letting him hear the makings of what would later become my debut album.

His birthday is today, December 29th. It's the 10th Anniversary of that very same debut album, "The Wild". Released in honor of him on this day in 2015.

There were audio clips strewn across that album from the recordings I took while Gramps & I were on the road together... and audio clips from shortly after Aug. 29th, when my sister drove down to Tallahassee, FL where I was finishing out my last semester, to break the news to me that he had passed.

My sis & I drove around Tally, and spent the evening reminiscing & reflecting on his life. I too shared with her the makings of what would become "The Wild", the same as I did on that road trip with Gramps. And so there are some very precious moments, bits & pieces of recorded reflections from both of those experiences interleaving the tracks on that album.

I cried deeply that day. Mourning the fact that he would miss my graduation & the release of this album. Yet I was so very grateful that I was able to spend that time with him & have him hear what I had prepared up until that point. He was pivotal in my life as a pillar, father-figure & musical inspiration. Without him, I wouldn't be the artist I am today.

I've probably mentioned this more than once throughout the years here & there, but it's such a defining story for me. During the time I spent with him that August of 2015, I got to hear his feedback on the music I had put together myself, and it was the most earnest I had ever felt in wanting someone to listen to what I had made. His favorite song off the project — or at least what was completed by then — was "Wavy".

So today, in remembrance of Gramps on his birthday, and in honor of this 10th Anniversary of "The Wild", I would like to share with you all the official remastered version of "Wavy", mixed & mastered by Michael Cupp.

It's one of the first songs I committed to that I truly produced from scratch. The original version was in another key actually, however I invited my friend KIP over to play the hand pan (to add some nuanced embellishments to the track), and the hand pan was in pentatonic scale. I remember reworking the instrumental to fit the key of his instrument because I wanted him to play on it no matter what. Papa Zaniel pulled up (previously known as Blak Iron) for his poetic bridge / vocal addition towards the end of the track that really helped make the track feel thematically whole. Everything else was me & a MIDI controller.

All the best,
Sean aka Mr. Wildenfree®️ 🐺🍵🎵

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