McClenney

Notes
*whoever collects gets a free airdrop of my upcoming multi-media collection*

Pearl was my 1st ever release on Spotify. It's my 1st song I wrote when I committed to becoming a songwriter in 2015, at 21 when I moved to NYC. I've been wanting to commemorate this first step moment for a while now. This one is dedicated to my fiancé Vanessa.

Pearl is about when I first met, Vanessa. With her in so many ways, my music career began. When we first met almost 8 years ago, I had just begun taking music seriously. She was truly my north star. she believed in my music more than anyone else, and at times more than I did. We did long distance for years before we made our home in Los Angeles and Pearl is directly about the strength of our love for one another. 

Reflecting over half a decade later, I've learned so much as a human, as a musician, and as a partner. Proud moments, mistakes I've made, lessons I've learned, beautiful memories we've shared; I've grown and evolved into the person I am today. We’ve grown so much personally and professionally together. I would not be where I am in my career without her strategizing moves, giving me tangible feedback, A&Ring and getting in the weeds with me and that’s a fact. Through it all I'm so grateful for Vanessa who has been truly the Pearl in my life (among so many other things). The constant that has always shine a bright light in the darkest and brightest of times. 

Sonically, Pearl was one of my earliest forms of blending of styles and genres that have become a big part of my sound. I mixed this record and intricately layered the a vocal arrangement. The production is intentionally sparse, to leave room for the vocal and message of the song. “Pearl” was a successful song in web2.

This song came out first in 2015, and appeared on my debut album "Portrait in Two (2017). 

Collector receives:
Pearl a capella
airdrop of my upcoming collection

lyrics:
[Chorus]
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you

[Verse 1]
The portrait of us now, a one way mirror
Silence speaks so loud, you couldn't be clearer
You're a thousand miles out, wish we were nearer
I'll always fight the wave no doubt, forever I'm here cause

[Pre Chorus]
(I'll always remember) The butterfly's when we had our, first kiss in LA
(I'll always remember) It was summertime and I can feel the heat in the eyes you gave me
Do you remember the promises made to you the first night I stayed
I'll never surrender, you know together were better
(always remember)

[Chorus]
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you

[Interlude]

[Chorus]
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you
You, you're mine
My pearl, my shine, oh you

[Outro]
You
You're my pearl, you're my, you're my pearl, you're my

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Pearl

Top 2 bidders will be airdropped the first McClenney visual NFT. 

About "Karma Plays":
**this version is a working version of the track with a unique guitar solo**

"Karma Plays" is a ballad I started writing in 2018 confronting personal feelings of “karmic justice”. At the time I was working on a project called “passenger” and thinking about what passenger means in both a literal and metaphoric sense at 25. Am I in the backseat of the events of my life? Am I in the driver’s seat? It took a few months of writing and producing this track to find the right bed to vocally convey the feeling & message I wanted. Sometimes you search for the feeling, and sometimes it hits you. I actually think when I wrote this song, my voice wasn’t at the maturity I needed it to be to capture that. I lived with the song for over a year and a half and let it sit. In early 2020, I found that voice & sentiment I needed to finish the song. The vocal arrangement was very key to me, I tend to treat my voice like voice like strings in an orchestra at times and I leaned into it on “Karma Plays”. The string arrangement at the end is also an allusion to the way I layer vocals. 

This is a snapshot of the process of finishing "Karma Plays":
This version you hear isn’t the final, but a 75% version that features I rare guitar solo I cut when I first wrote the song. Eventually I asked Baby Rose to write to it instead of the solo and that’s the version you hear on DSP’s. The original original had a different bridge entirely, but this is the one I landed on. What you hear is a probably 60% working mix of the final master so there are some vocal moments that are drier than others, but it’s truly a look into my final stages of completing this song. I hope you enjoy a look into my process here before the song was thoroughly refined and finished.

credits:
written, produced, performed & mixed by McClenney

lyrics:

Verse 1-
where's the peace? 
to save my life, that jagged key
while my mind's treating to tease,
forgotten dreams, forgotten dreams

Pre:
Karma pays, but in change
on the dollar, for your ways
karma plays, you the same
fate in spates, if you don't change

Chorus-
you gotta change
you gotta change

Bridge-
I could never sleep, knowing I'd be
strapping my soul to the passenger seat
I could never sleep, knowing i'd be
strapping my soul as a passenger 

Pre:
Karma pays, but in change
on the dollar, for your ways
karma plays, you the same
fate in spates, if you don't change

Chorus-
you gotta change
you gotta change


Collector receives:
- a capella of "Karma Plays"
- airdrop of my upcoming multi-media NFT

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Karma Plays (v1 version)

Top 2 bidders get airdropped a free McClenney visual NFT, regardless of who wins the final auction! 

About 'just stay':
just stay is one of the fastest songs I've ever produced & written. It's a direct response to the 2020 lockdown. Its genesis came from both an emotional & practical place. My fiance and I for the first time in a while had an opportunity to spend even more time together 7 days a week as the world shut down. It gave us time we needed to bloom into the next phase of our relationship together. "just stay" is very literally inspired by that notion of us "staying in" but also the sentiment of passion & romance in the purest/rawest form. 

From a practical POV: As an indie artist, the world was shutting down, concert dates I had planned for the fall of 2020 were now in question and studio work was inevitably slowing down. I did probably what any artist would think to do: write my way out of any situation. Just stay was born from the emotion I was feeling and the necessity to hopefully soundtrack feelings of the pandemic with a song that could secure stability in my career at that time. Fortunately the song went on to become successful on streaming platforms, and was essentially the quickest I've ever written and released a song. I wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and distributed the song within about a week or two. 

Just stay also marked my return to mixing my own music, and was an affirming experience exploring that space again as an artist from start to finish. It was also a turning point for me as a mix engineer. I mixed my first album, Portrait in Two (2017) and had largely been doing rough mixes on my work until 2020. I've always mixed, but just stay brought me back on the forefront of the final presentation of my music in a creative way that I had missed. Engineering is something I'm passionate about and spend time studying and learning.

Why release on Catalog:
This song has always been an important part of my catalog; my journey as a songwriter writing catchy songs with pop sensibilities, while remaining in my own creative lane. just stay is one of the first songs I wanted to mint, and now it's one of the last songs in my "legacy" collection, before I released brand new music on Catalog. I hope you enjoy it. 

Credits:
written, produced, performed, mixed by: McClenney
mastered: Mike Bozzi
photography: Kanya Iwana

lyrics:

[Verse 1]
Goddamn, I like the way you're looking at me, oh-oh yeah
I'm your man, if you give me that chance to be, oh-oh

[Pre-Chorus]
You got, that look in your eye
that you can't hide

[Chorus]
Just stay with me
Now stay with me
Just stay with me, yeah
Now stay with me

[Verse 2]
Goddamn, what took so long for you and me? why?
I've been, waiting on you to give me the green (Tell me what you really want to do)

[Pre-Chorus]
You got, that look, in your eye
That you can't hide

[Chorus]
Just stay with me
Now stay with me
Just stay with me, yeah
Now stay with me

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just stay

Top 5 bidders get airdropped a free McClenney visual NFT, regardless of who wins the final auction!

Background of "Art of the Loner"
Art of the Loner is one of the most personal songs I've ever written. From my 2019 project, "I'm not here", Art of the Loner is an open admission of wanting to isolate yourself after being let down in the relationships around you. I had just moved to LA a year earlier (late 2017), begun my career as a professional producer/songwriter and had plenty of material to write from. (maybe some can relate!)

What "Art of the Loner" means to me artistically:

Part of my identity as a songwriter & artist is speaking for those who feel deeply but may not choose to speak up. As an introvert, in a very loud world, I know this all too well. "Art of the Loner" sonically and lyrically explores this concept in a straightforward, honest way. While this song may seem very chill and calm, it was very emotionally stirring for me wile writing it. It's a quiet storm, and I hope there are some out there who may identify with it. Sonically it was an exploration in guitar tones, textured reverbs & denser vocal arrangements. I took a lot of time on my vocal arrangements. There are over a dozen or two vocal stacks. I was very inspired by Brian Wilson's approach to the "Wall of Sound"

Why bring this to catalog?

"Art of the Loner" was my favorite song on this project and despite being a focal point of my life at the time, it unfortunately wasn't picked as a focus track for the web2 DSP's. It was one of the most genre-ambigious tracks I'd released at the time as I was transitioning into more alternative sounds.

Why airdrop free NFT's to bidders?

Whenever a collector bids on an nft, that's a huge commitment. They are signifying that they I believe in your art, you and your values in web3. If someone shows that level of commitment it only makes sense to airdrop them something for their participation as a token of gratitude, particularly in these early stages of web3. As a collector, it's also a way of showing support of artists they've bid on their wallet and saying, "I was here for this event and participated!". Not too different from collect a sticker or merch item from a concert or album drop. I hope this becomes a standard practice with Music NFT's. It can be a great way to build relationships and build community.

big thank you to @cxy & @clt for our convos that have brought this airdropping idea to life. 

Written, produced & performed by McClenney
mixed by: Jeff Jackson & McClenney
mastered by: Ari Raskin
art by: Kuba & McClenney

What holder of the NFT gets:
-let's have a call and meet!
-airdropped McClenney visual NFT

0x141e3951b89c423caf78a81492e822eb161eeeaadf629d82d5ebd3a4c7f0b840

Art of the Loner

SOS is one of the most important songs I've ever released. It was the 1st song I released after changing my stage name from "Chris McClenney" to "McClenney". 

It was the start of a new era of my career as an artist, and the song has become a staple of my catalog and introduced my music to a lot new people. 

lyrics: 
Hey, hey, oh, oh
Hey, hey, oh, oh
Hey, hey, oh, oh
Hey, hey, oh, oh

Verse 1-
Could you take me with you?
With you, Heaven's in view

Pre-Chorus-
I've been waiting here, dying
You've been taking your time, yeah
Save me from this life

Chorus-
(Hey) You've been
(Hey) Making
(Ooh) Me excited
You out here saving my life
(Hey) You've been
(Hey) Making
(Ooh) Me excited
You out here saving my life

Verse 2-
Could you take me with you
My muse, you make me brand new, oh

Pre-Chorus-
Hey, I've been waiting here, dying
You've been taking your time
Save me from this life

Chorus-
(Hey) You've been
(Hey) Making
(Ooh) Me excited
You out here saving my life
(Hey) You've been
(Hey) Making
(Ooh) Me excited
You out here saving my life

owner will get access to:
-SOS Acapella

0xd52b3f38579c263f7b514fddb6a572c0e0afbb0379dba764cbf04debef2ae92b

TRIP is one of my top 5 proudest moments as a songwriter & lyricist. It's also extremely personal in a way I'd never opened up before.

"I’d rather die a martyr than a sheep, but I’m the only company I keep"

Why I wrote it:
I wrote this song in 2019 at a major transition point in my life. I let go of my management of 4 years at the time and was spending a lot of time reflecting on the relationships around me. That also required looking in the mirror and being honest about my own personal challenges as an artist, introvert, and overall human being. It's not easy putting those words on a recording. Every texture has a super intentional place in the track. I directed & edited my first music video ever to "TRIP". I put several dozen hours into both the song and music video.

Why I feel Catalog is the perfect home:
This song was a huge step forward in my career as a songwriter, vocal producer and lyricist. The day it released on Spotify in, there was an issue with the distributor and it was unavailable on streaming services for a few hours on release day and missed that initial momentum it needed to thrive. I was crushed. It dropped in Feb 2020 and COVID took over any last hope for the song just a few weeks later. 

I still feel TRIP never reached the audience I had hoped in the web2 world. I see this song as an art song in my catalog. One I'm truly proud of and propelled me forward in making songs for the sake of art. I hope the web3 world embraces my artist vision and sincerity on TRIP.

lyrics:

Verse- 
I’d Rather die a martyr than a sheep
But I’m the only company I keep

(Can’t throw)
Myself the vest if I drift
Save my life from my own shit

Hook-
(I should have seen)
My ego catching up with me
Never thought I’d be there to trip

Verse-
My left chuck in the dirt, my right chuck in the sky
I fell here all alone, Prolly for the thousandth time
I know the truth, and I deny
I knew it’d be the same this time 
I can’t admit or swallow pride,

(Can’t throw)
Myself the vest if I drift
Save my life from my own shit

Hook-
(I should have seen)
My ego catching up with me
Never thought I’d be there to trip

I’ve got a case of me
I’ve got a case of me
I’ve got a case of me

produced, written & performed by McClenney
mixed by: Jeff Jackson, McClenney
mastered by: Mike Bozzi

owner gets a 
-the TRIP a capella (I stacked so many vox on this one)
- let's have a zoom or call about songwriting!

0x5911e1593a96e4f542793db51b34a9afc06ff5121d5b3ebfaccf70f10ecff743

TRIP

from my "legacy series". sidetoside was one of my 1st songs I made when I moved to the west coast. Inspired by 90's R&B and west coast rap, this song has become a very important moment in my career.

I re-sampled the track on a Wale cut, "Movin Different".

Collector will have access to:
-Acapella for "sidetoside"
- collaborate on a beat for the "Free Lunch III" Beat tape in 2022
- exclusive access to the "Free Lunch III" early listening event in 2022

0x676d48d2ce7e38c6119016dab1848cb43c274b3160a7f091d63ca21e541e41e2

sidetoside

Vanessa's Tune is 1 of my fav beats I've ever made & also my most personal & meaningful.

I wrote this 6 years ago dedicated to my girlfriend. We were in a long distance relationship and only saw each other a few times a year. When we did, every moment felt so special and this song captured all of those emotions that were hard to put into words.

6 years later, we're now engaged. It's the greatest honor that I'll be her husband. Originally released just before Valentine's Day on SoundCloud, it only felt right to put it out on Catalog just before Valentine's Day.

Collector will have access to:
- collaborate on a beat for the "Free Lunch III" Beat tape in 2022
- exclusive access to the "Free Lunch III" early listening event in 2022

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