On The Record: Memory Spells & Jordan Whitlock

Memory Spells is the project of Los Angeles-based songwriter and producer Matt Bauer, while Jordan Whitlock is a San Diego composer, songwriter and producer whose atmospheric approach to arrangement and storytelling helps shape the duo’s collaborative sound. Together, they recently released This Is What It Feels Like, a record born largely through long-distance collaboration before the two had even properly met in person. For our On The Record feature, Bauer and Whitlock reflect on the creative freedom that came from working separately, the musical influences that intersect throughout the album, and the vulnerable songwriting process behind its dreamlike sound. From unconventional song structures to layered harmonies and cinematic instrumentation, the pair discuss how distance, experimentation and trust ultimately defined the spirit of the record. They also open up about standout tracks like ‘Heaven and Here’ and ‘Do You Think Of It Sometimes’, while sharing what listeners can expect from Memory Spells moving forward.

Welcome back to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Memory Spells and Jordan Whitlock, can you each introduce yourselves?

MB: Hey, this is Matt Bauer. I’m a songwriter and producer in Los Angeles and I’ve been making music under the name Memory Spells for the last few years.

JW: Jordan Whitlock, here! Songwriter, composer, producer from San Diego. Thanks for having us!

Congratulations on the recent release of your collaborative album! For those discovering you through This Is What It Feels Like, how would you describe this record in three words?

JW: Thanks so much! We’re really happy to have it out in the world. Hmm, I would say intimate, free, and cinematic.

You wrote half the album before ever meeting in person, so when you finally stood in the same room, did the music change?

MB: I don’t know! What do you think? The first time we actually got together was when we recorded the vocals for A Flower Blooming For No One, but then we finished recording the rest of the record separately. So the process didn’t really change.

JW: The only thing I’m thinking is that maybe once we actually met in person and got to hang out like normal people we felt a little more comfortable with each other which led to being more adventurous and creative with the music? When we were writing the last half of the record, we were sticking to less of a typical song structure and truly just writing whatever sounded good to us. We have one song that’s just an instrumental piece, one that is basically a little poem over some music, one that follows no bpm, one that has a totally different second half. It was fun to let loose a little with those.

How do you think the physical space between San Diego and LA actually helped the sound of the record?

MB: We’ve talked about this a little bit after the fact, but I don’t think we talked about it at the time. We’re probably both more comfortable working alone at our own pace in our own studios which let us each try out ideas and make mistakes and be really vulnerable on our own before sharing what we worked on with each other and taking the next step on a song.

Where are the intersecting moments that we can hear your different musical roots, sonic influences and songwriting processes?

JW: Growing up, my dad was a college choir director, so my earliest years of hearing music were listening to classical and choral music. Over the years, I’ve let harmony and vocal layering really come to the forefront which can be heard at the end of Take Away My Heart.

MB: Lately I’ve been listening back to some records by This Mortal Coil that really influenced my early arranging and songwriting, the sort of post rock guitars and really open arrangements with strings and at times almost operatic vocals. I think some of that maybe comes through in the record and intersects with Jordan’s songwriting and vocal arrangements.

Are there specific recording tricks, limitations or happy accidents that ended up defining the sound of this record?

MB: Maybe the limitation of being in different cities? I think it gave us each the space and privacy to take our time and be really vulnerable while collaborating.

JW: Yeah, we’d send song ideas back and forth, maybe new things or maybe songs we’d never been able to finish on our own, so there’s naturally a lot of both Matt’s and my own sound in this record because we each had time alone with every song to input exactly what we wanted without any other influence.

As the opening song, how does ‘Heaven and Here’ set the stage for the whole album?

MB: It’s a song that takes its time and doesn’t follow an expected song structure and maybe some unexpected instrumentation. There’s a long sort of atmospheric intro leading to just one verse in the middle and then a long outro and we’re combining drum machines with woodwinds and strings and electric guitars and synths. And I think that all sets the stage for what we were trying to do as far as just writing for ourselves and letting the songs tell us what they needed and letting them take us wherever they seemed to be going.

One track that stands out to us for its themes of memory and connection is ‘Do You Think Of It Sometimes’, so what’s the story behind this one?

JW: Matt wrote the first verse of this song and he left it open ended for me to work with, but I loved the simplicity of it and wanted to keep that. So I ended up writing a simple second verse, tagging onto this distant but clearly memorable experience and the feeling that anything is possible.

What else do you hope that listeners will take away from these songs?

JW: I don’t really have a specific message – we just try to write from a place of authenticity, trying to capture a little beauty in the world. Maybe I’d hope that people will feel a sense of freedom and peace in these songs.

Following the release of the EP, what will be next on the horizon for you?

JW: We have a couple local shows coming up in San Diego and are hoping to book some more. I think we’re both just continuing to write and produce, I’m working on some scores. Maybe we’ll make another record? Who knows.

MB: Yeah, we just sort of kept writing after we finished the record. And we’ve started reworking and rewriting alternate versions of a couple songs from the record. So more music on the horizon.