The Hippodrome

Perfect Timing This Morning Download
Gravel Download

You’ve probably heard the name Orba Squara by now, but if not, you’ve definitely heard “Perfect Timing This Morning” on that ubiquitous iPhone commercial. Davis has received more than a little attention – mentioned everywhere from NPR to Pitchfork, but when I found out how Davis did all this, I couldn’t pass up a chance to find out more. Davis’ licensing deal with Apple is nothing notable, but the fact that he made this meteoric rise to fame entirely without a record deal certainly is.

Even if Orba’s tunes aren’t completely your style, Davis’ mindset better be. I had the opportunity to ask Davis a few questions regarding his success via email. What I found was an inspiring testimony to making music for the enjoyment of it, and letting the commercial aspect fall into place afterward.

The Hippodrome: Can you give us a quick rundown of the progression from the recording process to the call from Apple regarding licensing?

Mitch Davis: It was really out of my hands after I recorded it. I let the music out into the world. I was fortunate enough to have it be noticed by people online who helped spread the music. I was fortunate enough to have a guy at Universal Music Publishing who liked it and saw potential in the music. Apple was looking for iPhone music at the
time, Universal thought my music would be a good fit and everything just came together.

The Hippodrome: You said “when I think about it, it does feel a little strange that all these people are now listening in on what was originally meant just for me.” Did you really have no intention of distributing your music commercially? Has this process changed your attitude at all regarding your music?

Davis: It is not that I never have any intention of distributing my music commercially in general… It is not “an attitude regarding my music”… but this particular album is very different stylistically from other music I had made in the past and was, at the time, very uncharacteristic for me. It was an album I really just made for myself because it was fun to make. I didn’t think about it too much beyond that. It is like if you were a “still life” painter and would just sit around during lunch doodling on napkins just because you enjoyed doodling on napkins… then when someone says “I really love that stuff you do on the napkins!” and you think to yourself “you mean my little coffee stained napkin doodles that I just do for fun?”

And while this album was so uncharacteristic of me when I wrote and recorded it, it has since become the music that I relate to the most and feel more personal towards than any other music I have made. I actually felt that way from the moment I made the record.

The Hippodrome: You are without a label, but clearly, enjoying commercial success and recognition. Do you have any advice for other artists who desire the same thing, or artists looking for financial support in general? Do you think your discovery by Apple was based on luck?

Davis: The only advice I can give is to do what you enjoy. You can’t really plan commercial success or recognition. If you make music in an attempt to follow a trend, you are already too late. If you make music you personally enjoy, you are already successful.

My “discovery” by Apple, just like everything else in music, all comes down to making the right music at the right time with the right person hearing it who happens to have a need for it at that exact moment. A moment earlier or later could completely change everything.

This entry was posted by Ben Bernstein on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 1:14 pm and is filed under The Business, Written By Ben Bernstein. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.