#cincopation

(especially in the studio)

Act super emotional

Pretend to cry

Come up with a completely irrational situation

Defend it with you life

Act incredibly offended any time anyone questions it

Storm out

Hunter Heflin is all about three things. Music, Working Out and Protein Shakes. Want to be a muscular, musical man (or woman)? Check out one of his recopies bellow:

After deciding between three songs, we finally decided one with emotional vocals and powerful chord progression—“Lily." Though we were stalled by a few malfunctions in studio, Kharee eventually laid down a piano part, and Zoe’s voice was recorded and comped over top soon after. Emma plans to add a cello bass line to give the song a more dynamic sound, and will also harmonize to the lead vocals in the second verse and final chorus. We considered adding drums but came to the conclusion that they didn’t fit the intimate sound of the track. Zev has been working on marketing and branding, and designed a minimalistic logo in black and white. Hunter has taken on the role of the audio engineer, comping and recording tracks on our first single. Kharee’s been producing the track and Zoe is bringing it to life with her and Emma’s vocals.

“Music is dead.”

That daunting phrase has seemed to become the battle cry for the cynics of our generation, ranting about the strong empasis the industry has put on music with a similar sound. “Cookie-cutter pop”, smothered with autotune, electronic instruments and drowning in the sappiness of the oh-so familiar teenage love song.  Yet, despite how many times any musican, lyrisist, producer, industry professional or simple music lover has heard that horrible phrase, the rebutual is a simple, “You’re wrong. It’s not”. If anything music is anything but “dead”. The underground scene of true artists is finally, once again, on the rise. The musician has not been forgotten, the lyricist has not been overlooked and true passion for music, for creation, has not been lost. This belief is prominent in Cincopation. A group of five artists, Emma Gould, Zev Prince, Hunter Heflin, Zoe Mirkovich  and Kharee Whitaker with different styles yet a similar view of music, and of creation as a whole, coming together to prove that music, and the passion for music is very much alive.

Firstly, Emma Gould is a force to be reckoned with. Up until now, Gould had mostly been a performer and vocal arranger, yet is diving right in, using the opportunities presented in Cincopation to expand her horizons and improve her knowledge of the production side of music as well. Due to Emma’s intimate work she has done with the renowned acapella group “The Satonics”, she has a gathered prominent leadership experiences and skills in the interworkings of the music industry and “hopes to implement the entrepreneurial and collaborative skills [she’s] learned to greatly contribute to Cincopation and the Clive Davis Recorded Music Summer program as a whole”.

Next is Zev Prince, a true lyricist, with his style primarily focused towards r&b and rap. It’s obvious when listening to any of Zev’s artistic creations that he desires to have his lyrical content consist of himself whole-heartedly preaching for a cultural revolution. Zev is also drawn to artist/group management with an emphasis on helping the chosen artist stay true to their style by promoting them in the right type of direction. Zev’s passion for the value of music not only in Cincopation, but as an entity is truly embodied when he said, “I want people to wake up and recognize that the mainstream is polluted with garbage music, which is usually not even made out of the love for music, but rather out of the desire for money and to make music that sells. I like Cincopation because I’m into the off beat idea and us being different then the rest.”

The third member of Cincopation is Hunter Heflin, a hip-hop/rap producer with a desire for collaborating and embracing the lyrical creations of the other members in Cincopation. His sound can be classified as an alternative, urban mix, sometimes sampling classic works such as The Beatles and Cher. Hefelin see’s Cincopation “as a next level production company which offers something unexpected to the listener in terms of sound quality and style”, similar to well-needed and unexpected sound quality of his own.

In continuation is Zoe Mirkovich, a singer-songwriter with an emphasis on production of her own tracks. Though she recently started a new band with a larger sound, Mirkovich considers her music communicated more successfully through an intimate, singer-songwriter setting. She places an emphasis on lyrical intensity, stating that she “writes [her] music for the listener. What [she] feels, [she] want[s] everyone else to feel as well.”. Mirkovich embodies this by writing about topics that are relatable to a broad audience, yet are not commonly addressed in mainstream music. However, while leaning artistically towards the aspect of performance with ambient acoustics and a resonant folk-rock vibe, Zoe also places an emphasis on production not only for the sake of her music, but for others as well. “I want to be able to create, in all sense of the word”, she says, “weather that be myself in the studio singing back up, producing a track for a friend or attempting to move someone with my own music. I want whatever I do to mean something…which is why I’m so excited for Cincopation. I feel like everyone in it really wants to create something meaningful and well, that’s pretty exciting.”