WINDHAM — Maine rapper Spose set an ambitious goal for himself: make an eight- to 10-song album in 24 hours from scratch that is as good as any he’s made in his decadelong career.
With the help of more than 50 musicians and record producers, Spose handily pulled off the first part of his goal Saturday morning. He finished 10 songs by 6 a.m., with another four hours still left on the meter. Whether the results prove to be as good as any of his others won’t be known until Friday, when Spose intends to release his 20-hour effort on the internet.
But some of those involved in the unusual recording session – most albums take months or years to create – say they know it is going to be better than good.
“Spose did an incredible job. He is so prolific. If anyone can pull this off, it is him,” said Darren Elder, owner of Halo Studio, a recording facility in Windham where the session took place.
Spose, whose real name is Ryan Peters, came up the idea last winter, and reached out to various musician friends for help, including Halo Studio producer Jonathan Wyman.
“You never know exactly who is going to show up and what it is going to be like,” said Spose.
He said he was overwhelmed at the response.
“It far surpassed my expectations,” he said.
The session began at 10 a.m. Friday with no preconceived ideas. Spose started with a blank slate, with no melodies or lyrics in his head.
The studio was divided into seven work stations. Spose would give each group of producers and musicians – including rappers, saxophonists, guitarists, bassists, singers and DJs – his idea for a song and the group would take it from there. Among those adding to the mix were Rustic Overtones singer Dave Gutter.
Spose said it was like hoisting someone up into a tree, then letting the person climb the rest of the way.
“These people are so talented. I give them some abstract idea, they find a way to transform it,” said Spose.
For the song “Humans,” which will also be the name of the album, Spose came up with the line “lions and tigers and bears, there is only one thing that can get them all scared: humans, humans.” He then told the musicians what he envisioned for the music and they took it from there.
Spose said it was a sense of self-confidence and familiarity with sleep deprivation – he has four children – that helped him accomplish the task. He said as a rap artist he has also learned how to delegate and get people working toward a common goal.
“That is my main skill, more so than rapping – being able to manage large groups of people and simultaneously being able to communicate my ideas and know people who I can delegate the tasks to and trust,” said Spose.
Spose gained national attention in 2010 with his hit “I’m Awesome,” which led to a recording deal with Universal Republic that eventually fell through but helped launch his own company and career. He has been steadily touring and recording ever since.
Spose said a few songs on the new album still need to be mixed before the album is released Friday on music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Spose said that while the one-day effort was fun, he will happily go back to taking his usual eight months to work on an album.
“I can’t wait,” he said.
After a few hours of sleep Saturday morning, Spose was off to his oldest child’s soccer game, while some of the others involved in the project remained too excited to sleep.
“It was absolutely a great collaboration. There were zero egos. It was a joy to be part of,” said Elder.
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