The Producer Steps into the Artist Light

contents

jazz

RK Dawkins grew up in Saginaw, Michigan listening to the likes of Ronnie Laws, Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Earth Wind and Fire, Grover Washington, Jr. and a plethora of funk bands which dominated the '70s. First learning the guitar while in college, by the time he graduated he had begun composing songs and laying tracks in Bernard Terry's studio in Flint, Michigan. The newfound passion for recording resulted in RK building his own studio shortly after graduating from law school in 1985. Originally a rhythm guitarist, RK evolved into a full-fledged producer of various genres, even writing and producing radio and TV commercials from the late '80s to 2006. After working with artists such as rappers MC Breed, Awesome Dre and Dangerous D, artist/producer Kenny Finnel (Bobby Brown, Shaq, ) blues artist Larry McCray, and his drummer extraordinaire, Steve McCray, as well as producers Gary Spaniola (Ready for the World, Insane Clown Posse) and MC Burton III (Real Husbands of Hollywood), Dawkins walked away from the music business in 2006. He then moved to Atlanta to concentrate on a law career, which had also begun in 1986. Retiring from the practice of law in 2016, he designed and built a new recording studio. Spurred by 10 years of pinned-up creativity, he immediately began work on Journey.

RK also does cinematic scoring, having recently finished working on the pilot of Black Rose, a television drama by director Harry Davis (Joy Road), which is still in the development stages. He also recently began scoring a documentary, Fast Dreams, also by Davis - a profile of the life and career of Olympic gold medalist
Bianca Knight.

Representing his first effort as an artist, Journey draws on the old school jazz and funk influences from the '70s. It pays homage to the artists and music of that lasting era with funky bass lines and guitar rhythms to anchor the compositions, but with an added touch of smoothness. Utilizing guitars, wah pedals and top-notch sample libraries, RK performed all instrumentation on Journey. Despite the solo act, he set out to create the feel and realism of a complete band with players feeding off each other's vibes and licks. The average listener would swear that he/she is listening to a grooving band, for as one unwitting listener remarked, "This band Rocks!" RK's approach begins with the drum programming, which contains realistic pick-ups, transitions, stops and varying rhythms. As the funky bass feeds off the drums, the keyboards, guitars and lead instruments feed off both. The result is the feel of an actual tight band. According to Ron Jackson of TheSmoothJazzRide.com, "[t]he colors are vibrant, the mood sliding from seductive and charming to funky, and there's a certain ambience that dances inside your head as you absorb all of this."

Performer: RK Dawkins - rhythm and wah guitar, and all other instruments using midi-control keyboards. Main sample libraries: Native Instruments' Komplete 10 and Maschine 2, Spectrasonics' Omnishpere 2 and Trilian, and SampleTank Max. Virtual saxophones on "The Strut" and "Cruise" by Samplemodeling.

write your comments about the article :: © 2017 Jazz News :: home page