By Mark Hampson | J26 Productions

You know the one. A few seconds in and you're already singing. Not just the words, either. The little breath before the chorus, the extra “yeah” in the background, possibly the piano part as well. Whether anyone actually asked for your full performance is another matter.

We can know a record that well. Love it that much. Yet sometimes we couldn't tell you the name of the person singing the bit we love most.

That's what I want to get into. Because there could be a whole world of music sitting behind that voice, and we've only heard three minutes of it.

IT STARTS WITH A SONG YOU LOVE

For me, the music has to come first. Something catches your ear, makes you feel something, and suddenly you want to hear it again. You don't need to justify it. If you love it, you love it.

But I also love what happens when you go a little further.

I've mentioned this before with La Bouche. “Be My Lover” is a favourite, but it also led me to “A Moment of Love”, which became one of my all-time favourite love songs. I wouldn't want to have missed that because I'd stopped at the record I already knew.

The next discovery doesn't have to sound like the first one. Perhaps that's half the pleasure. We meet an artist through a big, familiar record, then find something quieter, stranger or more personal that gives us another reason to keep listening.

A song can become a favourite without arriving with a chart position or a roomful of people who already know the chorus. Sometimes it just needs somebody to say, “Have you heard this one?”

And that's really the point. This isn't homework. Nobody is going to confiscate your headphones because you can't name every person on a sleeve. It's an invitation to find something else you might absolutely adore.

FOLLOW THE BIT THAT GOT YOU

Think about a record you would happily put on right now. What is it that brings you back?

It might be the voice. That piano. A little phrase tucked away in the background that you wait for every single time. Start with that, then see what you can find out about the person behind it.

The credits on the sleeve, the label's release page or your music service can give you a starting point. Just make sure you're looking at the right version. The remix you've loved for years might be doing something quite different from the original.

Then follow a name. Another song by that singer. Another collaboration. Something the writer worked on that you had no idea was theirs.

There is no compulsory route through this. You might follow a vocalist into a different project, a producer into another artist's record or a remixer into their own releases. One useful name is enough to begin.

It might not be what you expected. Good! I quite like the thought of being surprised by someone I thought I already knew through their music.

And if you don't love the next record, that's fine too. You can still love the first one. We're exploring, not signing a lifetime contract.

THERE'S A PERSON THERE, TOO

This is where it becomes more than a listening exercise for me, and why I care so much about the conversations in J26 Journal.

I want to know about the song, of course I do. But I also want to know about the person. What do they love making? Who brings out something different in them? What are they excited about now?

We might associate them with one particular moment in our lives. Their own story has carried on since then. I want to give that story some room.

That means being careful with the details, too. Singing a part and writing it aren't automatically the same credit. If we don't know who did what, let's find out rather than make a confident guess. These are people's contributions we're talking about.

Curiosity doesn't require us to turn every listening session into research. But when a name catches our attention, it's worth giving it a little space. A credit can help us find more music. A conversation can help us understand why somebody wanted to make it.

TRY A THREE-RECORD DETOUR

If you fancy joining in, keep it simple:

1. Start with a favourite. Choose a record you already love, rather than something you think you ought to appreciate.
2. Follow one credited contributor. Try another recording they took part in. Check the release details so you know you've found the right person.
3. Bring yourself up to date. Look for something more recent from that artist or collaborator. Their next chapter might be quite different from the one you knew.

Three records. Enough for a useful detour, without accidentally setting yourself a weekend's worth of administration.

Perhaps you find a new favourite. Perhaps you hear the original differently afterwards. Perhaps the most useful discovery is that you'd like to know more about somebody whose name you had previously scrolled past.

SHE'S BACK! ! 

Image supplied by Vikki Waters, used with permission.

DID YOU KNOW? ANOTHER SIDE OF VIKKI WATERS

If you met Vikki Waters through our Cappella interview in Issue 003, here's another record to put beside that conversation: “Magic In U”, credited to LOVERUSH, Sugarbabies and Vikki Waters.

It's exactly the sort of connection this blog is about. A name we know gives us a way into another release. We don't have to leave the familiar records behind to make room for what comes next.

Vikki has shared a photograph of herself holding the physical sleeve, with its striking pink artwork and red lips. There is something rather lovely about putting the person and the record together like that. Behind the artwork and the names on a music service, there is an artist with something to share.

I'm leaving the story of how this particular collaboration came together for Vikki to tell in her own words. For now, the best introduction is the record itself. Have a listen, then come back and tell me what caught your ear.

Listen to “Magic In U”: Apple Music · Spotify Watch the video: YouTube

LIKE THAT? CHECK OUT “ZOMBIE” TOO

Keep following that name and there's another stop: the “Zombie” video, credited TOMZOMBIE. LOVERUSH X Vikki Waters.

A video offers another way into a record. You can listen first and let your own pictures form, or watch and discover how the music has been given a visual setting. Neither needs to replace the other.

Try the two releases together. What do you notice about Vikki's voice, and what feels different about the setting around it? You don't need a technical explanation. “That bit made me play it again” is a perfectly good place to start.

Listen to or buy “Zombie” · Watch the “Zombie” video on YouTube.

And if you haven't read our earlier conversation with Vikki, return to J26 Journal Issue 003. The interview and these recordings give you different ways into her work. You can start wherever the music takes you.

MORE THAN A SAMPLE

Watch the Issue 004 teaser in the J26 Club

That's the curiosity behind Issue 004 of J26 Journal, “More than a sample”, which we're working towards publishing on 11 November.

I'm excited about this one. There are songs and voices that mean a great deal to people, and I want us to enjoy that connection while making space for the artists to tell their own stories.

I'm keeping those conversations for the issue. This is your invitation to arrive curious. Bring the record you love, the name you want to know more about and a little room for something unexpected.

The familiar record can be the beginning of the conversation. It doesn't have to be the whole thing.

While we're putting the issue together, explore J26 Journal. For a look at the people, pages and occasional last-minute drama behind the previous edition, read behind the scenes of Issue 003.

READERS’ CORNER: WHERE DID THE MUSIC TAKE YOU?

For now, tell me this: which record led you to an artist you now love? Or which voice have you been singing along with for years without knowing whose it was?

Give me a name and a track to listen to. I'd love to hear your discoveries.

If you'd like to share a little more, tell us which record started the journey, what you found next and why it stayed with you. A few lines are plenty. You don't need an extraordinary story. Sometimes the lovely part is simply finding a song you didn't know you needed.

Hey, and if you want to get in the mag, just send us your stories and if they fit well, we'll put them into the readers corner section!!

Send your stories to info@j26productions.com. Please let us know whether you're happy for us to quote your contribution and how you'd like to be credited.

And yes, you can sing the piano bit. You know you were going to anyway!

REFERENCES & FURTHER LISTENING

A few places to carry on listening, follow the credits and explore the stories mentioned above.

• La Bouche: Be My Lover · A Moment of Love
• Magic In U: Apple Music · Spotify · YouTube
• Zombie: Listen or buy · Watch the video
• Follow the credits: Apple Music’s guide to song credits · Spotify’s guide to song credits
• J26 Journal: Read Issue 003 · Behind the scenes of Issue 003
• Next up: Watch the Issue 004 teaser in the J26 Club