From creating musical magic in collaboration with members of A Tribe Called Quest to Los Amigos Invisibles and Michael Franti and Spearhead, Starita, a multi-talented artist, songwriter, and producer has consistently stunned audiences around the world with his extraordinary fusion of electronic and acoustic instrumentations. Drawing from his deep roots in dance, ambient, funk, rock, and techno music, he creates a lush yet complex signature sonic landscape that is both opulent and intricate. These artist collaborations have consistently birthed cutting-edge, original rule-defying productions that dare to disrupt music genre norms, elevate vibrations, and provoke moments of profound spiritual introspection.
AUDIO: Starita “Holding Pattern” (original) LISTEN HERE
AUDIO: Starita “Holding Pattern” (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit) LISTEN HERE
‘Holding Pattern’ is the debut single from Starita’s highly-anticipated second album, ‘Remember,’ released on October 4, 2023, accompanied by a special edit ‘Holding Pattern (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit),’ a collaboration with GRAMMY® nominated producer and DJ, Jay-J. As a body of work, ‘Remember’ explores the theme of death while continuing the thematic trajectory set by his compositional ambient, avant-garde, experimental album, ‘The Wake Up Call,’ an introspective journey across the stages of the human experience, from childhood curiosity to the pain and complexities of adulthood, leading to awareness, acceptance, and awakening on the quest for peace and freedom. “Though ‘Remember’ has a base theme of death, it’s not necessarily a physical death but an ego death. It actually includes a song using one of J. Krishnamurti’s talks from 1977 about this very subject,” Starita explains. “The album is quite a ride sonically; ranging from dance tracks like ‘Holding Pattern’ to compositional ambient pieces with lush thematic vocals featuring several amazing vocalists.”
‘Holding Pattern’ is a hypnotic, afro house, late-night club track. Intense and introspective, the song is a sonic journey about being stuck in a conditioned mental thought pattern without realizing it and finally breaking free. The obscure and left-of-center nature of this theme challenged Starita with bringing it into a more accessible form. “Given the theme of being stuck in a pattern, there had to be a significant amount of tension and an almost hypnotic quality in the sonic elements, which you will hear in the song’s opening. As with any breaking of a pattern, there is a feeling of release so the song evolves this way; from tension to release.” He used tape loops and effects to create a somewhat chaotic and hypnotic soundscape to tell the story. Fans will experience ‘Holding Pattern’ as the most dance-oriented song on the album, reminding them of artists Dennis Ferrer and Orbital.
What uniquely defines ‘Holding Pattern’ as a track on ‘Remember’ is the way it was created; using various mediums like tape and analog instruments while blending in electronic elements. “I’ve been exploring different ways of creating music live using tape loops, a felted piano along with several analog synths and effects units. The basis of this track was created entirely live and channeled on the spot. Whatever flowed through me, I would create a loop out of it with a Tascam 4-track tape recorder,” Starita continues. “Once I had something going, I would jump from one instrument to the next adding more textures, parts, and effects. All of these elements were running into my 24-channel mixer so I would bring in different parts at times. It’s a very organic and cathartic way of creating because everything is happening through me rather than from me.”
To bring it to final production vision, Starita’s friend, collaborator, and house music legend Jay-J was brought in to mix and master the tune. “Jay-J always goes above and beyond, and sure enough, he heard a more DJ and club-friendly edit in his mind. So, I said do your thang with the tune so, ‘Holding Pattern (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit)’ was born,” Starita shares. “I’m always excited to see what Jay-J does with my music. He’d done amazing remix work on my previous tunes so I knew this would be special. I felt that the world needed to hear HIS edit.” ‘Holding Pattern (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit)’ is an Afro-tech house track with a dark and moody underbelly, yet it delivers an uplifting release. The single exudes a dark and emotive vibe – dirty, provocative, yet groovy, and emotional – with numerous moody elements wrapped in an afrobeat ambiance.
Jay-J’s vision for ‘Holding Pattern’ was to make it easy for a DJ to make an in-the-moment decision to select it for a DJ set. “The creation of my edit was for building a structure aligned with the club and the mind of the person between the decks; thinking about what they look for in a piece of music that resonates with them. Pulling from decades in clubland music programming, I wanted to make a seamless transition from THINKING that this track has a vibe that fits into my set to PLAYING it alongside other tracks.”
To achieve his vision, Jay-J focused on the intro. “After finishing a first pass on the mix itself, I was already imagining an edit to align with dancefloor and DJ mixing sensibilities,” Jay-J says. “The intro has a fluctuating rhythmic nature that evolves into a more steady beat-related groove, and getting there was a great listen. However, those fluctuations in tempo and beat divisions would be hard to pull off when mixing it into a DJ set, since the song itself seemed to sit inside DJ sets of folks like Black Coffee and DJEFF.”
The result is a track that a DJ doesn’t have to spend a lot of time evaluating intro and outro specifics, and can seamlessly integrate into a set when the timing feels right. “I never want a person responsible for hundreds to thousands of dancefloor feet to wonder if they can “make this track fit.” I say make it easy for them to play, and it will get played,” Jay-J explains. “The vibe has to be there, but when I’m thinking of a song I might want to choose next in a live DJ situation, I don’t want to second-guess that choice because of a ‘hard-to-mix’ intro.”
With ‘Holding Pattern’ (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit),’ they won’t have to.
“After listening to ‘Holding Pattern’ and ‘Holding Pattern (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit),’ I hope fans feel like they have gone from struggle to freedom in a song’s length,” Starita says.
The full production team on ‘Holding Pattern’ include – Starita, songwriter, producer, engineer, piano, synths; Jay-J, mix and mastering engineer, additional production on (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit); Tam Akiko, creative direction and cinematography; and Aberration Media, editing. The album was recorded at The Pearl on Peachtree Studios, Jackson, MS. Released by Be Still Records, a division of Starita Music.
Starita’s ‘Holding Pattern’ and its accompanying ‘Holding Pattern (Jay-J’s Shifted Up Edit)’ are available now across all digital service providers. Starita and Jay-J will be hosting an online premiere of this track. For a complete list of all upcoming performances and events, visit www.staritamusic.com and www.shiftedmusic.com, respectively.
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ABOUT STARITA:
Starita, is a Mississippi born, 2-time GRAMMY®/Latin Grammy recognized multi-talented artist, songwriter, and producer whose work spans a multitude of genres. Known for his work and unexpected collaborations with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi, Rebelution, Los Amigos Invisibles, Michael Franti and Spearhead, and many others, he offers a unique genre blending style incorporating electronic elements blended with live instrumentation that stems from his deep roots in electronic, dance, ambient, and classical music. Fans are often pleasantly surprised by the unexpected outcome; an out-of-the box production resulting in a lush yet complex soundscape. Starita’s collaborations have reached #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, earned RIAA Gold certification, won the GRAMMY® for Best New Age, nominated for Best Latin Urban/Alternative and Song Of The Year in the Latin Grammy Awards, and much more.
ABOUT JAY-J:
Jay-J is a GRAMMY® Nominee, prolific producer and collaborator with over 200 releases, a self-taught studio wizard, an inventor, and an ambassador of the San Francisco sound. He’s also an immensely popular and well-traveled DJ. He founded Moulton Studios, the West Coast’s most influential dance music studio, had his own Coke® bottle for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, served as the DJ for the 2006 MTV® AVMAs, and launched two compilation series for Defected Records in the UK. He has remixed artists ranging from Alicia Keys and Jill Scott to Joss Stone, and he has collaborated with producers such as Kaskade and Miguel Migs. His mixed CDs for Defected (X’s 2), Distance (FR), Loveslap, and his own label, Shifted Music, demonstrate an influence that extends far beyond the club scene. With DJ performances in over 40 countries, and at some of the most prestigious venues such as Pacha (Ibiza), Zouk (Singapore), Home (Australia), and London’s Ministry of Sound, Jay-J’s drive to maintain the freshness and vitality of his music has kept him center stage in the dance music world for over 20 years.