The modern vintage fusion of today's country music.

When Florida Georgia Line said “nothing ain’t cool till you wear the new off” in their #1 song "May We All" they kind of hit the nail on the head. Isn’t life much better when we have that balance between the modern and the vintage? the middle ground found between “traditional” and “new”? or the spice of something fresh with a dash of old familiarity?

The newer sounding “pop country” with the rice crispy hand claps, 808 beats, rap type cadence, more rhymes than a nursery book and more hooks than a tackle box has really made an impact on current country music. I really do enjoy the elements that country is adding from other genres of music like pop, rap, hip-hop and rock.

I will be honest though I find my dance floor feet, ears, heart and memories reaching for the timeless songs that do a great job of blending the modern and the vintage sounds of country music together.

The current production of country music could use a few simple techniques with percussive and accent instruments that may help keep the “old school” in the “new cool” of country music.

BANJO OR BANJITAR - Put a layer of arpeggiated banjo in the mix that adds amazing textural rhythm and harmony for the chord changes. Two of my favourite tracks that do this: “Nights on Fire” by David Nail and “Yeah Boy” by Kelsea Ballerini.

DOBRO – Lead guitar lines with dobro in between the melody lines is a beautiful accent to give a pop country song more of a traditional feel. Two of my favourite tracks that do this: “Get Your Shine On” by Florida Georgie Line and “Little Town Livin’” by Dustin Lynch.

MANDOLIN – The mandolin has a higher frequency so with the right type of song it can sit in the mix really well, add texture to the harmony and a real ring and sustain to the background music. One of favourite tracks that does this: “Compass” by Lady Antebellum.

STEEL GUITAR – Haunting volume swells to add delay and sustained notes or chromatic notes to add some cool old school "tip of the hat" country twang; the steel guitar can add great accent to any modern country song if done effectively. Two of my favourite tracks that do this: “How I’ll Always Be” by Tim McGraw and “Make a Little’” by Midland

FIDDLE - …and here is some irony, I really struggled to find any recent country tracks that had some nice accent fiddle or violin in them, but here are two pop smashes that did it in the past 5 years: “Rather Be” by Clean Bandit and “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen….c’mon country music you cant let pop music win! Ha ha Okay I found one "Old Alabama" by Brad Paisley!!

An artist can take these beautiful accent instruments and sounds to the next level when they also put them in their live show to ensure the performance sounds like the produced track. These instruments, although challenging to mix, also tend to sound very good live as they add an organic, textured, thickness and depth to the live show….and who the heck doesn’t like watching a banjo or fiddle player really dig into their instrument and get down!

Stay in tune and stay in touch.

Kent