Have you ever watched a live performance and thought to yourself, “damn, I should have taken those childhood guitar lessons more seriously?” If so, you may want to mash the back button and walk far away from your computer right now. Below is a video of Brixton-based musician Simon Jefferis' track, "Way Down Here." In it, you'll find him creating an unbelievably groovy tune with nothing but his mastery of all things musical and his pal Austin Paul Jr on the sax. If you suffer from acute pangs of jealousy, this little flick will hit you hard.
Seriously though, who has this much talent? This shouldn’t be so easy for him. It shouldn’t be allowed for any human to groove so easily with so many different instruments. And, yet, here we are, watching SJ do his thing.
All undeniable feelings of jealousy aside, the video for “Way Down Here” is exceptional. A track as layered as this can be overwhelming for those of us who aren’t multi-instrument savants (aka THE REST OF US), so the technique of isolating particular sounds with a clip is much appreciated.
SJ could handle this thing solo, and none of us would mind, but Paul’s sax is a very welcome addition. The two together make one hell of a team – here’s hoping this isn’t the last time they link up. About the song, SJ said, “'Way Down Here' was actually inspired by my commute to and from work a couple of years ago. I wanted to make something that would help keep me chill while walking through London on my way home. I’d always hear lots of cool sounds while walking, so I took a microphone out one evening and recorded my walk down Oxford Street which started it all really.”
Press play on “Way Down Here” above and hit Skillshare or YouTube if you’re keen on circling back to those guitar lessons. Maybe one day you could be as good as SJ?! Just kidding. Probably not.
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