August 2, 2023 (Raleigh, NC) <\/b>\u2013 Electro-pop duo WAKING APRIL <\/b>(real names: Bethany <\/b>and Alex McKee<\/b>) has released the official music video for their cover of Soundgarden<\/b>\u2019s \u2018The Day I Tried to Live<\/b>.\u2019 Alex McKee <\/b>explains, \u201cOur version of \u2018The Day I Tried to Live<\/b>\u2019 is more than a cover; it\u2019s a reimagining of the song using our instrumentation and creative influences. The main parameters we set for ourselves were to maintain the attitude and grunginess of the original without any guitars. The riffs are extremely guitar-based and translating them to synthesizer was more challenging than we thought, but that was also the fun of it! The result is a reflection of the incredible songwriting of the original; the song is so good, it survives and shines even in a completely different genre.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Cover of \u201cThe Day I Tried to Live\u201d by Soundgarden Performed by Waking April <\/span><\/b>https:\/\/w<\/span><\/a>ww.youtube.com\/watch?v=y_sHrTUr8sg<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The original song, \u201cThe Day I Tried to Live<\/b>,\u201d written and sung by the late Chris Cornell<\/b>, was <\/span><\/span><\/span>released by Soundgarden <\/b>in April of 1994. It was the second single from the band\u2019s fourth studio album, Superunknown<\/i><\/b>, also released in 1994. The single landed at number 13 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart <\/b>and number 25 on the Modern Rock Tracks Chart<\/b>. \u2018The Day I Tried to Live<\/b>\u2019 was also included on Soundgarden<\/b>\u2018s 1997 greatest hits album, A-Sides <\/b>(Billboard 1994). Alex McKee <\/b>of Waking April <\/b>reveals, \u201cChris Cornell <\/b>is the artist who made me want to write music. While the genre I write now isn\u2019t near the grunge sound he perfected, this music spoke to me at the right time and <\/span><\/span><\/span>is still something I reach for. For whatever reason, grunge bands like Soundgarden <\/b>and Audioslave <\/b>kicked me into loving music on a deeper level. I felt that music in my bones when I was growing up, and I\u2019m so grateful for it. This is my favorite Soundgarden <\/b>song and one of my favorite songs of all time. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While Waking April <\/b>fits more into an electro-pop mold, I\u2019ve never been able to shake the influence of grunge in our sound design. It especially shows up in our guitar-driven songs, but no matter the instrumentation, I\u2019m still a flannel-wearing head-banger in my heart. We joked for years about doing some grunge covers as a fun project. Then K.Flay <\/b>released her EP of 90s covers, and we got inspired to actually do it. It had to be this song: it meant the most to me, we had the vision for the sound design, and Bethany has the vocal range for the impressive jumps in the song. Plus, we don\u2019t get many chances to play in such an odd time signature (we recorded it in 15\/4\u2026the engineer nearly killed me) so that sealed the deal.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For their sound in the unique cover, Waking April <\/b>used a blend of Arturia <\/b>VSTs and analog synths but re-amped everything through analog gear while relying on a Neve <\/b>preamp for the bass parts to balance <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>out a mix of almost clipped clean tones and dirtied-up, distorted synth tones. Arturia<\/b>\u2019s 808 colors can be found along with a Novation <\/b>Bass Station 2 as the filter opens up into the choruses, which features Arturia<\/b>\u2019s Arp 2600. Alex quips, \u201cI hope Kim Thayil <\/b>approves!\u201d as he explains how he and Bethany used their Nord <\/b>Stage 3 to sculpt the leads and translate the melodic riffs of the chorus into Waking April<\/b>\u2019s distinctive synth-pop sound. Waking April<\/b>\u2019s version of \u2018The Day I Tried to Live<\/b>\u2019 was recorded by Holt William <\/b>at Raleigh\u2019s xOver Productions <\/b>and produced by Alex McKee <\/b>of Waking April<\/b>. The official music video was also filmed and produced by Holt William<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Waking April<\/b>, just coming off a very exciting show with Raleigh electronic dreampop artist Animalweapon <\/b>and Charleston\u2019s Olive Dares the Darkness <\/b>on the final stop of their tour at the highly acclaimed Cat\u2019s Cradle <\/b>Back Room in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, says they have big plans this fall. Bethany and Alex reveal, \u201cwe will be on tour this month and then be heading into the studio to work on our first full-length album in Nashville, Tennessee. We can\u2019t share too much yet, but we seem to have sparked some interest of a well-known producer and label, so we will update more as that progresses.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Waking April<\/span><\/b>\u2019s cover of \u2018The Day I Tried to Live<\/b>\u2019 by Soundgarden <\/b>can be found on <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Apple Music <\/b>at: https:\/\/music.apple.com\/us\/album\/the-day-i-tried-to-live-single\/1683457601<\/a><\/span><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nOfficial Music Video Link:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n
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