As I’m sure I have mentioned before, one of the reasons I love my job is that there’s a million ways to make and record music. I consider every project to be a puzzle that can be unlocked by trying to find the path that best suits each song. In the case of “Philadelphia Strong,” a totally new path was unlocked.
Angela Falco and Joseph Reilly asked me to reimagine a song they wrote together. The thing is, the original version of this song already existed in the world, and was released 10 years ago. This can be tricky for me, since it can sometimes feel like there’s an obligation to respect and preserve elements of the original. But Angela and Joe not only gave me permission, but urged me to take the song in a new direction. I took this as an opportunity to re-build everything from the ground up. After several structural, chordal, lyrical, and tempo changes were made, we had the beginnings of our reimagining. From there, we just had to find the right musicians to bring the song to life. I wanted the song to be a love letter to Philadelphia. To that end, it was important for me to involve many different faces and creative forces that could represent and celebrate Philly’s rich musical history. You’ll hear references to classic Philly soul strings, big rock drums and guitar, a gospel choir sing-a-long, a hint at fife and drum (!), and the silky and powerful vocals of Namarah.
We offer up this song to our fellow Philadelphians. This production has not only been so creatively fulfilling, but it has helped build community and friendships for everyone involved. It is our hope that this song provides a soundtrack to the pride and love that we feel as people of this city. No doubt, there’s a lot of work to do, but despite what others say about us, we love it here.