Draft:The Influence (music group)
The Influence is an multi-instrumentalist, experimental, pop, and alternative music trio group consisting of Shae, Orion, and Michael Weinblatt. The Influence group members are all family relatives who have been making music since before they were ten. Their music over the years has been reflective of the trends and lifestyles in the last 20 years. Their debut release, Sun in 2005, started a legendary prospect for years to come..
History
[edit]The Influence was formed in 2004, is a music group, consisting of Shae, Michael, and Orion. The group focuses primarily on instrumental music. Over the years they have made a clear path for their music and have given life to many other artists to inspire them to set out their own music careers. The Influence group members are all family relatives who have been making music since before they were ten. Their music over the years has been reflective of the trends and lifestyles in the last 20 years. They don’t periodically release music, but “when the time is right in an interview in 2017, they set out to release music.
“Most of our music is made in a short time period. All of our albums were each made in less than 3 weeks when we get together. We can’t set a path out of any of our future releases, because we don’t know what it’ll be like then. All of our music was created in a time when we wanted to produce sounds to fill and support memory. Our music helps build good times as a timepiece and that’s why we love making music.” - Michael in 2017 interview
Since their debut in 2005, they have consistently shaped their own music and path to their own greatness. “We were only like 6 when our first song came out, so we have a lot of ways to go with possible future projects.
The Influence has released 3 studio albums and 7 singles in the span of 16 years. They have worked with major artists like Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Flo Rida, Busta Rhymes, and many more.
Career
[edit]2004-2006: Formation and first release
[edit]Formed in 2004, The Influence would spend the year gathering ideas and getting ready to release their first song, Sun. On June 6th, 2005, they released their first single, Sun. They were only kids when Sun was made but has given light (literally) to the rest of the group’s foreseeable projects. Released in 2005, their debut release still reaches out to new artists in the music industry and has set in stone the group’s ideology for influencing future artists. The song is an easy listen instrumental, but simple enough to get their point across and lays out what becomes their instrumental projects for the years to come.
2007: I Believe It
[edit]In 2007, The Influence would release their debut album I Believe. Recorded in only 3 weeks, they compiled a list of several songs during their time together and came up with 13 songs in Seattle. With the idea of creating fun music, they never thought they would end up showing their music to the world. The idea was just to make some fun sounds and not do anything with them. With the help of others, they managed to release a full album and got a hit success. Following their first release, Sun in 2005, they flowed with this idea for years to come. I Believe It is compiled with fun and catchy tunes. “This album was just a fun little project and we didn’t know that it would be the start of something bigger, Michael said in an interview in 2017. Some songs like creating memories and Fun were all a part of the dance vibe in songs that were a big hit during the time. Fun catchy music that you can get up and dance to or have some nostalgia too. The catchy sound would be the first to many with The Influence. The whole album captures a part of being happy and imagining in life. “I Believe It was the stone that has set the rest of our discography since now. Sun was a project with no intention of trying something big. We were just kids enjoying sounds to discover. We still had this mindset with this album, but a more structured and task-oriented goal with it. F.Y.I they were only 6-8 years old when they made this.
2008-2011: The singles
[edit]In a span of 4 years, The Influence would release 1 single every year, creating the "singles era" in which their style of music would shift and get more complex in different genres of music. The singles they released were Night Life (2008), Live It (2009), All Night (2010), and A Party (2011). Night Life is a 9-minute song filled with city sounds, fancy restaurant environments, and a new angle of music production from the group. The single is compiled of two parts, each spamming around 3 minutes long. A very relaxed theme throughout the whole song, yet being a little more experimental than their previous music, Night Life shifts a new direction for the future of The Influences discography. Live It is a more acoustic/alternative release, The Influence makes their point that every release is different in its own unique way. With heavy inspiration from the band, Coldplay, Live It is comprised of a nice guitar riff melody, with many more different guitar sounds in the background. Shifting from the alternative genre they used since the beginning, the group shifts over to Pop/Dance. In 2010 the world is filled with trendy pop music that has taken over the world, such as the Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and many more, The Influence fit in with the sing All Night. With catchy synths, synth leads, and electric guitar, the music group shifts their whole style. All Night is a two-parter like their release Night Life, but with a more pop/dance vibe. A party-themed release, The Influence transitions their style of music perfectly. The cover art is a perfect representation of the typical night party in 2010. A Party is The Influence’s “most pop” song today and it is nothing fun, happy, and energetic feelings. A boisterous synth leads to start the song, The Influences doesn’t hesitate to tell you that they are in full pop mode. With sounds inspired by LMFAO, Flo Rida, and PitBull, A Party is a celebratory song of life. Another coincidence; A Part was released the same day “iParty with Victorious” was released, the ultimate crossover between the famous teen shows iCarly and Victorious. A more energetic song than their previous release, All Night, The Influence is living it with A Party. Most of the hits in 2011 were party-related and the trends in 2011 were hopeful, energetic, and happy. A Party fulfills those feelings.
2012: This is the Life
[edit]In early 2012 The Influence returned to Tumblr to hint a possible return with the trio in the summer. Later on, it would be confirmed on their Tumblr that they were recording new music and were working on a new album. After many posts teasing and talking about the new album, The Influence released This is Life on July 21st, 2012. The Influence has shown us that they can dominate the music industry, fit in with pop cultures, change their direction in music themes, and develop as musical artists. The summer of 2012, would show that The Influence is one of the most powerful music groups out there. The summer of 2012 was filled with many hits in the music world, such as Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen, Good Feeling, and Wild Ones by Flo Ride, MGKs uprising in hip-hop, and Frank Oceans Chanel Orange. The Influence would be a part of the hits in summer 2012. Their album This is the Life has told the story of The Influence and how they have come so far in their own music creation. With heavy inspiration from, Flo-Rida, and Frank Ocean, their second studio album represents their magnum-opus in their creations. A lot of the tracks in this album are shorts, but give a flat/sharp tone to the instruments, making you think about life for some reason. It is hard to explain how they did this but there is a larger meaning to it. With a feature from Busta Rhymes on the record Jump, The Influence really pulls off the energy feeling to the max with synths panning from left to right in a 150 BPM, that you can't comprehend what you just listened to. This is the Life just sounds so celebratory, progressive, and luxurious to listen to. It tells a story and gives you the experience to listen to. During the time of the album recording sessions, the group was attending a family member's wedding in the summer. What better way to make an album with all other factors to support the theme. The album was only recorded in three weeks, as I Believe It, in a couple of locations in the outskirts of Washington. This main location would be the location for their future recordings. You can hear the naturism, dream, and prosperity in the work of making this album. Along with the group, one of their friends, Spencer, helps with production on the album and executively produced the second Call. The album is professionally mixed from the two cousins' dad with the album's creation process. The album is a quality piece with many meanings to its sounds, and couldn't have been done better by the promising music group.
2013-2016: Collaborations
[edit]In October 2013 a beat that Michael made would leak on the internet, called The World. Little and behold it was a beat that was given to Kanye West which was requested from him back in October 2012. It was an experimental, electronic instrumental that Kanye was going to use for his 2013 album, Yeezus but didn't make the final cut. Fans would find out that Michael was only 10 years old when Kanye asked him to make a beat for his future album.
In 2016, Kanye would recruit The Influence to help write and produce the song Waves, off Kanye's 6th studio album The Life of Pablo. The Influence describe working with Kanye as a art in the making and a creative environment unlike no other. Later in 2016, it was reveled that The Influence would appear with writing and producing credits for two songs from Frank Oceans second studio album, Blonde. Self Control and White Ferrari. Frank Ocean first met the group in 2012 when they were working on their second studio album, This is the Life. Frank Ocean described his love for the groups work in a 2012 interview.
2016-2020: Sunsets and Way Out There
[edit]Four years after their magnum-opus This is the Life, The Influence made their return that was in the waiting for ages, with their sixth single, Sunsets. Recorded in the summer of 2016, an uprising in hits from pop and especially Hip-Hop/Rap, the Influence join the ride with their new hit. An alternative release, but with pop sounds, Sunsets is a short yet masterpiece with beautiful synth pads to give off the sunset feeling in the summer, and catchy synth leads with beautiful 808s kicks integrated. The cover resembles the cover from their first single, Sun which started it all in the first place. It is just the opposite. With no text in the album art, and the sun aspect, and the minimalist artwork, Sunsets has been called its Sun II, by many. With a four-year hiatus, The Influence still didn’t promise more work in the future, due to the fact that they don’t know when they’ll get together again and that they can’t predict if they’ll be ready to produce more material. I Believe It and This is the Life were five years apart, so fans obviously expect a new album in 2017, but it won’t be confirmed until it’s confirmed. With the amount of material they have released in the past seven years, The Influence shows that they can be unpredictable when releases. Not just the quantity, but the quality, the group almost teases fans without actually teasing them with new and promising work. Sunsets is heavily influenced by the uprising in electro hip-hip with influences from Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Drake, and even Lil Yatchy, the summer of 2016 was a summer not to forget. The Influence also returns with a small interview to discuss what they’ve been doing for the past four years, and the main answer was school and “other stuff” since music isn’t their full hobby it is expected that their focus isn't just on the music.
Five years since their last album, the magnum-opus This is the Life, The Influence comes back with their new album Way Out There. Fans haven’t been more anticipated for a release from the group, since Sunsets last summer. The group has reunited with a definitely new direction in sound. Way Out There is their most experimental project for the group, and you thought This is the Life had some experimental tracks. Way Out There was also recorded in a short time, but this time it was only recorded in one week. Their shortest amount of time to record an album, yet it was their longest album recorded. The Influence sparked their return announcement, with a post on their Instagram page of a plane window view showing that they were going to be reunited. With a beautiful, yet interesting artwork, the album was slated to be released on June 13, 2017. That happened to be the second to last day that they would be together again. Orion, who came up with the idea of the album’s artwork, described that the “floating island” “was a representation of the town that they lived in the outskirts of Washington state and it gave them the ideology of a peaceful environment to create the album.” The artwork is perfectly represented with the sound of the album and its twisted, wired, and vocal sampling production. With a new direction for the group creation of sound, Way Out There is a perfect presentation of the group’s creativity and why they stick out as something bigger than just musical artists.
“Most of our music is made in a short time period. All of our albums were each made in less than 3 weeks when we get together. We can’t set a path out of any of our future releases, because we don’t know what it’ll be like then. All of our music was created in a time when we wanted to produce sounds to fill and support memory. Our music helps build good times as a timepiece and that’s why we love making music.”
Since their debut in 2005, they have consistently shaped their own music and path to their own greatness. “We were only like 6 when our first song came out, so we have a lot of ways to go with possible future projects.”
The Influences latest album, Way Out There" was released in 2017, the last time they got together. They aren’t predictable on when they return, but when they do, they put out an amazing performance when they do.
2021-Present: Sounds, return
[edit]Following a 4 year hiatus from making music, in 2021, Kanye West would recruit the group for the first time since 2016's The Life of Pablo, to help write and produce the song "Jail" and "Jail Pt. 2", off Kanye's 10th studio album, Donda. A few months later, it was rumored that the group also worked on Jesus Lord and Life Of The Party, but it was never confirmed. This would be the first time in 4 years since the group publicly appeared on music since their last album, Way Out There, in 2017. There isn't evidence that the group got together, but their work in the song was as the group. On October 15, 2021, The Influence officially returned with new music since 2017's Way Out There with the single Sounds. Sounds go all the way back to the era of single they released back from 2008-2011. Especially from 2011’s hit single, A Party. Synthpop/ Art Pop makes a return for the group’s “sound” and motivation for this release. Similar tempo leads, and flowing synth melodies brings nostalgia to fans that have been following the groups since it seems like forever ago.
Artistry
[edit]Influences
[edit]No pun intended, but The Influence have revealed their influence from ever since they started. Some influences they stated were international cultures like the culture of India, Japan, Europe, and China. Other artists specifically like Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Flo-Rida, Coldplay, and John Mayer. They also stated that they have been inspired from the culture and environment from the movie Shrek.
Musical Style
[edit]The Influence are notorious for creating a memorable sound. They have focused on alternative, electronic, and pop sound throughout their career. From I Believe It being alternative, to their 2010 and 2011 singles All Night and A Party being pop, This is the Life being alternative/electronic, and Way Out There being electronic/experimental. Over the years their musical style has matured and has gotten more complex in its nature of diversification and a quality of production.
Interviews
[edit]In 2014, Michael sat down with Jimmy Fallon to discuss The Influences work and just being in New York City. Michael answered on a question of, what's next for the group, and he said that he has no idea, and the not-knowing is the best part sometimes. In 2015, Michael sat down with Rick Rubin at Shangri-La recording studio to discuss This is The Life and all that has led up to him talking with one of the greatest producers of all time. The Influence would do their first public interview as a group in 2017 with Zane Lowe, days before the release of Way Out There. They discussed the background on the album, what and why they made the album, and what motivates them to make music when together. There hasn't been any interviews since the 2017 interview, to date.
Social Media
[edit]The Influence isn't as active on Instagram and Twitter over the years, but have maintain most of their presence on Tumblr.
Since joining Tumblr in 2007, The Influence would mostly post on the social media site for years to come. It would be revealed shortly after joining that Michael was the main poster on the page, but it was said that both Shae an Orion still have access to the account. Through the years, we would see the creative thoughts through Michael's head while he revealed side projects he was working on, his favorite music, tv shows, movies, etc and cool experiences he had. Tumblr is where he revealed his show, China, IL, his favorite albums of the year (would go on from 2008-2012), and the behind the scenes of the group making music. In 2012, he would post the most by documenting the experience during the This is the Life recording sessions during the summer. With pics of the band and detailed information, he would go on to the describe the "greatness: of the project. Since 2012, the group didn't make as many appearances on the page, but only to announce new music, interviews, or other achieving things. In 2020, Michael would return to post only two open-ended quotes with no context. On December 1st, 2021, the group officially returned to Tumblr with a letter to Virgil Abloh, remembering his life, impact and importance to the group. Michael would make his return to Tumblr in 2023 to post some artwork, a tribute post to Tom Brady’s career/retirement short tercet, and a tribute to Aaron Rodgers leaving the Green Bay Packers.
Personal Life
[edit]All members from the band are very private in their life, keeping a low profile. The group rarely does interviews and post on social media, which the only public page being their Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr for the music group. Their last post on both Instagram and Twitter was on October 15th, 2021 to announce their seventh single, Sounds. Their personal social media accounts are all private with only a handful of close followers, which hasn't surfaced any information of the members lives. They like to avoid the spotlight and live their life's privately.
Discography
[edit]The Influence has released three studio albums and seven singles. They also received writing and production credits with Kanye West's The Life of Pablo and Frank Ocean's Blonde in 2016. Their first single, Sun was released on June 6th, 2005 and their last to date release was their 7th single, Sounds, on October 15th, 2021.
Albums
[edit]Studio Albums
[edit]| Title | Album Details |
|---|---|
| I Believe It |
|
| This is the Life |
|
| Way Out There |
|
Singles
[edit]| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Sun | 2005 |
| Night Life | 2008 |
| Live It | 2009 |
| All Night | 2010 |
| A Party | 2011 |
| Sunsets | 2016 |
| Sounds | 2021 |