Music Review

When September rolled into fall, millions of Jay-z fans found themselves studying a new blueprint. They mulled over the details, letting each beat cut loose the head bobber in some, the leaner and shaker in others. Most were unaware of carbon copy feelings resonating in those who were hearing the voice of the hip hop legend spun in a new way. Well, actually, his voice wasn’t even on the tracks.

Left: An alternative album design for "The Blueprint 3 Outtakes" © respective owner. Right: Portrait of the musician, Alex Goose.

Many fans of “The Blueprint 3” had no idea who Alex Goose was—most of them still don’t. And maybe that’s a good thing. Without asking for a cent, “The Blueprint 3 Outtakes” sparked chatter all over the internet, leaking excitement and attracting criticism. The tracks, which were submitted to Jay-z in the spring for consideration to appear on “The Blueprint 3,” found their way to glowing laptop screens, headphones on the subway, and mated like rabbits on Twitter. Retweet, retweet, retweet! Some rolled around the beats in their mouths for a minute, before spitting them out saying, “I could never hear Jay on this.” But others took “The BP3 Outtakes” for what really are—an appetizer. The main course: Alex Goose, himself.

With a designer’s brain and a musician’s heart, Goose is a young face in an old industry, with just enough talent to build you a new vision of what music should sound like. When I met up with Goose for the first time, he was just coming off a stint at acclaimed design firm Razorfish, racking up fifty odd hours of work in three-and-a-half days. A freelance graphic designer by day, a music junkie and producer by night, the 24-year-old is learning to wield a double-edged sword.

Brittany Bosco's "Spectrum EP" (2008). Cover design and packaging by Alex Goose.

“When I produce an artist I like to have full creativity over everything. So when I produce their music I also want to produce their visuals so it all makes sense and ties into one concept,” he states. A marriage of creative instincts supports the idea that phenomenal packaging can unwrap extraordinary music. Take for example Brittany Bosco’s “Spectrum EP,” which Goose not only executive produced, but also helped create the eye candy packaging for, in collaboration with Branden Collins. From exterior aesthetics to the interior jacket, a feeling of child-like, giddy anticipation is fabricated, culminating in the music itself. And the music is visual, too. Dance transcended the auditory sensations of listening to music by making it tactile. And while our visual interpretations of music have been aided by artists’ music videos, Goose aims to inspire listeners to let the music tell a unique story in their own heads. “When I make something it’s more human based, I guess you could say. Like, I see more visuals of people and interactions. I almost get scenes from movies that haven’t really been made yet, in my head. Like, if this song was playing in a movie, this is what would be happening.”

While the role of a producer may at times veer off from the role of an artist who writes songs, Goose’s stance on producing challenges the idea that lyrics alone are emotive, saying that music sans lyrics can hold its own and produce emotion. “I want every track I make, even if it’s a song for somebody and they’re going to be singing or rapping over it, I want it to be able to stand alone. So like I want it to be able to hit people before they even hear the lyrics on there. Because once you hear the lyrics and everything on there, it just makes it better. So yeah, half the time music hits me more when there are no lyrics over it. Like when I’m listening to an old soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, I’ll just be listening to it and there will be no lyrics or singing over it, and it’ll hit me just as hard.”

"Style Wars" (2008) is a hip-hop culture documentary. DVD packaging redesign by Goose.

His inspiration is derived, in large part, from older films and older music, including anything from the 60’s, French pop, prog rock, and psychedelic rock. He is also influenced by earlier era mavericks of design and culture, like Herb Lubalin and Serge Gainsbourg. “I used to want people to know me for my music, like just as a music producer. But now I kind of want people to look at me more as a figure. That’s why I really look up to Serge Gainsbourg. He is my favorite producer and songwriter. But he was more than just that, he was a figure. He was the man of the moment in France for a really long time.” This may explain why his aspirations as a producer stretch beyond hip hop and aim towards collaborations with bands like Deerhunter, Warpaint, and Grizzly Bear.

As he works on musical projects with artists like U.S. Royalty, Jake Troth, Danny Swain (new album to be released soon), Brittany Bosco, Jessica Tonder, and others, Goose’s hopes for producing unique music are only limited by the number of hours in a day.

Listen to “The Blueprint 3 Outtakes”