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Jain

Son of a Sun

One of the six songs and versions Jain added to Zanaka in November 2016, also released on their own as the Zanaka EP: written by Jain, arranged, produced and mixed by Yodelice, with Jain on keyboards and Yodelice on guitar and bass.

By korczis 3 min read
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Review

Genre and Mood

Jain recorded Son of a Sun with the same partner and the same small set of instruments as the songs that made her name, the pop, world and electro-pop of her debut album Zanaka. The feelings chosen for this page, playful and warm, are the album’s; no published review describes this particular song, so how it carries them is for you to hear.

Song Summary

Son of a Sun was released on 25 November 2016, a year after Zanaka, as one of the additions to the album’s deluxe edition, and at the same time on a six-track release of its own, the Zanaka EP, where it is the second track. It runs three minutes and thirty-one seconds. Shazam credits the words and music to Jain alone, and the arrangement, production, recording and mixing to Yodelice, with mastering by Herb Powers. Jain plays the keyboards; Yodelice plays guitar and bass guitar.

Musical Breakdown

No review or timed analysis of Son of a Sun has been published, so this page does not map it. The credits are the only guide: a song written by one person and played by two, with keyboards, guitar, bass and Jain’s voice. Listen for which of them leads, where they drop out, and how much room is left around the voice.

Concepts in Focus

Yodelice is credited not only as producer but as recording and mixing engineer. Mixing is the stage after recording, where each part is balanced, placed in the stereo field and shaped in tone; when the producer mixes his own recording, one pair of ears decides both what is played and how it is heard. Mastering, here by Herb Powers, is the final polish of the finished mix for release.

The Zanaka EP shows how a release can be built around an album’s success. Next to three new songs, City, Son of a Sun and Dynabeat, it carries an extended version of Come and two remix versions: Come by Femi Kuti and Makeba by Dirty Ridin’. The new songs sit beside the hits they follow.

Artistic Context

Jain is the French singer and songwriter Jeanne Galice, born in Toulouse, who grew up in Dubai, the Republic of the Congo and Abu Dhabi and learned music programming in Pointe-Noire. Yodelice discovered her demos and produced Zanaka, released on 6 November 2015; the title is Malagasy for child, a tribute to her mother’s Franco-Malagasy roots. The song’s ISRC belongs to the same 2015 series as City and Makeba.

Impact and Reception

Son of a Sun was never a single, and its place on the playground is a listener’s choice rather than a chart’s. It is a chance to hear Jain without the weight of a hit around her. Listen to it with the credits in mind.

Learn from this track

Introductory

What you will learn

  • Read a song's credits to learn who played what, and use them as a guide to listening when no review describes the track.
  • Explain what a producer who also records and mixes a song controls, and what mastering adds afterwards.
  • Describe how a deluxe reissue or a companion EP collects new songs, extended versions and remixes around an album.

Listening guide

  1. the keyboards Shazam credits the keyboards to Jain herself; listen for the parts she plays under her own voice.
  2. the guitar and bass Both credited to Yodelice, who also arranged the song; hear how the strings fill in around Jain's keyboards.
  3. the voice Jain sings words she wrote alone, as the credits list her as sole composer and lyricist.
  4. the EP around it Son of a Sun sits between City and Dynabeat, ahead of an extended Come and remixes of Come and Makeba.

Concepts in this track

mixing

31 tracks

The stage of making a record where all the recorded parts are balanced into one finished stereo track: their levels, placement, tone and effects. Mixing comes after recording and before mastering, and is often done by a specialist rather than by the producer.

remix

164 tracks

A new version of a recording made by reworking its parts: changing the beat, harmony, tempo or structure, often by another producer. A remix can turn a ballad into a club track.

Listen next, and why

Questions for discussion

  1. When no critic has written about a song, what can its credits tell you before you press play?
  2. Son of a Sun appeared a year after Zanaka, on a reissue. Does a song heard as a bonus track get a fair hearing?
  3. Why would an artist put new songs and remixes of old hits on the same short release?

References

  1. Shazam. Son of a Sun (credits) (2016). Database
  2. MusicBrainz. Zanaka (EP) (2016). Database
  3. Wikipedia. Zanaka. Encyclopedia
  4. Wikipedia. Jain (singer). Encyclopedia
  5. YouTube (JAINVEVO). Jain - Son of a Sun (Audio). Video

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