Perth’s Madoc Plane Shares The Tracks That Inspired His Latest Single, ‘Right Reason’

Emerging Perth/Boorloo artist Madoc Plane has confidently stepped another foot in the right direction, delivering his sophomore single ‘Right Reason’.

This new groove-driven track follows on from his debut single ‘Lilac In June’ and marks his signing to Tone City Records (SUPATHICK, Siobhan Cotchin, DICE). He’s received glowing reviews for his endearing blend of soul, alt-pop and lush funk-rhythms that would appeal to fans of Matt Corby, Jordan Rakei and Tom Misch.

Refining his sound and stepping into more vulnerable territory, in ‘Right Reason’ Plane explores a low point in his life where he struggled with bad habits and emotional setbacks. In his words: “‘Right Reason’ discusses the idea of falling into bad habits after a setback and questioning your own decisions in this time of despair. The chorus represents a cry for help and a desire to find a way out of an emotional slump.”

Produced & engineered by Sam Ford (POND, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Abbe May), ‘Right Reason’ sees Plane’s soulful vocals glide atop ambient layering and a grooving pulse of the drum beat, culminating in a powerful chorus.

Have a look through the songs that inspired this track below & find the playlist at the bottom to pop on while you read!

Signs & Moda – Jordan Rakei

Both these tunes are from Rakei’s ‘Origin’ album, which I have been absolutely smashing over the past 6 months.

Signs:

The use of both programmed/produced and real/recorded sounds is perfectly executed in ‘Signs’. The balance between the sampled percussion mixed with the recorded hats on ‘Signs’ is something that Blake Weller, Sam Ford and myself have tried to emulate in regard to the hats and the rest of the drum parts.

Moda:

The layering of sounds and ambience in the chorus of ‘Moda’ is another production technique that I’ve been drawn to in my songwriting. Rakei layers his vocals to sound almost like a synth pad throughout the bridge of the tune, which makes it sound huge. Throughout ‘Right Reason’, from the bridge onwards, I’ve sampled and looped my vocals to try and create a similar layering technique.

Grace – Jeff Buckley

Last year I wrote an honours paper on Buckley’s vocal technique in this tune, which involved me learning how to sing the song itself. Buckley’s range is huge and his ability to belt so high is something that has brushed off in my melodies. ‘Grace’ is such a big vocal performance yet still a very emotionally driven tune, influencing me to try and master this in my own songwriting.

Monday – Matt Corby

Matt Corby’s use of layered vocals and vocal effects in Monday is a big influence on me and the way I write and layer my backing vocals. Right Reason uses a heap of vocal loops, FX and backing vocals to help add a layer of ambience. Hopefully as I continue to work on my songwriting and producing, I’ll be able to implement more vocal layering in a way that can shape the song, both dynamically and emotionally.  

How Many Years – Yebba

After learning about Yebba’s experience with grief and how she incorporated this into her music, I wanted to try and draw on similar emotions in my own music. Compared to my first single, ‘Lilac in June’, I think ‘Right Reason’ has a much deeper emotional context.

Material Girl – Madonna

This song has nothing to do with Right Reason, it’s just an absolute banger.  

Listen to ‘Right Reason’ out everywhere now & listen to the full playlist at the link below!