Persona 5: Life Will Change Funk / Disco Cover by Charles Ritz & Friends

Black lives matter, today and forever. It can be easy to feel hopeless in the face of oppression and division, but I hope this cover can serve as a reminder that if we work for it, life can, and will, change.

🎶 This jazz arrangement is available, along with 20 more, on "Cry of the Planet", a VGM charity album from GameGrooves. All proceeds go directly to the Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://smarturl.it/cryoftheplanet
📚Learn what you can do to educate and support: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

Check out my collaborators:
🎤 ‪@JayhanOfficial‬ (Lead Vocals)
🤖 ‪@XenoKeyz‬ (Talkbox)
🎺 ‪@TheJohnStacy‬ (Trumpet 1)
🎺📎 ‪@EricLadish‬ (Trumpet 2, Trombone)
🎷 ‪@wolfman1405‬ (Tenor Sax)
📎 Arjan Singh (Trombone):    / @arjansinghdogra  
🎸 ‪@XnarkyVGM‬ (Guitar 1 / Baritone Guitar)
🎸 Dov Beck-Levine (Guitar 2):   / dovbecklevine  
🐟 Brandon Jackson (Bass):   / branmuzsick  
🥁 Gabriel de Leon (Drums):   / gdeleon_music  
🎧 James C. Hoffman (Mastering Engineer): https://jameschoffman.com/

This is a song that I always imagined arranging eventually, but I was certainly not expecting to tackle it now. When Allen from GameGrooves presented the opportunity to contribute to a charity album in the wake of heightened racial tensions, I was feeling an array of emotions but I knew that the best way that I could channel my emotions was into my art. The lyrics and message of Life Will Change immediately struck me as something beneficial and empowering for people to hear, so I spent the next six days arranging, producing, and coordinating ten other musicians to create this.

To briefly discuss the arrangement, I initially took a lot of inspiration from Earth, Wind, and Fire's hit "Let's Groove", especially with the talkbox doubling the bass and the punchy horns. However, I was definitely not afraid to let the arrangement go in different directions, such as the breakdown about halfway through. It was a lot of fun to see what different live players can bring to a production that I wouldn't expect - Xnarky suggested using his baritone guitar for some of the heavier sections, and XenoKeyz absolutely UNLEASHED the talkbox across the tune! Overall, I'm very happy with how dynamic this arrangement was and I'm excited to see it evolve in the future as well.

As of the time of writing, I firmly believe that this is the best creation I've ever made. Not only did it come together with a high level of quality and efficiency, but I am grateful for the opportunity to create for a cause that is bigger than myself. The past month, I have learned so much about the world around me and its many stories. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Elijah McClain. Oluwatoyin Salau. Each one is a story tragically cut short, with much more left to be told. I look forward to the chance to use my voice for change however I can, and I hope that music can bring peace to those who need it most. Thank you so very much for listening.

♫ “Life Will Change" from “Persona 5" composed by Shoji Meguro

#BlackLivesMatter #Persona5 #CryOfThePlanet