“little by little”
Pharrell Williams is – well, let’s just say, he’s a big reason why Song Exploder exists. He’s a singer/songwriter and producer who blew my mind when I first heard his work with The Neptunes (his production duo with Chad Hugo) in the ’90s. It made me wonder where those voices came from, where those ideas came from. Pharrell is a 13-time Grammy Award winner. He has been nominated for an Oscar twice. He has produced iconic songs for Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears, Clipse and Gwen Stefani, among many others. He wrote songs such as “Happy,” a hit from “Despicable Me” and the best-selling song of 2014. little by littlee. But this is an animated Lego movie. For this episode, Pharrell and I discuss the little by little. Next, you’ll hear how Pharrell wrote the song, including a first draft that never saw the light of day. You’ll hear how he constructed “Piece by Piece” by first programming it himself using MIDI instruments, then adding and replacing the parts using other musicians, including the high school marching band he once played in.
You can purchase or stream “Piece by Piece” here.
For Run The Jewels’ Song Exploder episode featuring the song “JU$T” (performed by Pharrell), click here.
Illustration by Carlos Lerma.
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Brent Paschke – guitar
Princess Ann High School Mythic Marching Knights
“Beautiful” — Snoop Dogg with Pharrell Williams
The scorpion jacket worn by Ryan Gosling in the movie drive
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Logic Major
clavichord
