Back in July, MAEKAN sound engineer Elphick Wo (also known by his Producer moniker Delf) returned from a trip to Toronto, where he jammed with fellow producer Tee.
Inspired by his work ethic and sparked by the emotional farewell of leaving back to Hong Kong, Elphick decided one night to make a beat, titled “Is it Goodbye.”Following this initial effort, he decided to embark on a journey of 30 Beats in 30 Days, a common challenge within the beat-making community as a means to nurture consistency, dedication and inspiration.
Produced in the late-night after-hours, this collection of short beats is the result of Delf’s constant pursuit of self-improvement and renewal—a commitment to keeping mental tools sharp that creatives of all disciplines can appreciate. Originally hosted on his Instragram feed, each unique beat is accompanied by a photo.
Enjoy Volume 3 of his efforts below.
Track 21 — Heatwave
When I made this one, I still had Toronto on my mind. This was my twist on their notorious Caribbean groove.
Track 22 — show me ur love
This was a busy day, so I challenged myself to make it as fast as I could. So right away, I turned to my keyboard to set the tone. I think I finished this one in about 30 minutes or less.
Track 23 — ascension
For this one, I collaborated with a keyboardist Chris Carpio. He’s a jazz pianist based in Hong Kong who I met a few years back.
Track 24 — oh baby (Aretha Franklin flip)
RIP to the Soul Queen.
I remember when I got my first MPC. I’d practice my chops with the soul classics by Smokey Robinson, Issac Hayes, Delegation, Diana Ross, Bobby Womack. I tried to understand the relationship between hip hop and soul.
This was my first time sampling YouTube videos this way. Services like YT compress video and the accompanying audio a certain way that gives off interesting results.
Track 25 — when she calls
Learned something new on a YouTube tutorial and tried a new way of randomizing my drum samples with Ableton’s built-in drum racks and Random. More interesting results followed.
Track 26 — L2U
Always love. Another IV-III-VI progression, another classic of R&B.
Track 27 — flowers
Just being dreamy.
Track 28 — smile back
Featuring fellow producer JNYBeatz, also based out of Hong Kong. Did this on September 6. It’s crazy how we thought referencing Mac Miller’s vocals would be dope and tragically, he passed away the next day. RIP.
Track 29 — wonky
Back in the studio again with JNYBeatz. This time, we worked with jazz, swing, warm tapes and a simple groove. Closing out strong!
Track 30 — way out
Last beat! Defo a feeling of relief. It’s been a marathon, but I definitely got a lot out of it practicing getting inspired every day.
Funny thing how inspiration works. Recall, I first got my inspiration working with Tee when I was in Toronto. After I finished this, he’s thinking of doing one too.
I’m thinking of doing another one of these early next year.
