Geoffrey speaks on everything from the new single "Our Parallel Worlds," recording an Italian opera singer, and being raised on synthesizers and "The Breakfast Club"

Coyote Music: Geoffrey, it's good to meet you! Thanks so much for taking the time to share information with our readers. Let's just get right at it: what's behind the name Third Development?

Geoffrey James / Third Development: Hi Wiley. Thanks for checking out Third Development! I’m a recording artist up in Canada and Third Development is a bit of a pandemic story - one of the good ones. Back in 2020 when we plunged into that strange and pretty confusing period of lockdown, I turned to my music to clear my mind and I was hit by a pretty powerful creative wave. After ordering some new equipment online including my new Roland Jupiter X and Roland Jupiter XM, I composed Third Development’s first official track "The Thought of Tomorrow," followed by 8 more tracks over the next couple of months and my first full album The Thought of Tomorrow was launched on January 1st, 2021. The name Third Development is an amusing little description of this whole experience as I live on ‘Third Street’ and the pandemic was the ‘development’ that triggered this whole creative process.

CM: So one of the interesting, even positive?, things about the years of lockdown was the explosion of artists working together remotely from around the world...

GJ/TD: Yes exactly. The pandemic was definitely bad and ugly but a dash of good came from it as well. We suddenly saw a world without traffic, pollution was drastically reduced and people looked within to pass the time. Suddenly, people were learning to bake bread, knit, and connect with people around the world in new and meaningful ways thanks to technology. We got to see our favorite artists through our phones as they sat in their own personal spaces and performed for us in very raw and beautiful formats. As I started writing and producing during this time, I had no choice but to connect online with other artists for collaboration and it was incredible. You suddenly realize that you really can work with anyone, anywhere and harness the opportunity that comes with a connected planet.

CM: The new single is entitled "Our Parallel Worlds." A few questions about that song in particular. The song features Ali Wick on vocals. How did you come to work together?

GJ/TD: "Our Parallel Worlds" took a bit of time. I wrote the music for this one over a year ago and sampled a few other vocal options which just didn’t fit. I loved the instrumental track I had and continued listening to it often and then I was introduced to Canadian singer/songwriter Ali Wick through a family connection. I knew it was a long shot but I reached out to her and that led to me sending my demo her way. She initially sent me just the first verse back to see what I thought and I absolutely loved what I heard and then she ran with the rest. It was a total slam dunk.

CM: The inclusion of Francesca Maionchi, whose operatic voice is amazing, is a bit of a twist for this style of music. It brought to my mind Kathleen Battle's vocal on the 1993 Janet Jackson song "This Time," in that it's a phenomenal opera singer put in the middle of a more modern popular music setting. Not many people have even tried that, much less make it work. What brought on the idea to include such a soaring vocal on "Our Parallel Worlds"?

We’ll gladly give permission for any charitable organizations to use the music of Third Development at no cost. If you’re in the business of making the world a better place, please contact Third Development to let us know how we can assist.

GJ/TD: Funny enough, it came from me listening to the demo in my car after Ali Wick had recorded the lead vocal. The track had a pretty long bridge in excess of 40 seconds and it really offered a dramatic pause. I always listen to my stuff when I’m driving my car as fun ideas seem to come to me. For a few weeks, I found myself launching into opera while driving every time that bridge started - you wouldn’t want to hear my opera!. There was just something that kept me on that path. My producer in Italy was not keen on the idea when I told her where I was going with it all but she obliged by sourcing out Francesca Maionchi who is an incredible talent in Italy, even performing alongside Andrea Bocelli on one of his tours. Through a lot of coordination, we got Francesca into a studio in Tuscany and she sang her incredible part to the melody I composed for her. Her lyrics were drawn (and translated to Italian) from Ali Wick’s chorus and the way her solo complimented the song and the her accompaniment to Ali for the third verse and outro came through was just spectacular. It was like these two singers had been working together for years and yet they have never met and they recorded their parts from opposite sides of the ocean.

CM: From the "Our Parallel Worlds" one sheet, there's a run down of the artists who made the song happen. It mentions a Turkish guitar, the Helsinki flutist Livia Schweizer, bassist/producer/mixing engineer Sara Fedi in Tuscany, Italy, and NY-based (and Grammy Winning) Mastering Engineer Emily Lazar. Just the logistical energy of bringing this cast together seems ambitious and rather difficult. Did you have prior working relationships there, or was there an independent effort to find and bring in all of this talent?

GJ/TD: Yup, there a few moving parts with my stuff! I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of these incredible people already via my Third Development journey such as Sara Fedi who has been my incredible Producer in Tuscany since my first song and Emily Lazar in NYC has Mastered the bulk of my work. Ali Wick and Francesca Maionchi are the only new artists that arrived for this single. I must admit, my process requires some patience as each global contributor represents a whole new project within the larger project! I love a challenge so managing this type of process from start to finish when you get to hear the final product is so rewarding!

CM: Lastly about this song in particular, I love hearing about where artists pull their influences from--what styles and other artists contribute to the inspiration of new music. The backing rhythm track of "Our Parallel Worlds" brought to my mind a couple 80s songs in particular. Both 1987's INXS hit "Need You Tonight" and the breakdown of Steve Winwood's 1986 song "Higher Love" (around the 2:26 mark) have a similarly sparse electronic beat with minimal 'xylophone'/percussion melodic rhythms adding to the percussive backbeat. Do you draw inspiration from the music of this era (even with things like the snare sound in "Our Parallel Worlds"), or are those more just random similarities?

GJ/TD: I love that you heard that! One could say I’m one of the older kids in this musical playground. I was in high school when The Breakfast Club was in theatres! And as a synth-playing kid in the 80’s, I was definitely heavily influenced by the incredible explosion of fascinating sounds and talents including the ones you just listed. I’ve always loved working with the ‘strings’ on my synth’s and my Roland Jupiter X is just heavenly in producing these sounds and styles so it really flows naturally for me, You’ll hear these 80’s influences including artists like Eurythmics & Peter Gabriel in virtually every track I’ve released and in most of my material, you’ll find that those styles have been blended with a dash of more modern styles that come with Thievery Corporation and Zero 7 who are also major influences for me as a composer.

CM: I couldn't help but notice the disclaimer on your website (thirddevelopment.com): "We’ll gladly give permission for any charitable organizations to use the music of Third Development at no cost. If you’re in the business of making the world a better place, please contact Third Development to let us know how we can assist." That's a pretty incredible way to contribute to the betterment of society at large. Where did this idea come from? And beyond the idea, what made you take that next step to put it in black and white, out there as a standing offer?

GJ/TD: I have always had a desire to give back in this world and I’ve always loved how music can bring people together and inspire positive change. When I was a teenager, I had the incredible experience of sitting in front of my radio and listening to Live Aid as it unfolded in 1985. Experiences like that can really impact you in a positive way and I will do anything I can with my music to make a positive contribution to our complicated world.

CM: "Our Parallel Worlds" was just released last month, so you're understandably going through the promotion of that single right now. But what's on the horizon for you and Third Development? More single releases, or perhaps even more writing and recording projects?

GJ/TD: Third Development is definitely an ongoing and evolving story. There will be more material when the time is right and I definitely won’t be straying from my format of keeping this thing global. It’s just so rewarding to connect with people from around the world to produce something special.

CM: Wrapping things up, are there any other things about "Our Parallel World" or Third Development that you'd like to share with our readers?

GJ/TD: Just a big thank you for listening! I’m really pumped about "Our Parallel Worlds." It’s pure ear candy for the listener as the song takes you on a beautiful and very intriguing and unpredictable 4-minute journey. The feedback has been incredible on this one so far and I truly appreciate you putting another spotlight on it.