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LOCKDOWN PROJECTS: KAIZEN COLLECTIVE The wellness-obsessed production team behind a stripped-back reworking of Mabel’s latest album and virtual fitness classes for events professionals in lockdown.
Kaizen Collective, a creative company set up by Ashton Miranda and Thomas Totten, operates in the live music, song writing, production and visual content realm with a strong belief in taking care of your body and mind. During a unique and unexpected time for the music industry, the collective has uncovered new spaces for focus when it comes to creating music and planning for the return of live shows. Speaking to TPi over Zoom, the duo reflects on a series of landmark lockdown projects. Following the lockdown of live events, Miranda and Totten worked closely with BRIT Award-winning artist, Mabel and her team to devise the plan of a stripped-back album, reimagining her debut album, High Expectations, for her existing fans and opening doors to a wider audience. The reworked album was released on the one-year anniversary of its initial release on 31 July to rave reviews. The project was completed in 25 days during the lockdown of live events, marking the first time Mabel’s artistry has been stripped back and completely reworked from scratch. “The idea to re-work the album came from a new focus on making bespoke
live performances with the lockdown restrictions,” Miranda explained. “We tailored a stripped-back version of Mabel’s last single, Boyfriend, for The Graham Norton Show and a bespoke performance for BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend that were both received with high acclaim.” During the BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, the collective enlisted the services of Videographer, Oli Kane to devise a split screen and flashes of VFX during Mabel’s virtual set. “It was a new version of these songs for her fans. The easy route would have been to film her miming to a track, instead, we created a new performance, which was essentially a bespoke set, shifting her demographic from young teens to a mature audience,” Miranda noted. The producer and instrumentalist team of Miranda and Totten, along with Vocal Director, Mike Hough; Backing Vocalist, Yasmin Green; Vocal Producer and Mix Engineer, Cameron Gower Pool and Ben Totten, providing additional support on bass, had 25 days to arrange and produce, including backing and lead vocals, with everything, mixed, mastered and approved – quite a task, given the fact that everybody was recording in separate 24
