It’s time for a brand new installment of Flow State with Harry Mack! In this solo episode, Harry talks about his goals for musical growth through more collaborations with other artists. He answers questions about getting started in music and how to push past the difficulties of a low energy audience. He also addresses the difference between copying from your favorite musicians’ style and using them as an influence to help you grow. After reacting to a freestyle submission and a classic clip — Prom Night in DC — Harry recaps this episode’s journey in freestyle.

Show Notes:

Search by Lyric with Genius

https://genius.com/

Atomic Habits by James Clear

https://bookshop.org/a/102858/9780735211292

Kind of Blue by Miles Davis

https://www.milesdavis.com/albums/kind-of-blue-legacy-edition/

Prom Night in DC (Guerrilla Bars 25)

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:53 Creative Collaboration for Musical Growth

00:12:34 Question 1: How do you navigate the fear of unintentionally copying someone?

00:25:11 Question 2: How do you get started making beats and music?

00:34:21 Question 3: How do you keep the energy flowing when people are closed off?

00:41:28 Question 4: What catches your ear in a beat for a freestyle or written?

00:47:01 Freestyle Submission

00:53:29 Reacting to Prom Night in DC

01:09:19 Closing Freestyle

In this episode of Flow State, Harry welcomes two-time Grammy winner Daru Jones to the podcast. Best known for his genre-bending drumming and unique drum setup, Daru has performed, recorded, and toured with legendary musicians including Jack White, Pete Rock, Gloria Gaynor, Slum Village, Talib Kweli, Black Milk, and more. Daru tells stories about coming up in gospel music and discovering jazz and hip-hop through drumming. They discuss creating your own style in music, forging a path that transcends genre, and becoming anointed by the flow state. Bookended by studio jam sessions, this episode of Flow State is not to be missed.

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Show Notes

NAMM

https://www.namm.org/

Daru Jones with Jack White - Ball and Biscuit/Don’t Hurt Yourself/Jesus Is Coming Soon (Live on SNL)

https://youtu.be/Ai9b2IO5Ncs?si=nlzw9A2QcT5AS4__

Daru Jones with Jack White - Lazaretto (Live on SNL)

https://youtu.be/hwNM-PSBeCY?si=kxsOA1N6JBcSZUjw

0:00:00 Intro Jam Session

0:03:31 Harry Introduces Daru Jones

0:08:53 Daru’s Origins with the Drums

0:12:59 Musical Memory

0:15:39 First Listening to Hip-Hop

0:21:29 Touring with Slum Village and the J Dilla influence

0:31:15 Playing Different Styles of Music

0:35:20 Daru’s Drum Setup

0:45:47 Flow State and Being Anointed

0:52:53 When Harry and Daru First Met

0:56:48 Closing Jam Session

In this episode, Harry explores some of the lessons he’s learned about sticking to goals, staying on track, and addressing what - if anything - he would change about his freestyle career. Harry also dives into his roots as a jazz musician with stories about coming up as a young jazz improviser, learning about how to really listen to the musical conversation, and offering recommendations for some of his favorite classic jazz musicians and albums. After fresh reactions to a multi-lingual freestyle submission and a classic Guerrilla Bars moment, Harry closes out the episode in his traditional way — through freestyle.

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Show Notes:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:09 Kobe Bryant and the Non-Negotiable Contract

00:09:49 Self-Compassion and Getting Back On Track

00:23:06 Question #1: If I could start over…

00:29:18 Question #2: Jazz Artist Recommendations

00:39:26 Question #3: The Jazz - Freestyle Connection

00:45:25 Freestyle Submission

01:00:01 Reacting to Guerrilla Bars 7

01:10:42 Closing Freestyle

Alright y’all— after 2 exhilarating improvisational explorations on his acclaimed podcast Take Your Shoes Off, it was time to bring the incomparable Rick Glassman into Flow State I knew it’d be a great pod, but I had no idea I’d get to reap the benefits of Rick’s PCS (Podcast Consulting Service) free of charge! I just genuinely love hanging out with this guy so much. It was awesome to hear about the parallels between my approach to doing improvised concerts and Rick’s approach to editing and animating his podcast. Also the narrative freestyle toward the end of this ep had my adrenaline soaring!!!! I think y’all are gonna dig this one— thanks so much for being here and enjoy

SHOW NOTES:

New Music OUT NOW:

Timestamps:

What's going on, y'all? Welcome to another episode of Flow State. In this episode, I express my love for David Copperfield, we react to episode one of my Guerrilla Bars series, I answer some questions from the community, talk about my morning routine, react to a dope freestyle submitted from one of y'all, and close it out with the bars like we always do- Let's go!

0:00 Intro

Josh Harmon is one of the most unique and entertaining content creators out there today and it was a pleasure to have him as a guest on Flow State! Josh is best known for his Rhythms of Comedy series and for creating live sound effects for scenes from some of your favorite cartoons, TV episodes, and movies. Part of what was so cool about getting to meet him in person and learning about his story was seeing how many parallels we share! From a childhood passion for drumming to forging his own path in online content creation during lockdown, this is definitely a man after my own heart. Hope y’all enjoy and be sure to check out his amazing work!

Timestamps:

1:51 What Does Josh Do?

What’s goin on y’all? We’re back with another episode of Flow State. You probably noticed by now that I’ve been going in hard on new written tracks, and I wanted to take the chance to talk a bit about where that creative impulse came from and how it’s been going. Y’all keep submitting fantastic questions, so this episode we’re also talking about meditation, overcoming self doubt, and how exactly I remember all those random words during freestyles — including during one of the most exciting, high-pressure freestyles of my life… when I got to spit a flow for Ice Cube and the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so pop in those ear buds and LET’S GOOOOO!

0:55 Releasing Music

It’s only right that the first official Flow State guest is not only one of my closest musical collaborators, but also someone I feel very privileged to call a friend… the incomparable Sur Jazz!!!! The two of us only really started working together consistently a couple years back, but in that short window of time we’ve managed to live SO MUCH life together— traveling the world, doing shows, and making lifelong memories both on and off the stage. There isn’t a room on earth that Jazz can’t light up with his energy. His musical knowledge is DEEP and ever expanding. Beyond DJing, Jazz’s production skills are top notch (as evidenced by the banger we dropped a few months back called “2024”— y’all know what’s up). The two of us have talked for hundreds of hours off camera but it was awesome to finally sit down and chop it up with Jazz for the pod. Hope y’all enjoy!!

06:40 Life After Tour

Welcome to the very first episode of my new podcast— Flow State! 🚀 In this episode I answer a few of the questions submitted by the community, delving deep into the challenges of touring, the crazy timing of the Omegle platform shutdown, and more. I’ll also react to a dope freestyle submitted by a fan, and provide a helpful episode recap in freestyle form. I can’t wait for y’all to check out the inaugural episode! Make sure to subscribe because we’ve got some exciting things planned over the next few months. Let’s go! ✌🏻✨

0:00 Welcome