I was very honored and excited to be asked to mix and produce Medejin's "Real Ones", a beautiful and timely song written by Jenn Taranto. I was immediately drawn to her vocal performance, which reminded me of singers like Bjork, Elizabeth Fraser, and PJ Harvey, but also was strikingly unique and recognizable as belonging only to her. I built the soundscape around her voice, piano, and vocoder, as well as the imagery of the lyrics. "I rose like a storm/raging for words to come", "In the light, not denying the dark". Working on this song gave me strength and hope in a time when I needed it most, and I hope that comes across in the music. -Tomo Nakayama

When I finished writing, I  knew instantly I wanted to ask Tomo if he would be interested in mixing & producing this one. I'm so grateful he said yes. From the second I heard the droney synth he added to the beginning, I knew I was going to be totally in love with what he did and I couldn't be happier. Not being able to see the rest of Medejin to flesh  out "Real Ones" into a full band song, it became a socially distanced collaboration between Tomo & I. I'm super excited to share it. -Jenn Taranto