Photos by Nick Pironio
Story by Jake Seaton
When Langhorne Slim steps into the studio in November, the 31-year-old troubadour will have one song to which he can credit, in part, General Electric.
The company commissioned Langhorne Slim – born Sean Scolnick – to write a song embodying its work ethics using “seven or eight keywords” assigned by GE. The result, “Make It Work,” turned into a song that spoke as much about GE as it did Scolnick’s character.
“I’m a hardworking man myself in my own right – a different kind of work, I suppose,” Scolnick explained. “I think that it’s something that any of us can relate to.”
“Make It Work” is an anthem for blue collar workers, a call to arms, a testament to the success of hard work, and ultimately American manufacturing.
“Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it hurts, but I’m proud of my work,” the chorus calls out. “It’s a big, beautiful earth, when our hands and our hearts make things work.”
Assembly & Test Technician Steve Rehmar had the opportunity to hear the song first hand when Langhorne Slim gave a private concert for about 360 workers at the GE Aviation engine facility in Durham.
After hearing the song and speaking with Scolnick, Rehmar says “Make It Work” fits GE’s values.
“We understand the ramifications that when a product leaves this facility, it’s going on a piece of machinery that is going to take people who knows where,” Rehmar said. “We all have a sense of pride and ownership and responsibility to know that it’s got to be right when it leaves here.”
In addition to the song written for GE, Langhorne Slim also performed three older cuts and another new track, “Again, Tonight.” The song, Scolnick said, should find its way onto the follow-up to 2009′s Be Set Free – a record he hopes to record in November after the current tour wraps up.
“I wanted to do a mobile studio in a barn somewhere warm since we’re recording in November,” Scolnick said. “But that’s a little too tricky and it takes a lot to do.”
He added, “I’ve been talking to this guy in upstate New York who’s got this house from the 1800s that he converted into a studio. So it’s this cool, spooky, rural retreat with a great studio in it, which definitely sounds appealing.
“Environment is certainly important to have the right energy.”
Keeping to his folksy, Americana roots, Scolnick says he plans to record the album to analog tape for a vinyl release in the spring.
“The next record we will [put to tape],” Scolnick explained. “What some of the studios are doing now is record to tape and then they put it through a computer program like Pro Tools. It allows a very similar sound to analog, but you’re able to cheat a little bit more by using the digital technology.
“Some purists are against that, but I’m not that much of a traditionalist.”
Like all artists – barring perhaps Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music – Scolnick hopes the next Langhorne Slim album is “a great damn album,” and whether or not “Make It Work” finds its way onto the LP is dependent on the rest of the songs.
“I’ve got a whole slew of new songs … It’ll definitely be in contention – we’ll see if it fits the album.”
Langhorne Slim will perform at the Casbah in Durham on Oct. 2. The band will be joined by Charlotte’s Matrimony, and tickets are available for $10 in advance or $12 the day of the show.
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