Marcus Miller and Herbie HancockHerbie Hancock is back in the studio working on his "Imagine Project" a new studio album and documentary due for an early 2010 release. Dave Matthews is one of many artists that will be working with Herbie as he records the new album. He is also pairing up with artists such as Chaka Khan, Anoushka Shankar and Tracy Chapman, and Jeff Beck.
Dave Matthews was in the studio with Herbie while they were in San Francisco at the end of August. Carter Beauford joined them in the studio along with Marcus Miller, who will play bass on the track.
Herbie explains that each artist will collaborate on an original composition, mixing languages and musical styles from their respective countries. He describes the project as capturing "peace through global collaboration. "Our same language is our commonality as human beings..."
In recent Billboard interview Hancock discusses his time in the studio with Dave Matthews. While riffing with the Gryphon Veillette (the tiny guitar), Herbie heard something he liked in the instrument and the sound.
"He played the first two chords and not only did it not sound like a Dave Matthews song, it didn't sound like anything I had heard from pop music. I said, "Wait a minute-I'm hearing some kind of gamelan thing." I've been to Bali three times. I found a gamelan sound on the synthesizer. I overdubbed it, and it just worked."