It might not have achieved quite the same level of success as Back to Friends and Undressed, his two breakout singles, but Sombr’s 12 to 12 was still another big hit.
Taken from I Barely Know Her, his debut album, and released in July 2025, it’s a disco/new-wave/synth-pop stomper that bristles with intent. Speaking with Mix with the Masters in a Behind the Track video, though, Sombr (AKA Shane Boose) says that he never expected it to become a finished song.
Like many of his records, 12 to 12 began life in Sombr’s home studio, but was something he stumbled upon when other ideas weren’t working.
“I kind of started this as a joke,” he admits. “It was never in the cards for me to make anything even close to a disco song or vibe.”
The creative process was kickstarted by a simple four-to-the-floor drum loop and, with the pressure off, Sombr decided to just have some fun.
“I was like, OK, like, whatever. This is never going to be anything. Let me just fully lean into this. Let me find the cheapest, shittiest piano sound I can find. So that was on my Korg Triton, which I use for inspiration when I want to be taken back to the past, you know? It feels like a time machine.”
When it was released in 1999, of course, the Triton workstation sounded anything but ‘cheap’, but let’s not forget that Sombr wasn’t even born then - he's only 20 years old - so it’s hardly surprising that he views it as decidedly retro, even if some of us still reminisce about the time when it was state of the art.
The track breakdown video has Sombr being interviewed alongside industry veteran Tony Berg, his key collaborator, and the pair say that they like to work at speed. After Sombr has come up with an idea at home, the two of them develop it in the studio as quickly as possible so it can be put out into the world.
They also reveal a slightly unexpected sonic ingredient that they frequently use (including on 12 to 12): “We put bongos on everything,” says Sombr. “And I’m the bongo man.”
Berg, meanwhile, describes the bongos as “an integral part of what we do,” but perhaps not quite as important as the very famous musician who played 12 to 12’s bassline.
“We've had a few bass players,” says Berg. “Gabe Noel has played beautifully. But one person in particular, Wendy Melvoin, is kind of our secret weapon. She's one of the world's great musicians. She was Prince's right-hand woman for years [Alongside Lisa Coleman, her musical partner, Melvoin played a key role in The Revolution, Prince’s band between 1979 and 1986, a period that included Purple Rain]. When she comes in, it enlivens the room.”
In fact, such is Melvoin’s force of musical personality, says Berg, that “it doesn't matter what bass Wendy plays because it's just always going to sound like Wendy.”
Check out the full 12 to 12 Behind the Track video below.
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