Abraham thinkin' from Smithsonian Treasures by Ben Van De Water

Piece based on Abraham Lincoln from the National Portrait Gallery (1887).

"When I was looking through the prompts, I was struck by the portrait of Abraham Lincoln. He’s a figure nearly everyone knows and is familiar with, and here he was among a collection of very unique and unknown artworks and artifacts. My first thought was my usual first thought: lush and reflective strings, probably piano to add a little structure, French Horn on melody for color (just as my comp profs would have recommended). But, would I be adding anything to the corpus of work? Lincoln’s legacy has inspired book after book, article after article, movie after movie. And likely, lush tone poem after lush tone poem.

What he likely has few of is lit EDM bangers 💯🔥🤙🏻

A truly beautiful portrait of an American icon deep in thought, joined with a goofy soundtrack. Awkward, no? This then called to mind a good friend of mine in college, who told me once, “whenever there’s an awkward silence, you will think of Abraham Lincoln.”

It has haunted me ever since.

And now, it can haunt you! It is his voice on the track, for authenticity. I present, Abraham Thinkin’, by Ben Van De Water feat. Dr. Michael Clark.

Created in Logic Pro X, primarily with the Alchemy Instrument. Voice samples from Tom Bradley’s “Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address As It Really Sounded”, on YouTube."

Tracklist