iSound

For Keb' Mo', the inspiration to self-produce Keep It Simple, his fifth studio album for Okeh Records, was an unexpected revelation.

"I had a clear vision about what I wanted this album to sound and feel like before I started," explains the two-time Grammy winner. "I was looking over a list of producers for this album with my manager, and I said, 'in the time it would take me to explain the sound in my head to a producer, I could just do it myself.' The instant those words came out of my mouth, I knew what I needed to do."

After co-producing his last two albums, Slow Down and The Door, he felt comfortable taking the reins for Keep It Simple. He started the recording in his home studio where he could tinker with each song before taking the tracks into a commercial studio. The final mix for Keep It Simple includes a combination of his home studio recordings and sessions captured in Los Angeles and Nashville. "When you work in a commerci...