“The Williamsburg Hotel” is a towering and catchy instrumental from ‘Wish You Were Brooklyn.’ The smooth and contemporary, but modern-sounding house song is elegant and upscale – reminiscent of the sprawling property that was once known as The Williamsburg Hotel, located at 96 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. As of September 12, 2023, The Williamsburg Hotel changed its name to Arlo Williamsburg with a successful rebrand.
“Without question, The Williamsburg Hotel was my absolute favorite hotel in the United States of America. Everything about that place, with all the unique details, was just perfection. I spent a lot of time there between 2019 and 2021. Well, there, and at The Statler Hotel in Dallas, Texas, where I basically lived for almost five or six months in an amazing suite with my girlfriend. In the words of ChriseanRock, “It’s a vibe all the time” at The Statler. So yeah, those are my two favorite hotels in all of America.” – Jonathan Hay was quoted as saying.
Jonathan Hay, along with 41x (Sony Music India Producer) and Beverly Hills entertainment executive Cain McKnight, conceptualized the single “The Williamsburg Hotel” in Hollywood Hills, California – but ended up recording the bulk of the track in an Airbnb in the Williamsburg area at a place where N.B.A. / Reality T.V. star Lamar Odom frequently stood. Hay also recorded the song at The William Vale with Brooklynite Leo Diaz. Hay mixed the instrumental on his laptop and Beats by Dre headphones at The Holiday Inn in Downtown Brooklyn. Hay said, “When I hear the words Holiday Inn, I think of the classic N.W.A line, “I take a ho’ to the hotel, to the motel, to the holiday inn… (laughs), but that Holiday Inn that’s downtown on Schermerhorn is a rather nice hotel that I worked on ‘Wish You Were Brooklyn’ a lot local creatives Diana Pagan and Craig Guerra.”
If you don’t know, now you know that Williamsburg is a popular and growing neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Over the last few decades, Williamsburg has undergone significant gentrification, now harboring an upscale art scene, along with hipster culture and a vibrant nightlife that has been described internationally as a “Little Berlin”. It’s been stated that numerous ethnic groups inhabit the neighborhood, including Italians, Jews, Dominicans, and Polish residents. According to reports, “Williamsburg is inhabited by thousands of Hasidic Jews of various groups and contains the headquarters of one faction of the Satmar Hasidic group.” The publication S.O.H.H., whom Rolling Stone Magazine writer Mark Binelli called the “best overall hip-hop site,” revealed that acclaimed producer Jonathan Hay was also Jewish.
William Moseley, who is known for his work with Kottonmouth Kings, and Hay are co-executive producers of “The Williamsburg Hotel” for the Techrow, R.U.S.H. Music, Kingmaker Music, and Fat Beats Records labels. ‘Wish You Were Brooklyn’ has been described as a “hybrid of electro jazz and nü jazz, that is subtly layered with touches of house music polyrhythms.” Hay and Moseley are closing 2023 strong with three full-length album releases: ‘Wish You Were Brooklyn,’ ‘House Invasion: Original Soundtrack Album,’ and ‘Ketamine Therapy.’ Physical copies of 12″ Vinyl L.P.s and C.D.s are available online now.
All eyes are on Jonathan Hay and his team to see if they can repeat the success of 2019’s Eric B. & Rakim’s collaboration, ‘Follow the Leader (Reimagined as Jazz)’ and 2021’s ‘Nirvana Reimagined as House & Techno’, that featured JPatt (The Knocks), Mink (Circoloco), Scott Page (Pink Floyd), Maurice Brown (Anderson. Paak), John Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) and many others.
