Sly & The Family Stone - ‘Sing A Simple Song’
taken from Stand! (Epic, 1969)

OK, you’re gonna have to bear with me a little here party people because getting back into this blogging game after three weeks or so off ain’t easy. What always strikes me during my holiday periods away from screaming children and mounds of paperwork is that despite having all the opportunity in the world to do all the things I want to do, the vast time I have in which to do them often means that they don’t get done very swiftly, if at all. Ultimately, I need to be squeezing things into my daily routine to actually get anywhere with them, otherwise the potential to simply loaf about and do nothing often takes a hold. Anyways, I’m back to work next week so there’s no doubt that my game will be back on big style, as avoiding the work that I’m actually meant to be doing is one of my most finely-honed personality traits. Just don’t tell my boss. She’s a little bit scary.

I’ve been toying with the idea of another series of posts for a while now, and the light bulb above my head beamed brightly when I stumbled across Sly & The Family Stone’s Stand! whilst doing the digital rounds in France. For the readers amongst you who have even a passing familiarity with prominent drum breaks then the discovery of ‘Sing A Simple Song’ will seem like a complete no-brainer, but it’s new to me (as is the vast majority of material that features in beat deconstructions and the like around these parts) so I felt it was worth sharing. It also seems like a decent jumping-off point into other drum breaks that although widely-used, don’t seem to have quite the same legendary status as ‘Blind Alley’, ‘Impeach The President’ and the like. Hence, a series of posts is born: sometimes this shit comes easy.

Check in at the 2.11 mark for the point at which the break begins and you’ll be on instantly familiar ground. What I really like about the way that these drums get flipped is that they often include remnants of some of the horn stabs which provides a layer of intricacy to the beat in which they have been employed. For proof of the importance of this particular combination of snares, kicks and hi-hats then check everybody’s favourite resource for a generous overview of its usage, although I have little doubt that this probably covers less than half of the instances in which they can actually be found. Keep your ears to the ground speakers people…

OK, so I’m now back in slightly gloomy Bristol after two and a half weeks of fun, so activity will resume here shortly.  Unfortunately my brain is still a little fried from the Shambala Festival weekend so check in come the end of the week: any attempt to write anything lengthy and coherent now will only end in tears.

Catch you Friday.

Isaac Hayes - ‘The Feeling Keeps On Coming’
taken from Joy (Stax, 1973)

So in internet terms this tribute to the musical genius that was Isaac Hayes comes late, but I can’t let this very sad event pass without mentioning it in some way here at FDB. I’m a relative latecomer to Hayes’ work, having only really delved into his back catalogue within the last year or so, but during this period I have fallen in love with his sumptuous arrangements and am pleased that I still have treats to uncover in the future.

I doubt it’s possible that you could have avoided the various tributes that almost immediately surfaced on the net, but just in case you missed O-Dub’s, Flood’s or Sach’s, go check them out now. I’m in the south of France at the moment so don’t have full access to all of my Hayes’ material, but given that the utterly fantastic ‘The Feeling Keeps On Coming’ is sitting on my hard drive I’m throwing it up as a tribute to one of the most iconic figures in Black popular culture that this world is ever likely to see. Rest in peace big man: you’ll be sorely missed.

OK, so having spent the first fortnight of my lengthy teacher’s holiday pretty much doing nothing, I’m now off abroad for a while.  For those interested, the itinerary is Berlin, then a week and a half on the Cote d’Azur followed by Shambala Festival to round things off.  Sounds good, huh?

Activity may still continue here as I’ll be online in France, but we’ll see if I can be bothered.  I may not be: lounging on the balcony with ice cold beer in hand is pretty hard work by anyone’s standards.

K-Def - ‘The Program’ ft. Dacapo
taken from Willie Boo Boo: The Fool (Ghetto Man Beats, 2008)

I was lucky enough to cop K-Def’s fantastic beat tape Willie Boo Boo: The Fool upon its initial release before it got pulled from the shelves (real and virtual of course). Thankfully, the album is now available again as a digital download, so if you missed it first time around make sure you don’t miss out this time as it’s now available via iTunes. Just to whet your appetite, check out the above track which has been added to the album featuring Dacapo entitled ‘The Program’. Good shit.

For those hungry for more K-Def action, you can check him out tonight on the WYNU Radio Show with DJ Eclipse at 11pm Eastern Time. Tune into 89.1 FM, or if you’re not fortunate enough to live in the greatest city in the world (like me), then you can hear the show streamed live here.