Gangstarr – ‘2 Deep’
taken from Daily Operation (Chrsalis/EMI, 1992)
Eddie Harris – ‘Lovely Is Today’
taken from Plug Me In (Atlantic, 1968)
James Brown – ‘Funky Drummer’
taken from In The Jungle Groove (Polydor, 1986)
So perhaps a ‘renaissance’ was forcing the issue a little… I’m still in the throws of Flood’s recently coined late summer lethargy. Expecting the worst, I even checked my visitor numbers today only to discover that they’re higher than ever: what am I meant to take from that? Sometimes the internets make no sense to me.
Anyway, I’m gradually falling back into the habitual and my listening habits have been recently boosted by a rediscovery of the early Gangstarr albums which are of course pretty much flawless slices of boom bap goodness. I’ve actually got Semantik to thank for this rather pleasant spell, as his recently posted video of Pharrell and Premo reminded me of how incredibly dope ‘2 Deep’ is (Pharrell’s pretty enthusiastic about it as well). It didn’t take long before I had my digital dig on, and although the track in question is by no means a demonstration of Premier at his most skillful, the quality of the Gangstarr joint and the source material make it more than worthy of coverage. But then if you can’t turn to Mr Martin whilst drowning in the murky depths of bloggers’ block, then who can you?
What surprised me upon hearing the sample source in this instance was that in terms of production ingenuity, Preem barely needed to lift a finger here. Looping up the bar that kicks off the main groove of Eddie Harris’ ‘Lovely Is Today’ is probably the most straightforward piece of production that I’m yet to hear from the Premier catalogue, and I’m struggling to think of another cut honed by the master that relies so heavily on just one key source. Drums, bass and horns are all in here, and although there is some variation during the chorus sections with a different loop and a ‘Funky Drummer’ scratch this is basic to say the very least. However, let’s not forget that Daily Operation dropped sixteen years ago (!) in a time when it was exactly this sort of simplicity that produced the greatest music that the genre will ever see, and what ‘2 Deep’ really reinforces is the genius of Premier’s ear for a lost bar here or there that perfectly translated into the hip hop aesthetic of the day.
Harris’ ‘Lovely Is Today’ is a fantastic song in its own right and has successfully opened up yet another door down a musical corridor that I need to explore. The only other time I’d come across the Eddie Harris name was when I stumbled upon ‘Carry On Brother’ whilst on some obscure and forgotten tangent in my digital travels, so essentially his body of work is completely new to me. A multi-instrumentalist from Chicago, Harris leaves behind him a legacy that is both auditory and innovative within the realms of instrument-based evolution having invented the reed mouthpiece for the trumpet, coronet, trombone and flugelhorn and experimented with hybrid instruments such as the saxobone which combined a trombone mouthpiece with a sax (weird, but true). I got a long way to go before I get my head around this man’s various achievements, but needless to say the prospect of doing so fills me with a warm glow in my belly: suggestions for exploration gratefully received.
Stay with me people. If you’re lucky I may even post again before we hit the weekend: the renaissance continues to simmer…
One Be Lo – ‘Decepticons’ (Pete Rock Remix) & ‘Decepticons’ (Pete Rock Remix Instrumental)
taken from Decepticons VLS (Fat Beats, 2005)
Isaac Hayes – ‘One Big Unhappy Family’
taken from The Isaac Hayes Movement (Stax, 1970)
Lafayette Afro Rock Band – ‘Darkest Light’
taken from Malik (Makossa, 1976)
Although the vast majority of my sample ‘knowledge’ comes from you know where, I’m glad that my explorations into the soul and funk that laid the foundations for hip hop music have gone far enough at this point to mean that from time to time I stumble across something all by myself. Granted, Isaac Hayes isn’t exactly the most obscure of sources, but I was pleased to discover ‘One Big Unhappy Family’ on my current (rather obsessive) journey through the entire Isaac Hayes’ back catalogue as it forms the backbone of one of my favourite Pete Rock remixes of the last decade ever. Given that a discussion of the ‘Decepticons’ remix also ties into certain ‘issues’ I’m having with the Chocolate Boy Wonder’s production style of the moment, it seems apt to jump on the happy coincidence of the Hayes’ sample discovery and serve up a little beat deconstruction, FDB style. The renaissance is in motion people.
Let’s start with the sample. ‘One Big Unhappy Family’ can be found on Hayes’ third solo studio outing The Isaac Hayes Movement which goes down as essential material from the late master arranger and composer. Although I’ve still got a way to go until I make my way through all of Hayes’ work, it really is the late ’60s/early ’70s output in the lead up to Black Moses that captures me most emphatically. The trio of albums that precede this seminal double LP are nothing short of sensational, and if you’re yet to indulge in a posthumous Hayes craze then I’d strongly suggest that Hot Buttered Soul, The Isaac Hayes Movement and To Be Continued act as jumping off points into the veritable ocean of material that he leaves in his wake. For me, this is probably the weakest of the aforementioned LPs although Hayes’ exceptional cover of ‘I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself’ is worth the price of admission alone. ‘One Big Unhappy Family’ is pretty glorious in its own right, an achingly sentimental number that has me crunching up my face and gyrating on my desk chair like I’m slow dancing with Beyonce in some soul-drenched Harlem basement (damn, that’s an image and a half), but it’s the bar and a half at the 0.24 mark that manages to break the trance and turn my facial scrunch into a broad – if rather brief – smile. Pete doesn’t do a huge amount with the break despite layering the snare hits and adding kicks and bass, chopping it into several neat sections that get flipped in various ways throughout the One Be Lo cut. It’s a great beat that feels beautifully spacious and demonstrates the restrained, soulful PR sound that I feel is sadly lacking at the moment… more of that later.
On top of the Hayes’ sample you get a nicely executed panned flip of Lafayette Afro Rock Band’s classic ‘Darkest Light’ horn intro to add a little interest during the chorus sections and they sit rather nicely here adding to the ‘gazing over the cityscape at sunset’ vibe that the track captures so well. However, there’s no denying that using it could be perceived as a little lazy and it’s a trend that’s developing in Pete’s current output that concerns me a little. Although ‘914′ was a standout for me from NY’s Finest, using ‘UFO’ and ‘It’s A New Day’ is hardly rocket science, and his recent ‘Nautilus’ sampling outing with The L.O.X. must have been something he put together in about five minutes. In his sleep. Now I don’t want to go too far with this as these are admittedly relatively isolated cases, but it all contributes to my feeling that Rock is struggling to find his fire of late. The Kurupt and Vast Aire collaborations earlier in the year clearly lacked something and when you take this travestyinto account it becomes pretty clear that it’s not a particularly good time to be a Soul Brother fanatic. Just gocheck out some of the chat at the PR forum if you need further proof. Disgruntled doesn’t even begin to cover it.
However, let’s not let my geeky panic at the state of Pete Rock detract from his work on the One Be Lo cut featured here. I’ve thrown up the instrumental as well because it’s the version that gets most plays from me, with the vocals sounding a little harsh in the mix on the vocal cut (poor mastering or crappy mp3? I’ll let you decide). Pump this one loud on the train and you’ll be bopping your head maniacally with little care for the welfare of others around you: this is what real Pete Rock is supposed to sound like.
Filed under: Breaks
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 game 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 resourcefor 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…
Filed under: Miscellaneous
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.
Filed under: Producers
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 stuff.
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.
Damu The Fudgemunk – ‘Now Generation’
taken from Overtime (Redefinition, 2008)
It seems hard for me to believe that Damu’s last free EP dropped all the way back in January (the magnificentSpare Time), largely because it’s pretty much stayed in constant rotation ever since and endures as one of my most played releases of the year so far. It’s with excitement then that I present the second installment for the year from someone who I deem to be one of the dopest producers doing it in the contemporary game.
People familiar with Spare Time will recognise some of the material here as it features a number of alternate takes of tracks that appeared on the first free EP, but there’s new material to digest here as well as a couple of videos to check out. I’ve thrown a separate link up for ‘Now Generation’ to give you a taste of what’s on offer, a sharply executed number that features the piano twinkles from Young-Holt Unlimited’s ‘Red Sail’s In The Sunset’ and energetic, rolling percussion. I’m also particularly pleased to see a full length instrumental version of ‘Colorful Storms’ included in the EP as opposed to the shorter edit previously available on Spare Time, as it is a truly beautiful composition that deserves its shine without lyrics as it easily stands on its own two feet for the full duration of the cut.
The words free and bangin’ are rarely bedfellows, but what Damu and Redefinition Records are proving here is that getting on your internet grind needn’t mean that quality suffers. Download, enjoy and be sure to join the mailing list to receive some more goodies later in the month.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
World Renown – ‘How Nice I Am (SID Remix)’ (Instrumental)
taken from How Nice I Am VLS (Warner, 1995)
I guess the whole point of this blog ish in the first place was for me to just share the music that I’m feeling at any particular point in time, so that’s exactly what this post is. I’ve been rocking the instrumental to the S.I.D. remix of World Renown’s ‘How Nice I Am’ hard all weekend, and given that I love the K-Def original so much, this is no small feat. Beautifully crispy drums, upbeat vibe and marvelous use of filters: that ol’ boom bap doesn’t come much purer. My favourite moment is at the 0.36 mark with the change up in the filtered bass, but this really is one of those beats that just carries you along until it ends leaving you wondering where the last four minutes went.
As a brief supplementary observation it also sounds ludicrously similar to something that Dilla and Q-Tip would have produced circa ‘96. The model for The Ummah aesthetic? Perhaps not, but the similarity is quite striking: see what you think.
Filed under: Slice Of Soul
Idris Muhammad – ‘Piece Of Mind’
taken from Power Of Soul (CTI, 1974)
So once again the parameters of genre are subtly bent for this installment of Slice Of Soul, but ‘Piece Of Mind’ is such a great track that quite frankly, I don’t care. The discovery of the wonderful Power Of Soul LP is down to my workmate Greg who is making his way through the CTI back catalogue at the same time as I am, and although I’ve been happy with my pick-ups from Hubert Laws, Deodato and the legendary Bob James, this for me has been one of the most complete and consistently enjoyable releases that I’m yet to hear from the label’s formidable body of work.
What I love, apart from the music of course, about the CTI material is the way in which you can completely geek out on the trivia, given that pretty much all of the musicians played on each others records at one time or another. The chance to explore all of the different connections between artists is fascinating and I find myself quietly smiling to myself as another section of the web is woven as I make my way through the liner notes and notice that so-and-so played this-or-that on whoever else’s record. Unfortunately for me, this isn’t the sort of information that grabs most people, particularly when rammed down their throats by an overly enthusiastic ephemeral psychotic. Ah, my friends love it.
Back to the music. ‘Piece Of Mind’ is a beautiful ten minute composition that features both Grover Washington Jr. and Bob James himself, propelled forward by Muhammad’s wonderfully crisp work on the drums. It’s a brilliant representation of how the musicians working with Creed Taylor during the ’70s managed to dissolve some of the boundaries between jazz and soul, and although the formula falters at stages, this particular track is deftly executed and a joy from start to finish. My favourite moment is at the 0.26 mark when the horns initially drop, but there’s so many layers and moments to unravel here that it’s impossible to isolate individual parts of the groove. Ultimately, this is one of those songs that demands you stop what you’re doing and listen: trust me, the rewards are plentiful.
Filed under: Beat Deconstructions
Aim – ‘The Force’ ft. QNC
taken from Cold Water Music (Grand Central, 1999)
Various Artists – ‘Easy To Be Hard’
taken from Hair OST (Polydor, 1969)
Audio bonus!
Galt MacDermot – ‘Easy To Be Hard’
taken from Hair Cuts (?, 1969)
So I’m blasting back onto the scene by leaning back on one of my favourite stimulus subjects: the British weather. The weekend just gone by was nothing short of beautiful, with blue skies and blazing sunshine making for some of the finest couple of days of the year so far. Throw this into the mixing pot with the dawn of my five and a half weeks of summer holiday and you’ve got a situation approaching fiesta status. Eff the torrential rain since then, ‘The Force’ is one of my go-to summer classics and well overdue for the deconstruction treatment.
I’m not sure how far Andrew Turner, more commonly known as Aim, has managed to extend his influence beyond British shores but he is without doubt one of the most high profile hip hop artists within a certain demographic here in Blighty. Teetering dangerously on the edge of what could be considered coffee table music, what’s surprising about Aim as an artist is that he has always managed to maintain a sense of credibility despite his particular aesthetic possessing clear mass appeal: yea, that trendy looking student likes to rock it at his afternoon shift behind the bar on a Saturday, but there’s enough substance to his discography to stop such incidents tainting the music for the more discerning listener (read: music snobs like me). All three of his studioalbums are worth copping and his mix for the Fabric Live series was jaw-droppingly good: quite a musical career for a man hailing from Cumbria.
‘The Force’ is one of the most unabashed bangers in his discography and sees him team up with ex-JVC Force member Curt Cazal and long-term affiliate Q-Ball (who I don’t think ever played a part in the crew) who drop satisfyingly accomplished rhymes over a beat that has depth and momentum. The main groove is lifted from ‘Easy To Be Hard’ which can be found on Galt MacDermot’s widely-used soundtrack to the late ’60s musicalHair, a track and theatre production that I’ve mentioned before when discussing the Three Dog Night cover that formed the backbone of Nice & Smooth’s ‘Old To The New’. It’s a straight up loop of the first two bars with low pass filter applied that acts as the foundation of ‘The Force’, steadily built upon with multiple other layers that escape my realm of knowledge. This is frustrating as there’s plenty more at play here, with squealing horns, vocal sample and bouncy piano loop all featuring throughout the composition.
As such, this ‘deconstruction’ is a little redundant because it clearly doesn’t do justice to the musicianship on display. However, as a means to easing myself back into the blog game and presenting a track that may have passed you Yanks by, it suffices perfectly. To ease the guilt of my shallow analysis I’ve also thrown in an alternative version of the source material that I picked up on my digital travels at some point from MacDermot’sHair Cuts, an equally enjoyable version of the song that is well worth the space on your hard drive. Let’s hope the clouds disperse again soon: ‘The Force’ is far too glorious to bump when it’s raining.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Freddie Foxxx – ‘Can’t Break Away’ & ‘So Tough (Mellow Mix)’
taken from Crazy Like A Foxxx (Fat Beats, 2008)
DJ Monster Crazy Like A Foxxx Preview Mix
It’s frustrating that hip hop as a genre seems to have suffered from industry nonsense more than any other over the last two decades or so, but thankfully it seems we’re reaching a point in time where people are realising that there is a demand for out of print and shelved releases from rap’s most dynamic years. The highlight for me in 2007 was the surfacing of the Ultimate Force LP, and it looks like 2008 will have a few treats in store as well, no less so than Freddie Foxxx’s previously unreleased sophomore outing Crazy Like A Foxxx, scheduled to drop at the end of this month.
I’ve been making do with the ridiculously hissy rip of the promo tape for a while now and even though the sound quality is incredibly poor, the caliber of the music still shines through: the whole album typifies the kind of rough, no frills, New York boom bap that made me fall in love with hip hop in the first place. I’ve tried to clean up the audio a little on the two tracks offered here to make them a little more listenable, but I’m literally busting to hear them in all their remastered glory. ‘Can’t Break Away’ features a lovely Curtis Mayfield guitar lick and beautifully rolling bass line that serves as the perfect opener to the album, and although the original mix of ‘So Tough’ that features Queen Latifah is slammin’, I’ve always preferred the ‘So Tough (Mellow Mix)’ that was also included on the promo tape. Whether this is the same ‘mellow’ mix as the one featured on the 12” or not is unclear to me, but Hip Hop DX suggest that there was a remix put together by Pete Rock so I guess this could be his work (although it doesn’t sound like the Chocolate Boy Wonder to me particularly). Ultimately, I can’t wait to see how the production roster is laid out track by track as the album is pretty much filler free and it’s something that has intrigued me ever since I stumbled across Crazy Like A Foxxx at the beginning of last year.
The album is due to drop at the end of the month on Fat Beats alongside the original demo version produced entirely by Buckwild, Showbiz and Lord Finesse (I think I just let out a dribble of sex wee), so there’s going to be plenty on offer for fans of that official rap business. I’ve linked to the DJ Monster preview mix above that features largely the DITC-honed originals as opposed to the final album versions which gives a tasty overview of what to expect from the bonus disc.
Wipe the drool off your keyboard and brace yourself for one of the most exciting musical events of the year so far. I can only hope that 2008 holds more treats like this in store: Pete Rock Future Flavas remixes perhaps? I won’t hold my breath…
FROM DA BRICKS 