Inside The Producer’s Studio: Making ‘Raw Life’
July 24, 2009
Inspiration: The late J Dilla's Mixer
Another great installment from Nicoaly’s Music Blog [Nicolaymusic.com]. In this discussion about the making of “Raw Life” from the Connected album he makes some salient points about drum programming and how he effectively bends the rules to give the track a human feel.
Backstory:
It should be no secret that the incredible beatwork of the late great J Dilla has been hugely inspirational to me, especially when I was first getting into production. I learned by studying his music, that there is room for musicality and for experimentation, as long as there is a strong and steady foundation going on underneath. Dilla’s signature tracks always had that “sweet spot”, that chord progression or melody that would tug at your heartstrings, while the drums and the bass would work on your neckmuscles at the same time. As a producer, his drums were eye-opening for me, not only because of his choice of sounds and of ways to process those sounds, but because of his often-imitated “drunken” style of drum programming. Before I got into Dilla’s music, I suppose I more or less thought of drum hits as being relatively “fixed”. For example, in one bar of four counts, you put a kick hit on the one and the three, a snare hit on the two and four, and hihat hits on every eighth note, with “swing” timing applied (or not, depending on what is called for). Dilla’s programming taught me that if you exaggerate this “swing” timing, the drums come alive and feel more “human” and “in the pocket”.
I did the beat that became ‘Raw Life’ in October of 2002. It’s arguably THE “banger” on the “Connected” album, and can certainly be looked at as a Dilla “nod”, because I, like so many others around that time, was consciously channeling some of those programming techniques to come up with my own interpretation of the “drunken” style.
Get the real nitty gritty on his use of Mod Plug the Roland Juno 60 HERE!
L.A.’s BREAKESTRA TO RELEASE LONG AWAITED DUSK ‘TILL DAWN
July 23, 2009
(July 22, 2009) Los Angeles, CA- After a four-year break from the studio, L.A.’s finest practitioners of gritty soul/jazz, party funk & breaks, Breakestra, return to the fray with a brand new studio album on Strut this September, Dusk Till Dawn.
The brainchild of producer, engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist “Music Man” Miles Tackett, Breakestra was formed from a love of golden era late ‘80s / early ‘90s hip hop and a fascination for the dusty samples that peppered the era’s classic records. From watching revered West coast DJs like Cut Chemist and Mixmaster Wolf cut up hip hop, funk and breaks, Tackett looked to form a live collective of musicians that could play the originals live with all of the same sounds, feel and musicianship. Through weekly jams at a local coffeehouse session called The Breaks, Breakestra was created.
From then on, with their base at fabled Thursday L.A. club night Rootdown, Breakestra became renowned as one of the great live funk bands of their era. Mixmaster Wolf, first persuaded off the decks at The Breaks to voice Bobby Byrd’s ‘I Know You Got Soul’, became a key voice and hypeman out front. An amorphous line-up of L.A.’s finest players, led by Tackett on bass and vocals, ensured that the grooves were kept super-tight with local musicians like drummer Pete McNeal (Z Trip’s band), James “The Funky Penguin” King (The Lions) and Jeremy Ruzumna (Macy Gray’s band) all a part of the Breakestra fold at different times.
The band’s recordings have been rare to savour, numbering an early live cassette-only mixtape, a handful of singles and second mixtape release on Stones Throw and a debut studio album, Hit The Floor, on Ubiquity in late 2005.
For 2009, Breakestra return with their long-awaited sophomore set exploring all colours of the funk spectrum. Built around the vision of “Music Man” Miles and Mixmaster Wolf (as well as producing, recording and writing the tracks, Miles performs bass, drums, guitars, cello, keys, percussion and vocals on the record), the trademark Breakestra touches remain intact: Wolf fronts tough breakbeat jams ‘Dark Clouds Rain Soul’ and Stones Throw single ‘Low Down Stank’; Miles himself brings his soulful vocals to ‘Need A Little Love’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Wait’ and amazing new female vocalist Afrodyete recalls the heyday of JB’s Funky People on the terrific ‘Come On Over’. The album even journeys into psychedelic soul (on the fuzzy ‘Show Me The Way’) and stripped-back West African farfisa stylings on instrumental cut, ‘North-East To Nippon’.
Dusk ‘Till Dawn is a tribute to Tackett’s late DJ partner at Rootdown, DJ Dusk, whose life was tragically taken in a road accident in 2007. Dusk himself appears alongside Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na on the funky rap joint ‘Posed To Be’ and the album is a fitting tribute to a much-loved L.A. figure and integral member of a scene which has become globally respected.
Breakestra’s Dusk ‘Till Dawn comes out September 29th on Strut. The release will be accompanied by world tour dates beginning in October.
For more info, check out: www.breakestra-dusktilldawn.com
VIDEO: Jazzy Jeff & DJ AM @ The House Of Blues
July 22, 2009
Totally destroys “Peter Piper”….
Spotted on KN
DJ Jazzy Jeff & Dj AM Live @ The House of Blues from jeffrey a townes on Vimeo.
VIDEO: Diamond D’s “Can’t Be Me”
July 21, 2009
So far we brought you the behind the scenes of this song’s video and an interview with DJ Scratch talking about making the beat, so here is the video finally!
VIDEO: 6th Sense & The Kid Daytona On Making “Come Fly With Me”
July 21, 2009
6th Sense brought The Kid Daytona by the office to talk about the making of their project “Come Fly With Me.” Fuck VH1, I’ll do Behind The Music my damn self!
Bloggin 4 Beats: Breathe & Stop Remix
July 21, 2009
How many producers can say they’ve had their own voice used in a beat? That’s exactly what I did with this remix of Q-Tip’s “Breathe & Stop.” I took his heavy breathing from “Find A Way” and his “inhale” from “Sucka Nigga” and put them over some chopped Impeach drums and other goodies.
NOTE: I’m just mad at whoever ripped this acapella cuz it skips around 49 seconds. Had to work around it.
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VIDEO: Are DJ’s Overrated??
July 21, 2009
A journalist asked Grandmaster Flash if DJ’s are overrated (what??) and if anyone can be a DJ. Listen to his answer.
VIDEO: Shady A&R’s Top 5 Producers Of All Time
July 19, 2009
The homey Riggs Morales @ Shady gives his top 5 Producers of All Time to Allhiphop.com. We’d have arguments about this list constantly ( and still do). I think Teddy Riley should bump somebody out of there but not sure who. What do you think?
Nodfactor Interviews M-Phazes
July 16, 2009
Interview by Christopher Buckley
Nodfactor: Lets get a little bit into your background, how did you start producing?
M-Phazes: I was always interested in making music, since I first heard it I would bang on the side of the couch with chop sticks like I was playing the drums. Eventually I got my own drum kit and played for about 6 years, in the meantime I got into hip hop, early stuff by PE, De La Soul, RUN DMC and some others. Basically I figured out how to loop breaks with a tape deck, and would record myself through some shitty headphones, swap the blank tape over and do overdubs. I was tape looping up until I got my first PC and just took it from there.
Nodfactor: Australia isn’t known for their hip hop whats the scene like down under?
Phazes: It’s good now, its grown a lot in the past couple of years to the point of mainstream acceptance and radio play, so that’s a great thing. Artist are selling a lot of records now, as opposed to 10 years ago when you’d be lucky to sell a couple of thousand.
Nodfactor: You won the Second Annual Sha Money One Stop Shop Conference in 2008. What effect has that experience had on your career thus far?
Phazes: It’s been great, made a couple of major placements and got my name out there with the big producers I look up to. I went back to this years one stop shop and Sha really looked out for me. If I hadn’t had won the battle the year before I probably wouldn’t have made the connects I have.
Nodfactor: You’ve worked with a variety or artists from Amerie to Joell Ortiz and you also did an album with Emilio Rojas. Can you give us some details on how the albums’ conception came about and what the process was like?
Phazes: Emilio and I have been friends for a while, we had always done music together and one day I think we discussed it but it sort of took a back seat for a few months. Then we finally decided to do the album and it sounds great now! We are in the process of finding a good home for it so hopefully we will have a release out around August.
Nodfactor: How would you describe M-Phazes sound?
Phazes: I guess it’s really musical hip hop, soulful, I know that sounds cliche’ but that’s what it is, it’s soulful musical hip-hop with a twist of 90′s grit to it.
Nodfactor: Being your on the other side of the world what conflicts do you face when it comes to obtaining placements and getting music done with artists, besides not being able to be there with them of course?
Phazes: It’s frustrating dealing with people strictly over e-mail’s, but I have an agent out in the states who holds me down so it’s not a big problem. I guess it’s missing all the shows and meetings and things like that where I could connect with people.
Nodfactor: Are there any other producers or artists from Australia we should check for?
Phazes: Yeah there’s a heap, check out Trials, Plutonic Lab, Jase from Beathedz, there’s a heap more I can’t think of them all right now though.
Nodfactor: If there were any artists you could work with current or past can you tell us who and why?
Phazes: De La Soul, I grew up on De La, and I think they are one of the most consistent acts throughout their career, topics, substance and delivery they are always on point. I would love to work with Ghostface too, just to say I did a track with Ghost would be ill! Also Lauryn Hill, I listen to her album and think I could fit nicely in there.
Nodfactor: What do you have slated for the upcoming months of 09?
Phazes: Got a few track’s on Pharoahe Monch’s next release called “Let my People Go”, new M.O.P album I have the title track on, Amerie’s album I think is out in August, as well as my own project with all Aussie artists.
Nodfactor: Do people really say “throw another shrimp on the bar-b”?
Phazes: well no, “shrimp” is an American term, we call them prawns, and we try to stray away from any stereotypical catch phrase you yanks happen to make up for us haha.
Nodfactor: Who was the bigger Crocodile Hunter in Australia, Paul Hogan or Steve Irwin?
Phazes: Oh definitely Steve, dude was a nut case.
Nodfactor: I know cricket is the national sport but what about kangaroo boxing, I hear that’s the equivalent to dog fighting in the states?
Phazes: That never happens out here.
Nodfactor: Ever go on a “walk about” in the bush?
Phazes: Yeah I walk through bushes sometimes, if there’s a beach to get to!
Nodfactor: You guys call light bulbs globes in Australia, so what do you call a globe?
Phazes: A globe
Nodfactor: Any last words for our readers?
Phazes: Yeah, come to Australia and do some research haha.
VIDEO: DJ Spinna’s Viral Listening Sessions
July 15, 2009
Now here is an innovative idea. DJ Spinna has put together several videos, a “viral listening session,” discussing certain songs on his upcoming CD, Sonic Smash dropping July 21st on High Water Music!
Still nothing like being there in the room hearing it for the first time, but this is great if you can’t be there. If you happen to be in NYC Spinna will be at Fat Beats records on July 20th and at South Paw on the 21st.
“New York” featuring Krym of Jigmastas
“Get On Down” featuring Fresh Daily, Homeboy Sandman and P.CASSO aka P.SO (AOK Collective)
3/7 “TK w/ Torae”
“Guaranteed” Featuring Phonte (Little Brother) and Yazarah
“More Colors” f/ Elzhi of Slum Village
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