Deep Crates

I can't believe it's been three years since I started checkin' for this cat's videos.

This funky homo sapien's name is DJ Funktual and he's been running this series of "Top 10 Samples..." since the spring of 2008. Around this time I was beginning to develop an interest in how hip hop tracks are orchestrated, and how the producer fits into the creative process. As I was searching for videos on sampling and beat making, I stumbled upon DJ Funktual's first "Top 10..." video (see here). I was instantly a fan. Funktual's genuine love and exuberance for classic funk and soul music is delightfully infectious, and his knowledge of samples and break beats is incredibly extensive.

So far, DJ Funktual has gifted us 490 samples in just the "Top 10..." segment alone; he's many more videos that focus on samples rock records, reggae records, Issac Hayes records, an so on. It'll take you quite a while to exhaust his offerings, so you better get started. This cat knows his stuff.

peace.

When The Rebelution Comes

So yea, I was checkin' out these cats last night.

The Soul Rebels in London covering "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley

When I first moved to Baton Rouge for graduate school in 2004, I started hanging out with my now dear friend Mark who was a member of my class. He'd traveled down to Louisiana a few months before we all arrived to look for apartments and scope the scene. During his trip he spent a night in New Orleans, where he stumbled upon a spectacular group of musicians that ignited an audience like no other.

So a couple of months into the semester, Mark says to me, "These guys are gonna be in town this weekend. We have to go see them." Generally I tend to be overly skeptical about new musical experiences, but I couldn't think of anything else I had to do that weekend so I was happy to humor them.

We arrived at Chelsea's Cafe (the old location, for all you Baton Rougers) on a Saturday night about 10pm. As we walked in, I noticed a few cats in the parking lot that were having a spirited conversation about SEC football; not an uncommon occurrence in Louisiana. Mark says as we pass them, “I think that’s them right there.” “Really?” I thought. “You mean they aren’t holed up in pretentious isolation behind some VIP screen? Hmmm…”

After we entered the café and milled around for an hour or so, sure enough some of the guys from the parking lot began taking their places on a postage stamp-sized stage. One guy began setting up a bass drum with a cymbal mounted on top. Another adjusted the angle of his snare drum that rested on a stand just in front of his position. The two trumpet players were assembling their horns, the trombone and sax players were tuning theirs, and the sousaphone player took the time to affix a microphone to his bell. It was maybe 10 or 15 minutes between the time they began setting up until the beginning of their set, and boy did they come out swinging.

The Soul Rebels are able to balance the tradition of New Orleans’ unique texture of jazz with an awareness of contemporary musical progression, cooking up one of the most inspired, soulful, and energetic sonic experiences anyone could ever witness. Their music boils up from an ocean of impulses and sensations, bathing the crowd with funkiness. I’ve been checking The Rebels for about seven years now in a variety of venues. Not once have I observed an audience who could resist cutting a rug to these cats. Their sound is refreshingly relentless; the journey isn’t over until the night ends.

Mark and I were gettin’ down to these cats all night long; so were some other friends of ours that came to the show. We shouted, sweated, and clapped for two hours straight. (The Rebels don’t stop playing ever.) At the end of it all, I knew that I needed to be in the place every single time these guys came to town no matter where I may be. Missing a Rebels show is sacrilege.

peace.

The Rebelution Will Be Hellified

Maybe I'll say more tomorrow about this. But trust me, this is enough.

peace.

Drivin' 'Round the City at Night Music

Last night I was on my way home from work and thumbed my way to 808s and Heartbreak on my iPod. For the uninitiated, 808s and Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by Kanye West. Released in 2008, its prominent musical element was Kanye's extensive use of Auto-Tune added to a minimalist production style centered around the Roland TR-808 drum machine.

Skipping through the playlist, I landed on the eighth track on the album called "Street Lights". And as I listened, it was almost as if the song became the soundtrack of my ride home. The lyrics, the production, the atmosphere, everything about the song seemed specifically arranged for a midnight ride through the cold and quiet Philadelphia streets. It was so perfect in fact, that I set my iPod to single-song repeat and took the long(er) way home. I almost didn't want it to end.

This got me thinking. What makes a song good for riding through the city at night?

So I went through my catalog on iTunes and made a playlist with every song I could remember playing in my car to enhance my nighttime excursions. Here's what I came up with. I'm sure I'm missing something, so don't scold me:

Kanye West - Street Lights

Digable Planets - Pacifics

k-os - Heaven Only Knows

Mariah Carey - Fourth Of July

Common - A Filim Called (Pimp)

Lauryn Hill - Tell Him

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Iyahlonipha Lengane

Lee Moses - California Dreaming

Gnarls Barkley - Who's Gonna Save My Soul

Little Brother - Nighttime Maneuvers

Outkast - Slum Beautiful

Common - The Game

Cee-Lo - Bass Head Jazz

Sade - Love is Stronger Than Pride

Buckshot LeFonque - Phoenix

Amel Larrieux - Infinite Possibilities

Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

Daft Punk - Something About Us

Jeff Buckley - Lover, You Should've Come Over

Erykah Badu - Drama

Mos Def - Sex, Love And Money

Jamiroquai - Didjital Vibrations

Black Star - Respiration

There are a few common themes that I imagined would be prevalent; references to the night, dreams, the passage of time, and emerging or fading lights are abundant. There is also a general sense of introspection and reflecting upon past times or encounters. However, there were some aspects of the list that varied greatly. Tracks like Sade's "Love is Stronger Than Pride" and the aforementioned "Street Lights" by Kanye West feel very vaporous, very ethereal. Others, such as Cee-lo's "Bass Head Jazz" or Lee Moses' "California Dreaming" seem to carry considerably more weight and, at least to me, feel very dense and viscous. There's also quite a range of tempos here, from the soulful jazz ballad "Phoenix" by Buckshot LeFonque to the dark and penetrating Common cut "The Game".

So I offer these to you. If you get a chance, give them a try on your next evening automotive venture. What songs work best at stoplights? On highways and interstates? Surface streets? Do some feel better under a starry night? How about in rain? Or even snow? You may have limitless discoveries, or you may not dig any of them at all. Either way, it's all good! If you have some others you've found inspire you, feel free to share them in the comments of this post. I'm all about new music!

peace.