Sound Experiment

I am going to hit you with another slice of my dearest brit artist; Amy Winehouse.

The first thing I did as soon as I got on the terminal at Heathrow was look for the nearest HMV, luckily enough they had both Back to Black and Frank on sale. Even though I have Frank, through Itunes(the monster), I bought both, some lucky person may end up with my Frank CD.

As I sit here in this eclectic and relaxing lounge, sipping on a tall glass of Bacardi and Grape Fruit(yuck), I can barley wait to dive into the craziness (in a good way) that is about to be Christmas with my family.

Anyway, wherever you are, I am sure you could use another slice of Amy... this is kinda melancholic though. Anyhow I know one of you have or feels this way, I present to you; Love is a losing game.

Irrespective of subject matter I have a great deal of respect for this lady's writing ability.

Posting may lag for a few day, or maybe a couple of weeks as I will be traveling, if you care, you would check back. I plan to hit yall with some original ish from my travels.


Peace!

If you want some straight up real musicianship, no filler, no gimmicks, straight-up artistry, then you need some Count Bass D in your life.

www.countbassd.com is a good place to get information on Count; comprising of a healthy board and a Journal that Count updates regularly, this web page can better bring you abreast of Count discography.

Real Music Vs. Bu11$#!+ is a track from Count Bass D's album Dwight Spitz, a record many consider Count's tipping point. Be it as it may, this track exemplifies the space in which I view Count Bass D's music, that is to say; this Producer/MC makes real music that is a world of difference from the Bull$#!+ we are all force-feed on the daily.

From Pre-Life Crisis to Act Your Waist Size, Count's music is a part of the soundtrack to my life.

True to form, "the future is now", are the first words uttered in this song. Many of you might already know SA-RA, many of you might not. For the newbies, SA-RA is a group that at some point were affiliated with Kanye West's Good Music imprint. I say that to point out a mainstream connection since this cats roots run deeper in the alternative- Electronic/Hip Hop world.

The SA-RA sound describes what you might imagine the elevator music on a space shuttle choke full with tourist bound for Mars in the year 2100, would sound like. With spacious soundscapes sprinkled with concise vocals spoken/sung with a peculiar kind vocal manipulation.

Second Time Around is available on Itunes, however the record I am featuring here today is a remix for DJ Mitsu called Negative Ion, of of a compilation called Informal Introduction one of my comrades gracefully gifted me with. If you can lay your hands on this, please do yourself the favor. By the way Dusty Groove has a 12" called New Awakening that features this track and other remixes of DJ Mitsu's work by other personal favorites like Rich Medina.

A combination of ongoing police brutality, governmental insensitivity, biased media coverage and the racial context in which these phenomena operate has me feeling really angry right now. Sean Bell joins the array of many in this country that have suffered unduly in the hands of the police. I was watching a particular news channels coverage of this story last night and the reporter totally disgusted me, I will stop short of rehashing his comments because they were that painful to digest.

At this moment this record by J Dilla precisely portrays how I feel. I don't now if and which album this song was featured on but it is one of my Dilla gems and it works perfectly right know. Plus, I have learnt that music can be very effective as a conduit to express how I feel and also provide some clarity. Of course I have my opinion about this whole fiasco, but let the music speak.

Peace.

F*#k the police

I hope this empowers someone to take a stand, or sit the f@*k down (taking a stand can be as simple as calling a spade a spade.)

As Guru himself put it, the Jazzmatazz series of recordings represent an experimental fusion of Hip-Hop and live Jazz. On this particular installment of Jazzmatazz, Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) got some serious heavyweights to lend a hand, with Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith and Roy Ayers all making appearances.

The track I have chosen to highlight; Take a look (At Yourself) features Roy Ayers on the vibes. Guru's rhyme on this record doesn't match the greatness that is present on several Gang Starr classics, however this track works for me. I particularly relish how the vibe sound is sprinkled all across the steady baseline that drives the record.

A couple of years ago I noticed that my long-standing romance with cRap** music had began to dissipate. I began to lose interest in music that I perceived as weightless. You know it's a problem when you like a song/single for 2 weeks and by the third week you cant even remember the hook or the songs thesis.

As this got worse I found myself pulling from the archives, records by artists like Gang Starr, Nas, EPMD, Wu-tang became staples on the rotation. Along the way I caught wind of a couple underground/ cult/not-major label artists (terms I dislike) like MF Doom and Count Bass D. A connection was instantly made with Count Bass D's music and this quickly evolved into an expansion of my musical sphere.

This post is not about Count Bass D (expect a post on Count soon.)

One of the artists I discovered through my interest in Count Bass D's music is Jneiro Jarel. This MC/Beatsmith, is indeed a rare gem. N.A.S.A is one of my favorite tracks on the album; Three Piece Puzzle, released in 2005. This album is choke full of tracks that will sound very big coming out of your sound system or headphones. Jneiro's music has a cosmic feel to it, a spacey sound that lends itself to a sensation of timelessness. In today's crowded music scene this artist remains unique.

To avoid confusion I will venture to tell you that Jnerio also records under the alias; Dr. Who Dat?, with a new album; Beat Journey released this year.

** I jacked this very descriptive term from the good folks at dallaspenn

Remy Shand's Debut album, The Way I Feel, was released in March of 2002. I don't recall exactly how this record came into my possession, but I know that it has been a staple in my rotation since 2002. This record manages to be fresh every time you listen to it.

Remy Shand a multi instrumentalist, recorded and mixed the entire album in his bedroom studio at his family's home in Winnipeg, Canada. After drooping out of school to focus on music, Remy began playing in various experimental rock bands but had difficulty finding like minded people to create the kind of music that he longed to make.

The Way I Feel is the culmination of efforts by an artist influenced by Mom and Dads old Marvin, Isley and Al Green records, an artist who took time to dig into personal experiences to pen his songs, thus creating a modern day masterpiece.

As I listened to this album on the expressway last night, two songs stuck out to me; Burning Bridges and Rocksteady, the latter being a more up-beat slice of sunshine.

Femi Kuti is the oldest son of the Late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, like his father Femi quit school, albeit to play the Sax in his fathers band back in the late 70's. The subject of Femi's music has included poverty, politics and other topics covered by Fela, but this track Beng Beng Beng, touches on a more carnal subject. For the better part of 5 minutes this track charges on with an unrelenting concoction of horns and drums as Femi vividly describes a sexual encounter and the subject thereof.

This song earned Femi Kuti a ban from the Nigerian government.

meaning; if you want to go take a shower you will have to use water.

For many years as a youngster I recited these words without a clue of the deeper meaning that Fela Anikulapo Kuti conveyed via his music. I also wondered why the instrumentals always ran for so long before any lyrics (with the average Fela song lasting any where from 10 to 15 minutes.) I remember also wanting to go visit Fela's shrine in Lagos, of course this never happened. Even though my dad played Fela all day at home, a visit to the shrine wouldn't exactly fit in the kind of upbringing my parents had in mind.

Today armed with some degree of fluency in Yoruba which Fela sometimes used in his music, I have a greater understanding of his music. Even without understanding the lyrics, the mere enormity of Fela's arrangements and the resultant robustness of the sound are sufficient to take you to 1970's Lagos, where like it does today, Fela's music makes real the day to day global struggle that is life. And if you don't need a deeper meaning in your music, you would at least appreciate the infectiousness and danceability of this music.

Water no get enemy, is a good starting point in the vast discography of the King of Afrobeat.

Bonus: Africa - Center of the World with Roy Ayers. Listen for Roy on the Vibes and Fela on the Sax. I only wish I saw this live.

*Word up, Matt.

its just good music. Roy Ayers mastered the vibraphone after he was given a pair of mallets at the age of five. From that point on, the vibraphone or vibe became his trademark sound, as exemplified in this masterpiece. Searching is from the album Vibrations, released on Polydor in 1976. Listening to this song will immediately add about 10 points of coolness to your soul.

BTW, Roy has some recordings with Fela Kuti, more to come on that.

Amy Winehouse is a British Jazz/Soul Musician. This song is from her debut album Frank, released in 2003. I discovered this artist through the good people at The number one songs in heaven.
This particular record caught my eye and ears because it uses the same sample/beat, with some added cords and what have you as Nas's epic track; "Made you look"; both songs are produced by; Salaam Remi.

Amy is a fine writer, can you relate to the story in this song?

In My Bed

I just moved to B'more so I figure this classic tune by the great Nina Simone is perfectly symbolic. This song is from an album of the same name called Baltimore released in 1978. Its crazy how these lyrics still apply even today. As an aside when ever you get a chance please watch the Wire on HBO; this show is set in Baltimore and isn't to far from the truth.

Baltimore

I am highlighting a song of the new Jay Z album, called Beach Chair. Chris Martin from Coldplay produced this record; he also features on the hook. This record is so spacey it’s unbelievable. I love how the drums kick in about 11 seconds into the song. This record is what you want to listen to on the tube or subway or maybe on a runway about to take off.
In other words, it is effectively reminiscent.

Beach Chair (expired)

I should be studying for my upcoming exam, but I have wanted to do this for a while. My goal is to share music I enjoy, as opposed to sending emails; you can come here to listen to what the kid is listening to. Sounds like a good idea, right? I will replenish as I feel
Inspired.




This first song is by Be Noir, of a compilation called Lounge Story, I don’t know much about this artist but this song is like a tall glass of ice tea, or whatever it is you like to sip on.

Wake up with me (expired)