Kevin

Feb 282010

3rd Bass: Steppin’ to the A.M.
From: The Cactus Album [Def Jam, 1989]

Banbarra: Shack Up
From: Shack Up single [Atco, 1976]

James Brown: Stoned to the Bone
From: The Payback [Polydor, 1974]

Gary Wright: Can’t Find the Judge
From: The Dreamweaver [Warner Bros, 1975]

Pink Floyd: Time
From: The Dark Side of the Moon [EMI, 1973]

Kool and the Gang: Mother Earth
From: Spirit of the Boogie [De-Lite, 1975]

Spoonie Gee: Spoonin’ Rap
From: Single [Sugar Hill, 1980]

Beastie Boys: Time to Get Ill
From: Licensed to Ill [Def Jam, 1986]

I know that I promised you all that another Anatomy of a Sample post was right around the corner about two months ago, but good things always come to those who wait.  Today’s Anatomy of a Sample focuses on the standout track from one of the best rap albums to come out of the Def Jam stable in the late 80’s.  The act, song and album in question are 3rd Bass with “Steppin’ to the A.M.” from The Cactus Album.  With the Bomb Squad’s versatile samples and exemplary production alone,  this record was destined to be one for the ages.  But these two Mc’s had the skills to pay the bills and then some, with a witty repartee and hard-hitting rhymes that would go on to influence the next generation of independent hip-hop.

However, due to a lackluster second effort called Derilects of Dialect, the group would fade into obscurity, only to reappear on the scene as solo artists in the coming years.  Even though they never achieved the same level of recognition that other white hip-hop acts such as the Beastie Boys, and House of Pain were given on a regular basis, The Cactus Album would prove to stand the test of time.   In fact, as I reached for my cassette tape of The Cactus Album the other day,  a sense of nostalgia rushed over me that took me right back to the day that I first heard this album.

Today, I will be analyzing the samples that were used to create the slamming track “Steppin’ To the A.M” on the pioneering first record from 3rd Bass.  This one gets started immediately with a horn stab taken from the two second mark of James Brown’s “Stone to the Bone”. This sample has been slowed down and the tone has been changed to disguise it’s origin, but it appears several times in the track.  There is a sample of woman’s voice at the one second mark that says “At the sound of the tone the time will be 12 a.m.”.  I was at a loss when trying to locate the sample for this one, but I’m thinking that it could be a person who provided a voiceover for the track, instead of an actual sample.  At the six second mark, a melange of bells and chimes are taken from the twenty second mark of Pink Floyd’s “Time”.

Then, at the ten second mark, the first sign of a drum beat and bassline enter the picture as the ten second mark of Banbarra’s “Shack Up” is sampled to great effect.  It appears that this has been slowed down considerably, as the pace of the original track is much more uptempo than the beat on “Steppin’ to the A.M.”  It took repeated listens to figure this one out, as the Bomb Squad  have expertly crafted this sample to mask its identity.  Coming in at the same time as the Banbarra sample are the high hats from the opening bars of Slick Rick’s “Lick the Balls”.

Next, as MC Serch begins to deliver his first verse on the track, the twenty second mark of Gary Wright’s “Can’t Find the Judge is sampled to add more complexity to the bassline.  After the first verse, the horns from the five second mark of Kool and the Gang’s “Mother Earth” are sampled at the fifty-seven second point of the track.  This horn sample will also appear at the 2:02 and 2:58 point of the track. Directly after the horn sample is a montage of samples taken from Hip hop tracks that feature the word “time”.   First, is the Beastie Boys “What’s the time” mantra taken from “Time to Get Ill”. Then, it samples the lines “Time to Get Stupid” from Public Enemy’s Raise the Roof, followed by the lines “Kickin’ till the A.M.  from Big Daddy Kane’s “Raw”.  One of the samples that is not present in the first group of “time” samples is the :07 mark of Spoonie Gee’s “Two for the time” lyric taken from Spoonin’ Rap.  This makes it’s first appearance at the 2:06 part of the track, and then later appears at the 4:26 mark of the track.  There is a spacey synthesizer sample that plays in the background of these montages, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.

At the 3:17 point of the song, the high hats from the Slick Rick sample are the only thing left in the mix.  But after a few more seconds, the bassline from “Can’t Find the Judge” enters, and it is much easier to identify it with everything else absent from the mix. The song closes out with numerous horn stabs from the “Stoned to the Bone” sample juxtaposed with the time-themed samples from Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Public Enemy and Spoonie Gee.

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Anatomy of a Sample, and I look forward to bringing you more of these in the future.

Please send me any requests for hip-hop songs that you would like to see featured on Anatomy of a Sample, and I will do my best to make it happen.

Jan 122010

Bobby Boyd Congress_front

Fire - Front

Yuya Uchida and the Flowers

Psych Funk 101

The Deviants

Well Hung

 

 

 

 

Bobby Boyd Congress: Straight Ahead
From: S/T [Okapi, 1971]

Fire: Flames
From: Could You Understand Me [Estrella Rockera, 1973

Yuya Uchida and the Flowers: Intruder
From: Challenge [Sony, 2007]

Petalouda: What You Can Do In Your Life
From: V/A- Psych Funk 101 [World Psychedelic Funk Classics, 2009]

The Deviants: Fire In the City
From: Disposable [101 Distribution, 2009]

Neoton: Nora
From: V/A- Well Hung: Funk Rock Eruptions from Beneath Communist Hungary, Vol.1 [ Finders Keepers, 2009]

I know it’s already been close to two weeks since we kicked off the New Year, but I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. Here’s to more scores of wax in 2010 that will make your head spin. I realize I haven’t been posting very often on here, but I’ve been spending most of my time listening to new and old tunes.  You may recall that I posted a compilation of Funk From All Over the World earlier in the year.  The tunes that I am presenting to you today are the second part to this ongoing series of psychedelic funk relics from all over the world.  I have to warn you ahead of time that these tunes are so addictive that you might start to shake when you haven’t received your daily funk intake.  

Instead of inundating you with an in-depth analysis of these tracks, I will present you with quick takes on each track.  The music will undoubtedly speak for itself. 

Let’s bring in the new year with a double-shot espresso of funk that will have you reaching for the repeat button on your stereo.

First off is a slammin’ funk monster from the Bobby Boyd Congress called “Straight Ahead”.  This track is the deep funk that gets under your skin and makes you feel dirty afterwards.  The next track called “Flames” is from a Yugoslavian psych rock band called Fire.  This is the longest track of the bunch at 9:00, and it features numerous breaks that have been used in old-school joints that aren’t coming to my mind right now. If any of you recognize where these breaks have been used, please don’t hesitate to share the wealth.  This is a fuzz-inflected psych rock behemoth that literally pummels your mind.  Next is Yuya Uchida and the Flowers’ “Intruder” which features a funky psych backdrop coupled with hair raising vocals that are reminiscent of Casa Nostra.  

Petalouda’s “What You Can Do in Your Life” is one of the most amazing tracks I have heard in quite some time.  It starts with a deceiving slow tempo and then builds up to a midtempo groover with vocals that recall Grace Slick singing in Greek.  After this, I felt that The Deviants ”Fire In the City”  fit this mix perfectly with a groovy 70’s sound that seems  like something that Madlib would sample on one of his Beat Konducta compilations.  Last but definitely not least is the fantastic track called “Nora” from the Well Hung compilation.  It has a couple drum breaks in it with groovin’ organ and a latin tinged sound that gets you moving.  Phew… I’m sweating right now as I listen to these funky, funky jams.

The next Anatomy of a Sample is on deck, but for now enjoy these funky jams.

Nov 042009

Squarepusher- Music Is

Squarepusher:  Don’t Go Plastic, Ill Descent and Shin Triad
From: Music is Rotted One Note [Warp, 1998]

Before I dive into the subject matter of this week’s post, I would like to personally thank Junior and Chuck for making the switch over to Wordpress without any major issues occurring.   I apologize that I have been missing in action lately, but life has been smacking me around like a red-headed step child.  I hope to get my bearings and post on a more regular basis, but I am unable to commit to any sort of schedule at this point.  Thanks go out to the rest of the crew for bringing the serious funk while I was gone.  Here’s to continuing the legacy of Ear Fuzz on Wordpress.

Today’s post focuses on electro-jazz, a style of music that juxtaposes elements of jazz fusion, funk and soul.  In the late 90’s, electronic acts and jazz musicians began marching to the same drummer, as numerous like-minded acts started  releasing records all over the globe.  I know the name electro-jazz or nu-jazz makes a lot of people cringe, but aside from a few big names like St. Germain and Jazzanova, there is an abundance of great stuff to be found in this genre.

One of my first discoveries of Electro-jazz was the album Music is Rotted One Note by UK electronic act Squarepusher.   This  is essentially the brainchild of Tom Jenkinson who combined vintage  samplers and sequencers with organic intrumentation to achieve a fascinating reinterpretation of the sound Miles Davis mastered on Bitches Brew.  Even though I was merely a jazz novice when I first discovered this record, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Squarepusher and most of the 70’s fusion like Miles, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, etc.  The entire album is not in the jazz-fusion vein however, as it incorporates musique concrete, ambient electronic passages and aural  transmissions from another world.

I am featuring three songs from the album that encapsulate the feel of it as a whole, with two of them sounding like they could have easily been on any Miles Davis album from the fusion era.  Keep in mind that the only instruments used on this record are sequencers, synthesizers, percussion and rhodes piano.

The second track on the record “Don’t Go Plastic” starts out with cymbal splashes and the sound of rhodes piano bubbling under the surface like molten lava.  It slowly builds with percussion that seems to be spliced from different takes, while the rhodes glides through the song like it has wings.  At about the two minute mark, their is a percussive break that is seemingly computer-generated, and then a sinister piano melody plays for a couple bars.  After a brief but impressive drum solo,  a solo kicks in that is like no other.  It is hard to tell whether this solo was achieved through the various sequencers and pedals that are the usual M.O. for Squarepusher, but it sounds to me like a piano is being played underwater while the rest of the band is riding the groove.

“Ill Descent” captures the essence of ambient rock bands like Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze while simultaneously managing to experiment with textures and sound that pull from jazz and avant garde music.  If I had thought of this song when I was compiling my triumvirate of space music comps, it would have fit like a glove.

The last track is a short burst of creative energy that opens with scattershot drumming and electronic sound waves only to switch gears completely into a cacophonous, funky slab of goodness that is just too good to pass up.  The rumbling bassline from Digital Underground’s classic hip-hop track “The Humpty Dance” is the most obvious influence on this track.

This concludes my overview of Squarepusher’s 1998 classic Music For Rotted One Note.  I welcome any comments about other Electro-jazz bands that you guys are digging right now.

Sep 182009

Famous L. Renfroe: Introduction, Children, Believe, It’s So
From: Children [Fat Possum, 2008]

Last week while chatting with a friend after a concert, he asked me and another friend if we’d heard of a blues-gospel artist named Famous L. Renfroe. The answer to his question was undoubtedly written all over our faces. He started to wax poetic about how great this artist was, and that it was the “holy grail” of gospel music. He even started to sing various parts of one of the songs, illustrating his point that the backup singers on this record were definitely the real deal. While I am only a casual acquaintance with this person, I couldn’t help but notice his boundless enthusiasm for the music. I figured that locating a copy of this record would definitely be in my best interest, so I began my search online to see if I could possibly find some sample mp3’s out there.

After searching for an hour, I decided to call it a night and start fresh the next day with an uncluttered brain. While I believe that it’s more about the journey than the destination, I was eager to hear this music that was so highly praised by my friend. I started exploring different avenues, like going to blogs that focus on gospel and funk records, but I eventually scored when I performed a random search on Soulseek and found a person who had the entire Famous L. Renfroe album available to download. Good things definitely come to those who wait!

I was already familiar with the Good God! A Gospel Funk Hymnal compilation that was released on Numero Group in 2006, but I could never be prepared for the magical gospel sounds of Famous L. Renfroe’s Children. Legend has it that these songs were first recorded in 1969, and they were shelved for unknown reasons. I can only guess that it was something to do with its lack of commercial potential, but all it takes is one listen to these gems for you to realize that Famous L. Renfore could have been bigger than Al Green or Sam Cooke.

“Introduction” gets the proceedings started on the right foot with a funky guitar riff, and then the tempo of the track steadily builds as the call and response backup vocals add weight to the unstoppable groove established by the rhythm section. The slow rhythm of “Children” features more of a classic gospel sound with soulful vocals that remind you of classic singers like Otis Redding or Percy Sledge. One of the most amazing things about this song is that the vocals are only accompanied by bass and guitar, and they are placed prominently up front so the listener can hear every nuance of the voices.

On”Believe,” Renfroe and the band effortlessly move into the gritty funk sound that has been showcased on countless Now Again compilations like Texas Funk and Numero Group’s Local Custom’s: Downriver Revival. This song really locks into a low-down groove with fantastic finger-snappin’ chicken-scratch guitar backing up Renfroe’s laid-back but soulful vocal delivery. I believe that “It’s So” is the sole instrumental featured on this record, but it still packs a powerful punch by laying inventive guitar licks over the top of a funky rhythm section.
Whether or not Famous L. Renfroe recorded this album in 1969 seems to be irrelevant. What is important to remember is that the music contained within is pure, unadulterated gospel-funk that keeps you coming back for more.
As far as I can tell this album is available through the Fat Possum website, so make sure to purchase a copy if you are truly into this.

Aug 182009

From: S/T [Odeon Records, 1972]
After a brief flirtation with sub-tropical temperatures over the past couple weeks, I almost felt like Portland had relocated to the Brazilian rainforest. Awhile back, someone here on Ear Fuzz posted a couple tracks from Tim Maia, and while searching for Tim Maia I stumbled onto this self-titled Toni Tornado record from 1972. I couldn’t imagine a better time to break out the intensely funky rhythms of Toni Tornado than right now.
All the trappings of funky soul are here including the James Brown grunts, wah-wah guitars and horns galore. One thing that is for sure- you will not be sitting on your butt listening to this record. The fact that this record clocks in just under a half-hour is the only negative thing I can say about it. All the more reason to put the needle on the record and play that funky beat over and over.
I’m featuring four tracks today, because most of these tracks are under two minutes long. In fact, at about the same time that groups like the JB’s and the Meters would just be getting their groove going, Toni Tornado’s band is whirling towards the exits.
On “Torniente”, the groove jumps out of the speakers faster than you can say “Hot-Damn”. With playfully perverse vocals and a thumping rhythm, this track steadily heats up the dance floor in just over a minute. At 3:02, “Sinceridade” is practically epic, sounding like a slow jam from the start, but the arresting organ solo at the 1:20 mark takes the track into uncharted territory. Mind-numblingly fast organ leads combine with well-timed horn charts and female backing vocals, creating a sublime listening experience. “Aposta” has the trademark grunts and shrieks of James Brown down to a science, but Toni’s band manages to pull off an innovative mix of stylish Brazilian vocals, sax breakdowns and a funky backbeat that would make Zigaboo Modeliste blush. Wrapping up the proceedings for the day, I leave you with the incredibly infectious melodies on “Eu Tenho um Som Novo”. With a baritone saxophone and bongos opening up the track, you know that you are in for a real treat. To paraphrase one of the lyrics from this track, you will definitely be “feeling good and right now”.
This was a fantastic discovery for me, so I would love to hear what you guys think of this.
Jul 032009

Main Source: Just Hangin’ Out
From: Breaking Atoms [Capitol, 1991]

Gwen McCrae: 90% of Me Is You
From: Rockin’ Chair [Cat, 1975]

Sister Nancy: Bam Bam
From: One, Two [Techniques, 1982]

Skull Snaps: I Turn My Back On Love
From: Skull Snaps [GSF, 1973]

Ike and Tina Turner: Bold Soul Sister
From: Hunter [Blue Thumb, 1969]

Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steven Stills: Season of the Witch
From: Super Session [Columbia, 1968]

While the blistering sun is warming the asphalt in Portland today, I thought I would take the opportunity to bless your ears with a sample breakdown from Main Source’s Breaking Atoms.

This record first dropped in the summer of 1991, right about the time when real hip-hop was being replaced by braggadocio and bling. The rhyming and production skills on this record are practically unparalleled in the history of hip-hop, with the dense, layered production enhancing the creative rhymes of Producer/MC Large Professor. Main Source went on to make one last attempt at stardom with the ill-fated Fuck What You Think in 1994, but Breaking Atoms is the one that sticks in my mind as a true classic.

The opening drum break is skillfully lifted from the 1:44 mark of Skull Snaps’ gritty “I Turn My Back on Love”. Shortly after this intro break, the main groove of the track is spliced from the seven second mark of Gwen McCrae’s soulful “90 % of Me Is You.” While the groove is flowing, the laid-back horns taken from the three second mark of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” create a relaxing vibe that is perfect for summer evenings. At around the 1:21 mark of “Just Hangin Out”, a playful vocal part from the thirty-nine second mark of “Bam Bam” acts as a bridge from the main groove. Ike and Tina Turner’s “Bold Soul Sister” and Mike Bloomfield’s “Season of the Witch were also sampled on this track, but I can’t for the life of me figure out which parts of these songs were sampled. If any of you crate-diggers and vinyl enthusiasts have any thoughts about where these samples came from, please enlighten me.

This concludes the Anatomy of a Sample for Main Source’s “Just Hangin Out”. I hope you guys have enjoyed this episode, and I would love to hear about the summer joints you were bumpin’ in 1991.

May 252009

Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm: Ho Ho, Steel Guitar Rag, The Gulley and Trackdown Twist

From: Ike’s Instrumentals [Ace Records UK, 2000]
I was working at Music Millennium when the sound of Ike Turner’s blazing guitar leads first set my ears on fire. Bill Rhoades, Music Millennium’s resident blues expert and harmonica player extraordinaire, turned me on to this phenomenal compilation of Ike Turner’s early sides for little known labels such as Sue Records, Flair Records and a rare medley from Crown Records. While recording these singles during the period of 1954 to 1965, Turner recorded under an alias of Icky Renrut, a moniker that would prove to be fitting considering Turner’s bad reputation with women.
While the “Kings of Rhythm” are no slouches, the focus on this record is undoubtedly on the wildly inventive, whammy-bar inflected guitar solos that Turner wrings from his instrument with reckless abandon. On the opening track, “Ho Ho”, a steady backbeat provides the perfect backdrop to the ringing tones of Turner’s guitar, reaching an almost ear-piercing level of sound that pushes this song into the red. Once the toe-tapping, country backbeat of “Steel Guitar Rag” segueways into a blindingly fast solo by Turner, there is no doubt in my mind that he was a true musical visionary who had the gift of blending disparate styles of music into a satisfying whole.
Elsewhere on this release, Turner provides a subtle guitar accompaniment to the slinky burlesque horns and snaking rhythm section on “The Gulley”. This track is destined to be featured in a scene from a strip-club from a contemporay film-noir set in the middle 50’s directed by Jim Jarmusch. In wrapping up this montage of tracks from Ike’s Instrumental’s, I have to say that “Trackdown Twist” features some of the most intense, lightning-quick guitar licks this side of Link Wray, while still leaving some room for a swampy sax solo at the end.
Turner’s playing reveals someone who has honed their craft by spending countless hours learning the R&B and Rock n-Roll classics, while incorporating influences from diverse genres of music like funk, blues, rockabilly and western-swing. I implore you to try to set aside your misgivings about Turner’s sordid past as you listen to these amazing songs.
As far as I can tell Ike’s Instrumentals is out-of print, but you can find it online at one of the sharity blogs, or on Amazon starting at $25. I offer the best of luck to you in your search for this one, as it is truly worth the time and money spent.
I will be back soon with a mammoth Anatomy of a Sample post, so keep your eyes and ears tuned to Ear Fuzz.
May 192009


Michael Small: Casting Office, First Disco, Laguran’s Disco and Bree Followed on Street
From: Klute Soundtrack [Warner Brothers, 1971]

It’s been awhile since I’ve introduced a new concept here on the Fuzz, so allow me to introduce the first act of Cinema Musique. I couldn’t count the amount of times I’ve been disappointed with a film simply because the musical cues seemed to be manipulating me into feeling something that wasn’t genuine. It’s almost as if the music supervisor needed to squeeze the song into the scene to appease the director, but there was hardly any thought being put into the actual decision of the music selection. Granted, I’m sure that it is not an easy job to select music within a specific budget that pleases everyone from the director to the producers and from the writers of the script to the actors. But skimping on the type of music that is used in a film is like offering someone barbecue without the sauce.

So, while I was toiling away at my day job, I came up with this idea to create a series of posts that explore examples of music used in films that undoubtedly improved the quality of the finished product. Since I enjoy films almost as much as I love music, I should have no problem coming up with fresh entries to keep the readers interested. If any of you have suggestions for future posts in this series, I encourage you to speak up.

Today’s edition is focusing on Michael Small’s score from the 1971 Warner Brothers film Klute. While Klute wasn’t exactly my cup of tea the first time around, I have grown to appreciate it more because of the stellar music featured on the soundtrack. It showcases a wild mixture of fuzz guitar-tinged funk , spooky interludes, orchestral jazz pieces and metaphysical middle eastern dirges. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if someone told me that David Axelrod and Dennis Coffey contributed music to this score in some shape or form.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Klute, so I don’t remember exactly what scenes these songs have been taken from. I would venture a guess that “Casting Office” is probably the background music for one of the scenes in the movie where the lead detective is scouring the crime-ridden streets of New York for clues to a murder. With an intermingling of flutes, sitar, various percussion instruments and a haunting vocal performance, the sound of “Casting Office” can best be described as transcendental.

I can only guess that the funky floorburners like “First Disco” and “Laguran’s Disco” are featured during the segments in the film that are shot in a discotheque. While I’ve never had a soft spot in my heart for the sound of disco music, these “disco” songs have a lot of SOUL. Finally, on “Bree Followed on Street”, ominous piano chords, sparse percussion and various instruments that I can’t even discern are juxtaposed together to create a chilling effect.

I hope you have enjoyed my first foray into the world of Cinema Musique. Please give me a shout if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

Mar 152009

A Tribe Called Quest- Bonita Applebaum

From: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm [Jive, 1990]

R.A.M.P.-
Daylight
From: Come Into My Knowledge [Blue Thumb, 1977]

The Cannonball Adderly Quintet-
Soul Virgo
From: The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free [Capitol, 1971]

Little Feat-
Fool Yourself
From: Dixie Chicken [Warner Bros, 1973]

Rotary Connection-
Memory Band
From: S/T [ Cadet, 1967]
It seems like it has taken me forever and a day to follow up the last Anatomy of a Sample post, but I’m pretty sure that this one is full of joints that’ll keep the heads noddin. Thanks goes out to the rest of the crew at Ear Fuzz, especially Junior and Chuck Da Fonk, for keepin’ it real over the past month.
For those of you who missed out on the emergence of the Native Tongues collective in the late 80’s and early 90’s, it was one of the most exciting periods to ever take place in the canon of hip-hop. The progenitors of this movement included De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest, but would eventualy include such stellar talents as Black Sheep, Fu Schnickens, Queen Latifah and Leaders of the New School.
Out of these groups, it was A Tribe Called Quest who would go on to achieve the greatest amount of popularity with such hits as “Can I Kick It,” “Scenario” and “Check the Rhime.” It was, however, a little tune on their debut record People’s Instictive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm that would give these guys the extra push that was needed to gain a much deserved audience. The tune I’m speaking of is “Bonita Applebaum”.
This song definitely had something fresh and exciting about it that grabbed your attention and wouldn’t let go, at least not that easily. I vividly remember where I was when I first heard it, because it stopped me dead in my tracks. In the early 90’s, when television began showing blocks of rap videos, I would often race home from school and immediately flip on BET to check out the latest hip-hop joints. Suddenly this track came on that instantly pulled me in with it’s catchy chorus, slow rhyming style and jazz-inflected samples. “Bonita Applebaum” seemed to usher in a new era of hip-hop, one in which jazz samples and positive lyrics would seemingly overshadow the negativity of gangsta rap. Who knew what the future would hold for hip-hop ?
Today, I am essentially pulling apart the different sections of “Bonita Applebaum” to reveal the sources of beauty that were sampled, manipulated, tweaked and slowed down to deliver the final track that the hip-hop heads know and love.
The opening salvo is taken from two sections of Rotary Connection’s “Memory Band.” The first part that you hear is a vocal part taken from the the eighteen second mark of “Memory Band ,” whereas the second part is actually a sitar sample taken from the fifteen second mark of the same song. The vocal sample sounds like phaser and reverb effects have been applied to it in order to mask the sound of the original song, and the sitar sample sounds like it has been sped up a notch. After repeating this sample montage twice, the main groove of the song kicks in with the drum kick sampled from the first couple seconds of Little Feat’s “Fool Yourself,” but the producers have sped up the tempo and considerably cleaned up the sound of the drums for extra punch. Similarly, they speed up the funky guitar/keyboard sample taken from the first couple seconds of “Daylight” by R.A.M.P, and laid it over the top of the drums to make the song glide.
The sitar sample from “Memory Band” is also interspersed at several intervals throughout the song, providing natural segueways from the verses to the chorus. Finally, at the end of the song there is a gritty spoken-word segment that has been lifted from the thirty-six second mark of Cannonball Adderly’s “Soul Virgo”. Other versions of “Bonita Applebaum” utilize various samples that range from Grace Jones to Carly Simon, but for this segment I wanted to keep the focus on the samples from the original album version of “Bonita Applebaum”.
I leave you with this final thought to ponder:
Where were you when you first heard “Bonita Applebaum,” and how did it change the way you felt about the direction hip-hop was headed into the early 90’s? I hope you enjoyed this episode of Anatomy of a Sample. See you next time…
Jan 232009

Deep Puddle Dynamics: Deep Puddle Theme Song, Candle and I Am Hip-Hop (Move the Crowd)

From: The Taste of Rain… Why Kneel [Anticon, 1999]

Chick Corea: The Woods
From: The Mad Hatter [Polydor, 1978]

Johnny Dyani: Traditional South African Songs
From: Music For Xaba [Sonet, 1972]

Tomita: Pacific 231
From: Kosmos [RCA, 1978]

First, I would like to say that history has been made since my last post in late October. On November 4th, the American people came together as a nation and unanimously elected Barack Obama as the leader of our country. Then, on January 20th, over two million people gathered at the nation’s capitol to witness Obama being sworn in as the 44th president of the U.S. As he delivered his inaugural speech, you could undoubtedly feel the presence of hope and optimism in the crowd. While Obama recognizes that the road ahead will be bumpy, he has clearly demonstrated the courage and the willingness to stand up for our civil liberties. Let’s get behind him and show the rest of the world what our country really stands for.

It’s been awhile since the last Anatomy of a Sample post, so I thought I would tweak the format just a bit. The previous posts in this series focused on the chaotic production techniques employed by the Dust Brothers and the Bomb Squad on records by Black Sheep and the Beastie Boys. This time around I would like to focus on the more straightforward production utilized by various producers on the Deep Puddle Dynamics debut record The Taste of Rain… Why Kneel.

Deep Puddle Dynamics were a crew of talented MC’s who emerged from the underground to record their debut record on Anticon records in 1998. Slug, Sole, Dose One and Alias were the MC’s in Deep Puddle Dynamics with Ant and Jel providing scratches and production. Slug and Sole went on to become underground phenomenons, while Dose One guested on Aesop Rock’s Appleseed and founded cLOUDDEAD and Themselves with Why? and Odd Nosdam. Anticon would later become one of the most innovative experimental hip-hop labels in the Bay Area, releasing groundbreaking records by artists such as Busdriver, Boom Bip and cLOUDDEAD.
Most of the songs on The Taste of Rain… Why Kneel use samples sparingly, but to astounding effect. On the stunning opening track, “Deep Puddle Theme Song”, an ominous, buzzing bassline is lifted from two distinct parts of Chick Corea’s “The Woods. Even after listening to this song repeatedly, I was unable to figure out the exact part that was sampled, so I am asking for your help on this one. My best guess is that the random sound effects and piano squiggles from the opening bars of “The Woods” were juxtaposed with the last part of the song when the deep tones of a synthesizer kicks in at the 3:59 mark. However, I think the producer of the track slows the sample down and changes the pitch to achieve the rumbling bass tone.

When I first came across this record, the second track “Candle” was my favorite because of the ambient piano sample contrasting with the hyper-speed rhymes of Alias and Sole. All four MC’s trade off on this classic banger with complex lines like “Consume my space to play an intricate role behind those shadows on your face”, and “Being surrounded by wax, you’d swear I was a DJ- Even in this nocturnal life I never see the light of day”. The sample is taken from the 1:21 mark of “Traditional South African Songs” by Johnny Dyani, a spiritual jazz record released on Sonet in 1972.

The last sample in this post comes from the track called “I Am Hip-Hop (Move the Crowd)”. This is one of the dopest samples I have heard in my years of listening to hip-hop, because it inspires the listener to nod their head in unison to the thumping beat. The main sample from “I Am Hip-Hop (Move the Crowd) is taken from the 1:23 mark of Tomita’s “Pacific 231″. It sounds to my ears that this sample is an analog synth that resembles a moog synthesizer, but I wouldn’t bet my life on this. I think that they sped up the sample to fit the mood and style of the track.
That completes this edition of Anatomy of a Sample. I hope that you have enjoyed this slight variation of the original theme. Please give me a shout in the comments with any extra information or thoughts you have about the tracks I’ve posted today.