I was reading this interview of brother E.Z. Mike in Waxpoetic and couldn’t stop but think that Funk is so central and yet so not understood.
E.Z. Mike did with King Gizmo the insanely funky and acclaimed Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique, Beck’s Odelay and Fight Club soundtrack among others.
Question:
Waxpoetic: “I’ve run into a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds who really dig the Fight Club soundtrack. Along with the movie, it’s really become a cult classic as an instrumental record. Do you feel that record now?”
E.Z. Mike: […] To me, the funk is the core of everything I do. To me, the thing I focus on is the bass and the beat. To me, that’s the driving force of music at least [the music] I want to hear. So I always start there; that’s the foundation. The cool thing is, with funk as the foundation I mean, it’s incredible how versatile the funk is: you can throw anything on top of it and it works. […]
That’s why as a music producer from the 2000s I did start to dig funk in its original flavor from the 70s to 80s instead of wanting to buy the exact same sample machine of some famous hip-hop producer or stuff like that.
People may think that I appreciate and love funk and soul music just for the black side of it but that’s not my first argument. The argument is musical: funk is the foundation of almost all the music of the last decades. It evolved to hip-hop – like it or not, it’s the most international music ever, it’s everywhere-, it gave soundtracks that funkyness, it is the base of house music, JPop etc. It almost gave birth to reggae too (the US RnB and jazz were the biggest influences on Jamaïca well-known music).
The versatility of production on funk records is seriously quite unmatched. There is no music with that wide choice of how the record sounds, from heavy bass to heavy horns to heavy guitar saturated or not, heavy keyboards, synthetizers, to heavy beats with all the gradient between them all together. It’s truly amazing.
Picture of the funk. Keywords: Sun, urban, dirty, searching, exciting, cool.
So when listening to Paul’s Boutique or whatever in the 90s sample music I was always really frustrated to only have a fragment, a loop, two bars of it. I wanted all the funk and nothing but the root, the original. I was always thinking “there must be a lot more that this breakbeat which is brilliant but I want to listen to more. Btw who the fuck is Bob James???”.
There is so much to learn about music and its effectiveness with funk:
“Funk utilized the same extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths. However, unlike bebop jazz, with its complex, rapid-fire chord changes, funk virtually abandoned chord changes, creating static single chord vamps with little harmonic movement, but with a complex and driving rhythmic feel.
The chords used in funk songs typically imply a dorian or mixolydian mode, as opposed to the major or natural minor tonalities of most popular music. Melodic content was derived by mixing these modes with the blues scale.”
I mean funk is simply a lighter and rhythm based jazz music. It’s like it tends to be the most efficient way to make you wanna move physically or “active in your head” using music knowledge from bebop which is one of the most expressive and complex music ever created. That’s why it works so well, body and soul at the same time. It comes from there.
And yet funk is either consider as gimmicky, soul-less (compared to rock like U2 maybe, but it’s less boring) or meaning dancefloor and bottom bell pants.
It’s way more than that. You should dig more my friend.
“Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.”
I’m glad I realized that years ago. That’s why I have always been giving my music on high quality compressed files with a rss feed (the so called podcast system). If I search my music on the net, a lot of Chinese websites appear and are giving my music away too. Maybe they get some money from ads but I’m happy to see dozens, hundreds of download of MY stuff.
He continues and this is where it gets interesting:
“Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special - make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan.”
Beastie Boys do that with the help of Topspin. Vinyls, digipack CDs, t-shirts you name it.
But I always find that it lacks something, from a consumer and technology point of view: multichannel. Listening to music when it blasts from the four corner of your room is amazing, no question about that. I’m doing it since years now and everytime I get back to plain old school stereo, it’s just sad. I know I do sound and music and for a lot o people it’s not worth it, as HD video is not really impressive for me. But still very enjoyable. Same thing!
So why bands and music producers around the world are not playing this high-end card, releasing multichannel remixed albums (not on physical support of course, because it’s really expensive whether it’s DVD-A or SACD)? Why not trying to break through with innovation and technology? A lot of artists in history did just that, technology has made some albums timeless: Pink Floyd, MJ, The Beatles, Genesis, Herbie Hancock etc all used that to go further and make money. Better sound, sounds you have never heard before, not just more convenient or gimmicky stuff like we do today (mp3s, ringtones, autotune).
I’m only listening to stereo files converted to 6 channels dolby digital on-the-fly (thanks Auzentech) and yet it’s way better than 2 channels. So immersive. So 3D. So not FLAT.
Opportunities to go further in sound and audio experience are tremendous! While the video industry pushes hard to have consumers going HD or even UHD, in the audio industry it’s simply a mess, thanks to patents (yeah Dolby/DTS I’m looking at you) and music labels totally deaf to what is going on. They can’t learn: the biggest success ever in the AudioVideo industry is the DVD Video, when everybody was behind ONE format. DVD Audio vs SACD? Everybody lose. HD-DVD vs BR? Everybody lose. The DVD Video is the less DRM’ed of them all and guess what? It’s the most successful physical support ever. I don’t expect those industries to understand the value of multichannel sound files, offering some real standards (speakers connection, file format) and how it’s the future of music.
I know, the AudioVideo hardware industry doesn’t want to go physical support-less because it would kill a big eco-system of retailers, players sellers, distribution deals etc. As a consumer/producer, I totally don’t care, I want what is possible today. Now.
Today you have some devices letting you to stream music around your house, we experience multichannel audio since Fantasia in 1940 (!!), we have cheap multichannel sound cards and speakers systems, why bands are still selling digital download of 2channels MP3s saying it’s top-notch and complaining about piracy? Get consumers something really better that what you find on p2p, push them to get legal by using innovation! In the digital format there’s more than just mp3s or FLACs files.
People doing music should think about getting noticed and expand their future. As respectful as I am for Vinyl junkies, it’s not going anywhere in this massive digital world and it’s not affordable for artists beginning their career when multichannel audio is possible with a little budget, even if it’s a lot of work (3 times more speakers). We only need more standards and less bullshit. In the audio world it’s a curse. A very slow one.
L.A BoppersWell Deserved Rest album Make Mine Bop! 1982
J’écoute peu de jazz finalement. Ce doit être pour ça que ce morceau fort classique me plait tant. J’arrive pas à ne pas avoir un sourire quand elle dit “I’m not in a hurry, I ain’t got no worries”, je me vois allongé sur une plage à prendre ce repos.
Donc la loi bidule et tout ce tintamarre, ça m’saoule. Il y avait un truc à faire pour que ça n’arrive pas; non pas ne pas voter, mais ne pas valider les offres légales de merde, toujours basées sur l’ancien système extrèmement compliqué et bancal, pas du tout légitime au vu du tout numérique mais quand même glorifié par tous les magasins online (ils ne devraient prendre aucun artiste ayant un contrat avec un éditeur). C’est à cause d’elles que les majors ont pu s’appuyer et chuchoter très fort dans l’oreille du pouvoir “s’il y a des offres légales alors les vilains pirates, serrez les tous !!”.
Tout ça c’est de la merde. Les amoureux de musique s’en contrecognent ils download, goûtent et achètent plus de musique qu’aucune génération ne l’a fait, malgré l’accroissement du divertissement. Bien sur les majors et labels touchent moins mais on s’en fout, la musique va bien, la musique est partout.
Donc je vous offre une petite compilation de saison pour fêter tout ça. Before Summertime.. Parfaite douceur et bande-son du mois qui nous réchauffe et nous donne le sourire. A deguster à volume moyen en chillant au soleil.
Soul Jazz Funk Bossa, rare groovy tunes, nothing more. By David “Big Foot” Quazar.
Urban Dance SquadAlienated, album Persona Nongrata 1994
J'ai un souvenir énorme rattaché à ce morceau: un tour de vélo en seine et marne, un walkman à K7 avec un EQ trois bandes sur les oreilles fonçant à la cabine téléphonique du village suivant pour appeller mon amoureuse. Même que j'avais prévu des pièces de dix balles au cas où la cabine ne prenait pas les cartes à puces.
Quand l'album tombait sur cette piste je sais pas... Je ne comprenais pas vraiment l'anglais à l'époque mais "alienated" c'est facile à capter quand même, je me sentais concerné (la guitare torturée et la rythmique lourde sont fantastiques) sans vraiment savoir pourquoi. Le feeling.
Extrait des paroles (name dropping ftw):
Humans so shady, man it amazes me How I can’t lose my cool and snipe like wesley Especially when testing me, god I might stun ‘em Got somethin’ in common, then I run from ‘em Alienated, alienated, People got me wrong man, a millionated So complicated, so frustrated, Wish I got faded, alienated
"Un bruit blanc est une réalisation d'un processus aléatoire dans lequel la densité spectrale de puissance est la même pour toutes les fréquences."
Autrement dit, même patate pour toutes les fréquences. Un son (une voix, un bruit dans la rue, une note de musique) est constitué de plusieurs fréquences. Mais jamais de toutes si c'est le cas ça s'appelle du bruit, facilement réalisable avec sa langue et sa bouche ("pshhh").
Voilà l'empreinte graphique du bruit blanc:
Ouh c'est blue.
Voici l'empreinte graphique de Water of Nazareth de Justice:
Ouah ça respire dis moa.
Voilà l'empreinte graphique de If you wanna feel alright de Tortured Soul:
haaa enfin de l'air mon gars !
Justice et toute la musique de ce style (ce monstrueux copié/collé quand même piqué chez Patrice) ont un méga problème: énorme patate (normal avec toutes les fréquences possibles à donf) mais votre cerveau ne processe rien. Le cerveau et ses capteurs soniques ne sont pas designés pour traiter du bruit au contraire, les oreilles refusent la profusion d'information et sont très efficaces à l'effacer de votre conscience. Vous ne vous en rendez même pas compte.
Le cerveau finit vite par abandonner et qu'est ce qu'il reste pour moduler la musique: le volume. D'où les gimmicks sur une mesure répétés plus ou moins forts, avec plus ou moins de fréquences rajoutées pour court-circuiter vos oreilles.
Ce qui fait que c'est parfait pour se décrasser les cages à miel un coup en sautant sur place en head-bangant sa mère, mais ça ne peut pas tenir l'épreuve du temps vu qu'il n'y a rien à mémoriser en particulier, il y a du son partout, c'est l'overdose du début à la fin. La musique est un dialogue dynamique, pas une police de caractère en 42 bold avec du !!! partout, tout le temps.
Musique de l'époque: tout, tout de suite, rien demain.
Le froid gris et brun de l'automne. La ville, la pluie captées parfaitement par cette production de Première qualité intemporelle. La boucle, le mantra. Le changement.
Paroles (travaillez votre flow un peu):
"At the end of 1974, when daddy dukes went raw
The chosen sperm to explore and reach the egg for sure
A child through the birth canal on the nine mo' trial
Released on this wild earth, my generation hit worst
Will my development arrested by the government
Younga niggas strugglin', livin' life got me wonderin'
New shit I'm discoverin', yo son I can't sleep
Situation so deep, my niggas drownin' in the streets
Another rapist'll stalk, a younger murder is walked
They got shit locked in a fort, a buck fif' if you're tossed
Verbalizin' hard times, findin' ways to recline
Dedicated to the rhyme brought your shades and your wine
I survived hard times prime time, as I rewind
My thoughts and remmeniss, sippin' O.E. quarts
Rest in peace to my peeps who died up in the streets
Fuck Halloween treats cause ain't shit sweet
Chorus:
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Growin' up on the Brooklyn streets
It was hard for Black T to make these motherfuckin ends meet
The first store that closed up got stuck
and if you didn't gimme your cash
I'd put one in somebody's gut
I ran buckwild through these streets with this group of individuals
Commiting crimes well performed like a ritual
Until one day my momz tried to send me up-state to job core
I didn't know what the fuck for
So I, pulled out my pals
And called up the nigga Al
What's the deal son it's been a fuckin' long while
He said yo Black T, I had this dream about this cream
I'm going all out for mines by any fuckin' means
We grabbed our pen and pads
And wrote about this world gone mad
And how times was getting real bad
But what we need to do
Is connect with them other two
And make that dream you had come true
I'm out the front door
Don't wanna deal with this bullshit no more
What for? I'm ready to throw this heart on the floor
Back in the days, yo, Ty had it all
Women on call, sex and all
Summer, winter, spring, and the fall
Then my momz broke out to get away from men why no doubt
Then I settled down and made one girl a spouce
Should of known, couldn't replace momz
My heart rang the alarm, situation was da bomb
I roamed the streets, started smokin weed
Drinkin Heinie's tappin' hinies
Writin' words to rich beats
Became an everyday stuggler
Stereotyped a hustler
Constant bother
Resided with my father frequently talked with my mother
Reactions crazy, revenge thoughts, maybe
Asking what am I doin here
Someone come save me
Cause I feel I got no purpose
*?Dabilatino?* surface
There's different type moves
With an attitude that's nervous
And nothing can help me maintain my mind frame
Now I'm doing shit I never did before
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Brought up on green and patch
You'll never have no ash
and everyday I find myself in the same old fashion
Saddened, my same fuckin' Pumas and Lees
Tore up at the knees
That would always squeeze
My buns, I have no funds
I'm young and dumb
Left school at three o' clock
To face an eviction
In tears as it appears my crib for years
Has just been rented to the landlord kids
No rhythm, cause my rep grows rather rash
Surpassed thrid class quick to stash, when the photo flash
In contrast, I was labled as an outcast
Afraid to tell the cast
Cause chicks can tell me kiss they ass
Low self esteem but mom dukes kept me clean
Swayed from Spalding, Paydays and madman drinks
Shantlell my princess, she will live to be a queen
And as the moonbeam
Me and my team we'll be countin cream
Change, my life has changed
Change, (change) and I will never be the same
Change, the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Change, you should make a change
Change, (change) and you must never be the same
Change, Evil Dee has changed
Change, (change) and he will never be the same
Change, Beatminerz change
Change, (change) and it will never be the same
Change, yes the world has changed
Change, (change) and it will never be the same"
Découvert totalement par hasard par le biais d'une vidéo de Processing, j'ai craqué sur ces voix. Morceau ensorcellant, cotonneux avec ces strates de voix majestueuses, parfaites. Ca aide pas à commencer la semaine mais pour finir un dimanche soir, c'est pas mal. Chhht, c'est beau...
Totalement l'ambiance de ces si belles journées précédentes, tant de sourires et de bonne humeur et malgré tout, ce poids dans le crâne et dans la poitrine. Thanks to put it in the best way I could describe it Omar..
"When you feel that you’ve had enough
And the times are feeling really much too tough
Just take it out get some fresh air
Feel the breeze cool the heat taking over your head
Too much to mention of what’s going on
But please believe me there’s so much i gotta cool it down
All i have to do to stop is out the door
I know i can make it have it all
I don’t have to take it with my back against the wall
I feel it inside to get my self right outside
Whatever’s in my head no time to solve
Just time to get away
I’m getting out for the day
I’m gonna take it all the way
My daddy says when he’s old enough
He gonna go back to the place where he grew up
He can feel the world closing in
He says it’s time for a new way of thinking and living
Too much to mention of what’s going on
But please believe me there’s so much i gotta cool it down
Repeat chorus
If it’s about to blow then take it outside, get outside"
Mais reste souple brotha. Et avance encore, encore et encore. Typiquement le genre de morceau où les paroles sucrées ne m'atteignent quasiment pas, tout repose sur ce groove on chanté par ces soul sirènes, cette guitare et ce euh groove (powered by the bass you know). Peu importe l'effet final est atteint: j'ai envie de bouger de toujours avancer d'être synchro. De me laisser porter. Et d'oublier.
