Hip Hop and Rap has always captured my attention when the drumming sounds live. The live rhythmic elements make drummers everywhere want to sit down and play a groove that lives in the pocket like a hermit. This new track by Koi Child is on a level of arrangement that makes what starts out as a decent hip hop song into a musical journey that almost ends too soon. This is the prefect way to start your long weekend. Enjoy your SOTD, friends.
Oh man this SOTD is funky. People in my office are hearing it only because my chair is squeaky and I cant keep still while listening to it in my headphones. The grove permeates through all the instruments and vocals instead of relying on only the rhythm section. Unknown Mortal Orchestra are new to me but they have three albums already and have received acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork for their great Psychedelic sounds. ‘Scuse me while I dive into some new ear candy. Enjoy your SOTD, lovers. <3
Anyone who’s a drumming fundi will know who Jojo Mayer is. He’s the drummer for that trippy band Nerve which pretty much rides on his insane chops. Between Zero and One is a short film inspired by his TEDX talk. To be honest, he says a lot of nothing in this video. The idea he starts conveying sounds like it has potential but he never really elaborates on what this place between the binary yes and no means. The idea is a lot more romantic to music purists who can project their own meaning on the idea. Which is why I was drawn in by the video. The main reason I kept watching was the drumming performance. He’s a machine. Anyone can appreciate those chops. Damn. I need to go practice.
In a world of short attention spans and popularistic tastes, music like this stands out to me. The aural bliss in the beginning is like that long climb upwards on a big rollercoaster. The best way to enjoy it is enjoy the view, relax and wait for the drop. Go follow this guy on soundcloud and enjoy your SOTD, folks.
Flako writes music with feeling that grabs you and moves you like a puppet. Even this slightly melancholy song makes the head sway and the heart soar. It’s perfect sunday listening. Sit back and Listen to this great Sunday SOTD.
One of my dreams is to go to Abbey Road studios and ogle over all the working music history. The thought of having all that equipment at the fingertips to make the best of analogue and digital together makes many musicians and audiophiles drool all over their cheap soundcards.
Google has brought my dream tantalisingly closer by creating a virtual tour of the studios. The only next best thing is getting on a plane and going to the legendary temple of The Beatles, Hans Zimmer, Florence and the Machine, and many others. The tour is packed with tidbits of information for laymen and audiophiles alike. You can hear the difference in sound when the tour guide talks in different parts of the studio. Great attention to detail has made my dream a virtual reality. Go check it out and try not to get lost.
Here’s some groovy music for the beginning of your weekend. This song has garnered more than a million plays in 6 months which is not nearly as much as it should be played. Enjoy your SOTD my minions. It’s up for free download too! Go fourth and jive <3
I posted a rather rash and harsh status on Facebook the other day about the critically acclaimed movie Whiplash. I got quite a heavy backlash from my friends for my negative review because I didn’t look up the facts. “Don’t make a movie about drumming if your lead actor can’t drum for shit” was my socially retarded rant. I was wrong because Miles Teller is in fact a great drummer. What led me to believe that he couldn’t play was the discrepancies in what I heard and what I was seeing on the screen. It’s no wonder because the drumming in the soundtrack is utterly insane. It’s the kind of drumming that anyone can appreciate as difficult on a master’s level. Still, I thought the veil of movie magic could have been thicker and that’s just my shitty opinion, okay?!
The drummer Antonio Sanches (he did the soundtrack of Birdman) said it best for me in his interview with Giles Peterson:
“…I have mixed feelings. As a drummer, I didn’t like it too much. As a regular filmgoer that wouldn’t know anything about drums it’s a good movie… to me it’s more like a sports film with an athlete and a coach more than a music student and a teacher. I mean I understand you have to dramatise stuff. Probably if I was a lawyer and I saw ‘The Firm’ I would be like ‘oh come on, thats not real’. But I think the thing that I liked the least about it is that at no point in the film I saw any joy from anybody playing music. That totally defeats the purpose of playing music, so if it’s all tension and anxiety it’s not a very good message if you want to get people into Jazz.”
So if you like tension, drama, good soundtracks, good acting and thrillers, watch whiplash. If you’re looking for a beautiful representation of the Jazz industry, you’re better off watching an old Glenn Miller video.
