Everybody's Gotta Live.

In the spirit of the new year, I would like to spread good music as far as possible, so please share this with someone who you think might enjoy and tell them to tell a friend and so forth and so forth.  This is a remix I did of 'Everybody's Gotta Live' by LOVE, a band created and fronted by Arthur Lee (R.I.P.).  The original song is just acoustic guitar and vocals, so everything else you hear is me.  Thank you Oli (my brother) for laying in the bass parts!  Have a great new year and remember: don't just be... LIVE.

Everybody

Bounce.

I'm not saying this beat will make you smell better, but it should make you you bounce in your chair a bit.

Bounce

The Spawning.

One day back in high school I was at a yard sale and I saw this dusty old VHS for sale, and with a name like 'Piranha 2: The Spawning' , I could not resist buying it immediately.  My younger brother and I probably watched it about 4 times, and after a while the music started to stick with me for some reason (the flying piranhas, not so much).  I got the samples for this beat from a tense underwater scene (if my memory serves me right), and not only that but I had just purchased my first Technics 1200 turntable and decided I would 'scratch' (though I had never done so before), and this is the masterpiece that came from that session.

Spawning

 
 

Smooth S%$#.

Stay smooth (and classy).

Smooth

Relax. Unwind.

It is that time of year to relax and unwind, and most importantly spend time with friends and family.  That is part of the reason there were no posts the past couple days, but I'm sure you can forgive me.  Here is a short chilled out beat I made years back.

Relax

All The Love.

A reminder to everyone during this holiday season, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, to show extra compassion and caring throughout your day.  You would be surprised how little effort it can take to be considerate.  On that note, here is a drum heavy hip-hop beat.

All The Love

Tabla Wolf.

This track is what happens when you pull 3 entirely different records out of your collection and blend them together....  The main piano/tabla sample is from Oregon (world/folk group), bassline is from a soul 45 but I can't remember which one, and Howlin' Wolf provides the blues hum and harmonica licks.  An unlikely combo, but I think it worked out pretty well. This is another one from the high school sessions.

Persuasion

Trumpet In My Soul.

Jazz is my favorite genre of music, and has often inspired me to make music, pick up an instrument, or even just go outside and enjoy nature.  The song 'There's A Trumpet In My Soul' by Archie Shepp grabbed me right away when I first heard it, if my memory serves me it was in my parents collection but it may have been something I picked up back in high school.  Anyways, I sampled and chopped up the track and this is what I came up with.....

Soul

Keep It Short.

A dedication to those snippet style beats, the ones that are barely longer than a minute (or shorter).. just enough to make you want to rewind and hear it again.  I think the picture speaks for itself. 

Shorty #1


Shorty #2


Shorty #3

Hiatus.

Ok, so after that 2 day "stretch" of no blog posts I am back!  A very close friend (a.k.a. brother from another mother a.k.a. man with the bass in the place a.k.a. the sweat collector selector) was in town from overseas and we had more important issues to tend to such as hanging out and playing music loudly as to upset the neighbors, talking nonsense and dropping knowledge bombs until 6 in the morning at the studio, DJing a Christmas party that was filled with great people and great music, things of that nature.   Since I left you high and dry though, I am including 2 short bonus beats on top of my daily headknodder so you don't feel like you missed anything at all. 

Remember Me

Bonus Beat 1

Bonus Beat 2

Gutter.

Apparently I went through a phase from 2002-2004 when I made grimy (see: gutter) street beats, so here is one of them for your listening enjoyment!

Gutter

Midweek Grit.

This post is dedicated to those who get grimy and gritty on a day to day basis.  The picture is of a filthy piece of wood which I thought looked pretty damn good.  I definitely had some grit in mind when I made this track back in 2002.

Strictly Organic

Flurries.

Today is a perfect day to stay inside and focus on whatever you may be working on, today in Toronto we finally have some significant snow happening and it is NOT warm outside.  Here is a beat I made a few years back, someone posted samples up on a music forum and a bunch of producers took a crack at using the same sample to make a beat.

Winnah

Everything Is Connected.

I chose this photo because I really like the multiple roadways and overpasses all connecting together, and something about the contrast of the sky with the concrete caught my eye.  This track was inspired by the more acoustic sounds that you don't usually hear in hip-hop beats, but acoustic guitars and upright bass can work really well if you do it right.  I get pretty busy with the drums on this one (thanks MPC 2000).. : )  It was made during this exact time of year, but 9 years ago...

Effortless

Collage.

A rainy Sunday night track for those of you who might be lazing around on your computer,  this track is essentially a compilation of different short beats all put into one long track, sewn together with short interludes from records.

Collage

A Foolish Game.

I am pretty sure this was the first beat I made where I sped the record (LP) up to 45 RPM instead of 33, to get the tempo up to a hip-hop tempo... I was never a fan of the "chipmunk" vocal sound but I think it kind of works here.  The photo clearly relates to the title of the track...

A Foolish Game

Influenced.

There is no deeper reason for the title of this track other than the fact that I indulged in a fair amount of greenery right before putting it together...you will be able to hear it in the music (I hope...)... shout out to my boy Ennio.

Influenced

Musical Medley.

This one goes back to Junior year in high school, I had a bunch of samples I wanted to use so I just made 5 short beats using the same drums / bassline, hence the name Medley....I have a couple more beats with this approach which will be posted at a later date.

Medley (Pt. 2)

Sit Back. Think Back. React.

Here's another one influenced by my heavy Endtroducing listening sessions, and additionally Pre-Emptive Strike by DJ Shadow, mainly for the track 'High Noon'.

Lots of different drum programming and sample layering went into this one, as I was starting to use my MPC 2000 more frequently.  The drum break is by the band Port Authority... I will leave up to curious parties to Google that ish.

Reaction Satisfaction

Collaboration.

The traditional method of making hip-hop beats usually involves one person sitting in their room / studio / where ever they make music, and putting something together on their own.  I love this part of the process, when I can be with my own thoughts and ideas and have no distractions.  Regardless of how comfortable this method is for many beat makers / producers, it can limit you to a degree, and creative collaboration can be a good way to influence your ideas and sounds.  There are instances when it will not work at all , you might bring someone in who has ideas that clash too much with your vision but at least you gave it a try and learned from the experience. 

This track was originally started as just drums and samples and my good friend (and incredible musician) Alonzo ( http://soundcloud.com/alonzo-wang ) played the keys and bass line on this one, circa 2002.  I love what he added to the track, it definitely allowed me to create more of a musical arrangement.... the moral of this long winded paragraph is:  collab with someone whos music you feel and see what happens!

West End

Full Moonset.

Some instrumental hip-hop to start your week.....made back in late 2001 around this time of year.



Full Moonset

Rainy Daze.

There is something great about the rain, unless of course you are caught in it and you don't want to get wet.  I use to work on music inside while it was raining all the time, I remember specifically waiting for it to rain before starting a track sometimes, because the rain used to be loud on the roof and sometimes I would hear patterns and rhythms in the downpour.   Appropriately, this track starts out with rain and thunder and then some maniacal laughter, I am not sure what compelled me to add that laughter, but it is kind of funny.  Either way, enjoy the music and enjoy the rain!

Sentiment

Illusions.

I love movie soundtracks, the tension, the instrumental pieces, the different moods that the composers create, it makes for a great listening experience... also they are awesome for sampling.   I definitely sampled some Michel Legrand for this one, from 2 of his soundtracks: The main samples were chopped from a song from "The Windmills Of Your Mind" OST, which is great. There are a couple string chops from 'A Matter Of Innocence' which is full of wicked tracks, including some funky ones with nice guitar and drums. I don't know where I got the guitars from though...

Illusions

Don't Touch My Organ.

This beat contains some organ licks (see 2:43 in video) I grabbed from the legendary duo of Brian Auger + Julie Driscoll , for a b-boy breaks style track, pretty minimal and repetitive.  If you watch their video with the sound off and listen to my track it is kind of trippy.  If you listen to their song and watch their video at the same time, be careful.

Groove