Radical Face - Let The River In

Let the river in has caught my ear while I listen to this album for the first time. I think the combination of soundscape elements like children's voices and strings which are often associated with the cinema have helped paint a picture in my imagination. The track opens with these voices and their footsteps as they run around the stereo field whilst the piano opens the simplistic element of the track that is built on by bells and guitar (or perhaps lute). With a short pause, the strings make their entrance under a whispering vocal. There continues an interplay between vocals/strings with piano and lute in a call and response relationship that builds until all elements come together with the drums. I particularly like this call and response dynamic as the pairing of similar voices offset each other very nicely. The vocals and the strings support each other with flowing and swelling textures while the bells and guitar/lute are delicate yet staccato in comparison.

Juxtaposing the flow of the other elements in this track is the highly syncopated and complex rhythms of the drums and percussion. I count the groove in 3/4 with snare anchored to beat 3 and the metronome says it's 95bpm. There is an emphasis on the pairing of odd rhythms rather than a 'danceable' back beat. The rhythms of the bells I heard just before the drums enter lines up pretty well with the drums' pattern. As for the tone of the drums, it's quite variegated with many 'voices' utilized. In the second installment of drums the use of 'rim-knocks' are quite prevalent. It's these rim-knocks that make a strong impression for the reverb and delay that puts them in quite a large space. Additionally, there are two simultaneous 'performances' of the rim-knock with one panned to the left and the other to the right. The small differences in timing between them creates a nice natural texture to the sound whilst supporting the width of the stereo image.

There's so much to write about in this track, however I'm going to move on for now and maybe come back to it later.

Newton Faulkner - Clouds

This track is a 4/4 track at 84bpm powered with a 'stomp and clap' type of pulse that supports layers of acoustic guitar, vocals and some synths. The dynamics between sections are my focus for this entry as they quite impressive to me. In addition there are some heavily layered sounds in here that i'd like 'unpack'.

The first thing that impresses me in this track is the great impact that comes with each chorus. Listening at 1:43 (just before the second chorus) we can hear a subtle sweep of sounds that drop much heavier than expected. The reason I believe this works so well is the drop off in volume at the end of the verse which makes the next swell of volume build higher than expected. On my second listen I've noticed that the swell before the first chorus is far less intense. It consists of what sounds like a reverse cymbal where the second one holds the reverse cymbal and bass. The extra detail that goes into making the second chorus more powerful and impacting than the first is indeed very well executed. Jumping to 3 minutes in there's a massive snare drum accent that builds the third chorus to the maximum.

Listening to the 'snare' on beats two and four I feel I can hear three clap sounds above a tight snare that occasionally plays around the clap's back beat. This around the beat snare often acts as a drum fill that in other productions would be played around tom toms. The reason I've described this sound as the 'stomp and clap' is probably because of some other famous tracks that have used this sound and the fact that it is usually an audience participation thing so we hear many overlapping layers. As for vocals, they are clearly double-tracked and supported by backing vocals which are layered in the distance.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Taking a step in the direction of less 'extreme' forms of music, I've decided to talk about a track by Bon Iver. This track instantly satisfies my need for a smoother texture in music after listening to more of the 'hard' sounds in previous entries, The 'smoothness' comes from a clean guitar that washes over nothing more than a simple kick drum pulse. This provides the canvas for the vocals with nothing uncomfortable or distracting to compromise them. The overall effect is an extremely 'intimate' feeling piece of music.

There are certainly many layers activating at particular points in the track to frame the vocal lead. Backing vocals make their support throughout and the sound of guitar feedback takes the drone element of the music to the forefront in the conclusion. The drums are a subtle contributor to this piece, however, I feel like the choice to have the light touch of ride cymbal and pat of snare move in and out whilst not attracting too much attention adds an excellent element of additional intricacy. Without a doubt, this song is a 'grower' and makes excellent use of dynamics to build towards its conclusion.

A note should be made on the layering of vocals on this track. I feel like I'm always hearing at least two vocal tracks and at times, as many as three. Listening at 3:08, I particularly like the panning effect that differentiates these 'instances' of the vocal. You can hear the beginning and end of each voice separately, however each one occupies a different space in the stereo field also. They pan across your ears as they come in in harmony with each other. There's always a bit of distancing effect on the vocals (sounds like subtle reverb) but overall, the vocals are designed for multiplicity and intimacy.

And there's my thoughts for this track! Very refreshing sound for me to listen to. Here's some extra details for this entry. This was released on the Blood Bank EP in 2009 it was produced by Justin Vernon on the Jagjaguwar label.

Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

Moving towards something more recent and not a remix, here's some thoughts on something from the new Flying Lotus. If you have not heard this track or seen the video clip you can click to play it above. In this entry I'd like to talk firstly about the some of the intertwining sounds in this track that create a sound landscape and make for some really beautiful visual/aural experiences.  

The music begins and ends in the ocean, symbolized by samples of deep, bubbling water layered with the 'pressurized' sounds of distant whale calls or perhaps just the sound of water currents flowing around your head. The mixing dynamics of beginning the track with predominantly bottom-end features which then support the higher sounds that filter in is something that I've noticed with a few of my listening diary tracks lately. I think the illusion of under-water sounds are great piece of symbolic sound 'imagery' or 'device' for employing this. We can all relate to the difference in sound we experience underwater and hence it's effective in making an intro grow into a larger spectrum with the progression of the piece. 

The drone of these layers eventually blend with the barking of dogs, the wind and a static 'interference' drone. From this point the sounds build up further with vocals, clicks and a gunshot among other processed percussive and droning sounds.

The next section is transitioned into with the rhythmic 'flutter' of a helicopter passing overhead. Bringing about the juxtaposition in sound is an acoustic guitar melody underpinned by a choir, bass guitar strings and chopped vocal samples. The result is a very smooth sound and release of tension from the drama that precedes it. 

We hear the return of the complex and primary percussive sounds that characterize the Flying Lotus in the next section. The melody set up by the acoustic guitar section is left behind and replaced with the inclusion of a loose and 'wonky' swung groove. The sparkling elements of this section are the focus with bells, cymbals and tambourines occupying a large amount of the mix. The space that this creates is taken advantage of with a couple of bass hits/drops that catch me off-guard (this is good) just before the finale.       

Bob Marley feat. 2pac - No Woman No Cry (remix)

On topic:
So I'm on the topic of remixes at the moment and No Woman No Cry is something I've thought would be quite fun to have a go at. So although I don't have a high audio quality version of this track to listen to this embedded YouTube clip might give me some inspiration for this idea.

What I can hear: 
The instrumental is driven primarily by the organ part with the occasional horn part attached to the end of a phase. The backing vocals can be heard mostly leading transitions between verses whilst the lead vocal part of the original supports Tupac in the chorus section. It's unexpected here but I can hear an occasional cheer and chant from a live audience.

Transitions:
There is some turntablism in this track punching in a 16th note 'roll' rounding out each 8 bar phase of the beat. The organ loop reaches its point of 'upward momentum' at this point also creating an effective anchor for the loop to sound congruent.

Chopping for variation: 
Within this genre, one easy way to create a break section for extra dynamics is to alternate a staccato variation of the loop. This can be heard clearly at 2:34 which fills the small need for variation at the point leading into the last chorus before the "Everything's Going to Be Alright" conclusion.

A final note on drums:
The consistent off-beat hi hat fills the space in the groove smoothing out the dynamics somewhat. It is effective in this case where it matches the up-beat feel of the rest of the sounds. The backbeat on two and four is a snare layered with a clap which is a common system used in the genre. My ear tells me that the clap is nudged slightly late to make it more audible in the mix.

Some thoughts:
After listening to this I've noted a couple of considerations to make for my remix. As I will not have access to vocalist in my project I need to ensure that my treatment of the original vocal is such that it still comes our differentiated from the original. Aside from that, my efforts in the instrumental side of the production must require some extra effort in variations to maintain interest throughout the track. I think I'd like to experiment more with the effects processing at my disposal. With that, this has been good to listen to a second take on an original to help me develop some ideas of my own.

Kimbra - Settle Down (M-Phazes Remix)

Details:
In preparation for some remix work that I need to do, I've decided to do my next few entries on some remixes that I like. Here's one by M-Phazes on a track from Kimbra's album, Vows. The remix can be found as the 13th track from the deluxe edition album Vows (2011) (Warner Bros.) or on M-Phazes - The Remixes.

Groove:
Listening through, the tempo sits at 92bpm on what I would call a partially swung groove with some 'looseness' about it. The bass plays a large part in this with its sway to and from the beat and varied rhythmic patterns. I get the sense of a 'late' bass and early snare/clap making everything quite 'headnodic' for me. The swing of the groove becomes more obvious at 1:10 where hi hat and snare drum are added. I think the dynamic of drums holding a steady pattern whilst the bass takes the dominant position creating countless rhythmic variations is brilliant. The swing of the drums maintains a strong organic feel whilst remaining constant in terms of notation and groove. It provides an excellent platform for the bass which on the whole is quite complex. It's a great reminder that drums don't need to be complex to create a great groove. If I need a rhythmic variation in my music I should look at the bass  before the drums. Keeping one element constant is often needed to allow another to spark into differentiation.

Bass Tones:
Whilst on the topic of bass, this sound uses some distortion. It's operating in some very low sub-frequencies and that distortion is one way to help it catch your ear. As the bass is a primary element in this track, this effort to highlight it among other sounds is quite important and implemented well. The other really enjoyable element of the bass in this track is the prominence of sliding between notes. As it covers a broad range of notes in parts the slide effect definitely adds to its organic qualities.

Vocals: 
Kimbra's vocals are very clearly multi-faceted throughout the track with the combination of backing sections and alternating panning for interesting effect. On one level the separation between these voices can be heard with the central, relatively dry, breathy vocal holding our attention while the more effected and panned vocals fit into the 'distance'. Listening to the break at 2:45, I can hear Kimbra's trademark 'boom, baahhm' bouncing in combination with the use of 'hey!'s for rhythmic accents.

Dynamics in Arrangement: 
With the original album version of this track timing in at 4:08 (94bpm) and M-Phazes' at 5:20 (92bpm) there are some aspects of arrangement that have differentiated this remix from the original. Both make use of dynamic variation with break sections. On first observation though, I'd say the remix builds to it's climax a little slower than the original. Further, the original has stronger contrasts in intensity where the remix keeps quite a casual feel throughout.

Thoughts: 

I love this remix, it's become more familiar to me than the original. The use of a consistent yet organic, swung drum groove whilst creating the majority of rhythmic interest/variation with bass is definitely something I'll be taking away from this one.

Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory (Bare Noize Remix)

This track opens with a strong emphasis on a straight 32nd note feel over a 70bpm kick and snare pulse. Like most electronic genres, the tempo is intrinsic to the genre of music. This dubstep remix is certainly one of the finer pieces of work to explore in the phenomenon of dubstep remixes. It keeps true to the original vocals and builds the track around them quite well. You might hear a lot of dubstep remixes whilst searching YouTube that sound as if the track was made and then the vocals applied on the top without little thought about rhythmic and melodic compatibility. In fact some sound like it's just the original track 'as is' (maybe some filters) and then a long buildup before a brutal hit of bass.

The first synth that we hear follows this groove whilst being expanded to a greater volume and frequency range. I hear a low-pass filter automated in a curve drying out the signal until it reaches its full sound where the next transition occurs. The type of two part intro you hear in this remix can be quite useful for DJs who need to mix between tracks and don't want the hook to drop in before they've got out of the last track. I also believe that might be why we have such rigid tempo constraints for this music as they often begin with the drum groove for transitional intro time.

There's a lot of things to love about this remix but the combination of guitar like sounds into this genre extremely interesting to me. The guitar in some moments gives me the feel of a metal track but the bass is so distinctly dubstep that there's a nice crossover there. However, from my experience there are a lot of metal-heads who have heard 'their music' compared to dubstep with the latter being the 'electronic incarnation of metal' and hated that. With that in mind, that comparison was likely made based on dubstep tracks that don't have guitar like components to them. I've also seen live performances of dubstep combining acoustic drums, guitars and synths that shine more light on this comparison of sounds.

I can't write about this track without mentioning drums. Bare Noize have held the place in mind as having the best electronic drums in the dubstep game. The kick has enough 'thwack' and 'meatiness' to it to hold its own on the aggression element of the music. The snare is loud and you can hear a huge tail on it even when all other sounds are right up there in volume. This track makes use of a lot of reverse snares leading into the next which also helps with its intensity. Finally, go back to the start of this track and check out the variety of cymbals being used. The create the multitude of bright textures that probably sound great to anyone who plays drums... and maybe other people too. There's a wide pan between the sounds which creates nice intricate definition for each unique sound. Additionally, they continue to stand out in the loudest sections of the song (especially while wearing headphones).

Long Arm - The Branches

I've just started listening quite a lot to Long Arm's The Branches album. Here's an artist I discovered through a long chain of music discoveries on Spotify whilst finding artists somewhat similar to The Avalanches. I greatly enjoy the type of 'journey' these big 'sound canvas' like albums create. The Branches is an avant-garde hip hop / jazz record released in 2011 on Project Mooncircle. The track that has interested me most to write is The Branches.

There's a really interesting combination of influences and sound sets incorporated in this six minute epic. There is a definite dubstep influence providing the beat below the first verse; You can hear it in the tempo, swelling sub bass and distant but humongous sounding snare 'impacts'. The most compelling element to my ear however is the emphasis on beat two following a gap where the beat 'hangs'. It's intended to have that rise and fall/drop every bar. With reference to the time of release, the dubstep combination with rap is extremely good in my opinion. I would have expected to hear more of this kind of sound hit mainstream. The hip hop influence can be heard in the rap vocals and to some degree the use of jazz samples.

The way in which Long Arm moves us between purely jazz sounding sections and thunderous sections is very impressive. I like to think of the bass as being slowly 'folded' in under the chopped up samples that introduce the track. As those samples are stripped away I find the snare drum brush pattern played above sub bass quite intriguing. It is certainly unlike other music that I have listened to in this way. That brush is soon interchanged for a thunderous snare drum. There's a long beat delay that trails each impact; It's a swung pattern that in its own way adds an interesting aspect to the groove.

Obviously, the vocals are positioned very centrally and heard clearly in this mix. Below this however, this piece changes focus many times throughout. In the introduction alone, instrumentally, there is piano, double bass, trumpet, drum kit(s) as well as vocal 'cuts'. As the piece progresses, the focus moves simply to drums, bass and vocals. Between verses and the ends of lines there are small spaces filled by piano licks, horns and vocal cuts.

I have so much that I would love to write about this track! However, I wanted to write a final note on Long Arm's impressive 'spaces' created in this track. There is a constant interplay of close and distant sounds in the 'landscape' created. Use of reverb and delay certainly helps build a sense of distance between sounds and shift the focus of our aural attention. It sounds to me like Long Arm wanted to keep the rap as dry and 'close and personal' sounding as possible while the instrumental 'story' was told as if projected on a wall behind him.      

Above: Long Arm performing (photo from his Facebook page)