Summer Afro Inspiration
June 21st, 2011Wubit with Muluken Melesse – Mulatu Atatke
Noble Tree Feat Segun Damisa – Fanga
Rite of the Ancients – Budos Band
Going Uptown (To Get Down) – United 8
Posted by avocado kid. // Comment now »Cry of the Hawk
February 16th, 2011Hey all,
Here’s my nonstop mix trilogy of funk (old and new), latin/brazilian soul, sound library, afrobeat, hip-hop, 70′s TV theme songs and other filthy grooves which I spliced together with random skits, spoken word and hawk cries. Jam on it!
I can provide track listings if you email me.
Sweet Kev
Posted by Sweet Kev. // 1 Comment »Bollywood tunes
July 9th, 2009Chakra Khan
Jan Pahechan Ho
Title Music
Dance Music (I)
Rafoo Chakkar (Untitled)
Side 2
June 12th, 2009My and my soul brotha Brett were talking about how amazing the entire 2nd side of Abbey Road is, and we ended up jamming our way through the whole medley. In honor of that occasion I have a few nice versions to share:
It’s hard to substitute anything for the Beatles’ distinctive vocals, but Booker T’s organ does a decent job filling in, and the arrangements, though straightforward renditions, bring out the soulful/bluesy side of the Beatles’ compositions.
Somewhat incongruously, I also have a take by Bola Sete, who tackles 2 bits of the medley in a twangy, funky, vaguely psychedelic style.
Bola Sete – Polythene Pam/She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
From George Benson we have a very schmaltzy take on Here Comes the Sun that gives way to a groovy I Want You.
George Benson – Here Comes the Sun/I Want You She’s So Heavy
Lastly, Jackie Mittoo’s Wishbone, which, while not exactly a cover, certainly reveals a large shall we say “influence” from Abbey Road.
Posted by avocado kid. // 2 Comments »The Funky Drummer
April 9th, 2009
James Brown – The Funky Drummer
James Brown – Funky Drummer (bonus beat reprise)
Grandmaster Flash w/Kurtis Blow
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Pump Up the Bass
Eric B. & Rakim – Lyrics of Fury
Ultramagnetic MCs – Give the Drummer Some
Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
Posted by avocado kid. // 1 Comment »
Couple More Band Picks
February 24th, 2009Fela Kuti – Jeun Ko Ku (chop n quench)
Budos Band – Monkey See Monkey Do
from Andrea:
Untouchable Machine Shop – Machine Shop (pt 1)
Miles Grayson – Stuck In the Mud
Posted by avocado kid. // 1 Comment »Songs From Jay
December 16th, 2008Fela Kuti – Colonial Mentality
Helene Smith – You Got to Be A Man
R.A.M.P. – The American Promise
Detroit Sex Machines – The Stretch
Posted by avocado kid. // Comment now »Deep Flippin’
December 1st, 2008There are countless instances in which a hip hop producer will lift the opening phrase of a song, or the main melodic hook, and repurpose it into a new tune. This is all well and good (see the masthead of this blog), but what I’m writing about today is a different level of sampling, one that takes a keen ear and a creative mind, where some seemingly insignificant, fleeting moment of a song is highlighted and transformed into the basis of a whole new sound.
I try this myself sometimes as a creative exercise: take a chestnut that has been famously sampled to death, and find some new fragment of the song to bring forward and build a groove out of.
The Beatnuts are masters of this approach, of finding that brief interesting transitional moment, putting it under the microscope, and bringing it to life anew. My favorite example of this is their remix of Chi-Ali’s “Funky Lemonade”, which is not only one of my favorite hip hop tunes in the world, but is also somewhat rare, or at least used to be in the pre-sharity days when incredibly obscure treasures were not available on a daily basis. (Actually, in an earlier era of the internet offering unprecedented access to niche interests some years ago, I finally tracked down a promo-only 12″ from a record store in the Netherlands).
Chi-Ali – Funky Lemonade (Beatnuts Remix)
Chi-Ali’s story is depressing and I will not belabor it here, except to note for the uninitiated that he was a young member of the Native Tongues posse who showed great promise but ended up with a fate sadly all too common for African American males.
So about that sample. Once, on a road trip through the Southwestern USA, that organ stab jumped off a Grant Green tape (made for me by my buddy Punjab, source of all musics funky in my life at that point) and smacked me in the ears with its brilliant provenance. It is from the Alive album, which is absolutely essential and is hopefully already in a place of honor in every groove-lover’s collection. This album has been sampled heavily, with this specific track also used by the likes of A Tribe Called Quest and Cypress Hill. I eventually noticed that Pete Rock also used this sample around the same year so I don’t know who stole from whom. Anyway, there it is around the 37 second mark. The Beatnuts have pitched it up and bathed it in yummy scratches and a Guru sample and it is perfect.
Grant Green – Down Here On the Ground
Posted by avocado kid. // Comment now »Traffic Jam Set 11/08
November 14th, 2008Greyboy Allstars – 2% Body Fat (w/Fred Wesley)
The Daktaris – Super Afro Beat
Blue Rivers & the Maroons – Seven Steps to Power
Mulatu Astatqé – Yèkatit (february)
Tommy McCook & the Super Sonics – Wild Bunch
Daktaris – Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti
Posted by avocado kid. // Comment now »