Daniel Miller is the founder of Mute Records and a bonafide synth-pop impresario. It is not uncommon for technically savvy producers to have favorite pieces of gear to help them establish a kind of sound that works for them. In this clip ( at the 6:51 mark), Miller explains his own go-to piece of kit:
Here is an example of it in use, as described, in an early Depeche Mode production:
You can still hear its influence on his productions in the early 90s, as well:
One of my own favorite uses of this synth/sequencer combination comes from the one-off project Duet Emmo, a collaboration between Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert of the band Wire and Miller:
Truly this presents a great example of one tool set being utilized to the fullest for some great and long lasting results!
On August 22, 2022 jaimie branch passed away. jaimie was brash and unashamed in her swagger, bringing a bit of street life to the jazz scene. The fact was, jaimie was just being herself. I’ll stopping with the hyperbole and let the artist speak for herself.
One of my favorite j breezy moments is here, when she tells a Swiss audience that “it’s not always time to be neutral”.
jaimie kept pretention to a minimum and, at times, could be downright silly.
But mostly jaimie was bad (meaning good). RIP j breezy. Your playing, personality and perspective will be missed.
Alex Cox’s “Repo Man” is one of the quintessential 80s punk and new wave statements. Themes of capatalism, existentialism, conformity and conservative religiosity are presented through a story and world that seems completely absurd and on the verge of collapse. Executive Producer Mike Nesmith was a member of The Monkees who kept on making music and silly films after their breakup. Quite a bit of attention was paid to the soundtrack. Bands from the forefront of the American hardcore scene are featured, such as Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Suicidial Tendencies and Fear. Proto-punk legend Iggy Pop starts off the preceedings in fine form with his theme song that serves as a great summation of what is about to go down.
The film’s main title sequence gives nothing away, however, opting for an instrumental version of the tune.
Iggy Pop may have resonated with the picture because he seems like he’s actually from another world in this clip from (gasp) 2016. A true force of nature!
Here’s another example of US soul and R’n’B’s influence on Jamaican music. A deep cut turned b-side for early in Marvin Gaye’s career turned into a hit for Bunny “Striker” Lee and Cornell Campbell. Stick around for the classic King Tubby dub!
Jon Hassell was a trumpeter who played with electronic treatments. In combining world musics he would study with his own electronic techniques he would craft a new kind of music he dubbed “Fourth World” music. The above composition was inspired by the music and cultures of Malayan aboriginies known as the Senoi and the Semelai. The Senoi’s custom of dream sharing and the Semelai’s water-centered folk music helped Hassell create a soundtrack to a serenely different world.
Will Oldham is the glue between alt-rock and alt-country. He has recorded with post rockers Tortoise and ambient synthists Bitchin Bajas. Appalachian folk permeates many of his compositions. This song exemplifies the blending of the two styles. As the tune goes on the instrumentation and performances get more and more intense leading to a climax that demands to be blasted. Rock on, Bonnie “Prince” Billy!
It’s hard to get through a series of songs about food during summer with touching on this evergreen classic from the original Wu-Tang days back in the 90s. Raekwon the Chef and Ghostface Killah trade bars with ease while Method Man graces the hook with more than enough swagger. All the while RZA’s beats provide the appropriate amount of swing and dirt for the proceedings. An all time classic!
We’ll keep the food theme going in July with this one. Apparently The Descendents were consuming massive amounts of coffee when they penned this one, one of the shortest songs I know. Fast food, indeed! It was also included in the Christian Slater teen movie “Pump Up The Volume”:
The Chips were a bit of a one hit wonder from the doo-wop era. “Rubber Biscuit”, an ode to the culinary woes of the impoverished, was released by the Josie label in 1956. It caught the attention of enough curious white fellas out east, as there was a revival of sorts for the tune in the late 70s. It was featured in one of the most memorable scenes from Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets” and Dan Akroyd and John Belushi covered it in their The Blues Brothers act. Heymonmonmondigawaggadigawagga indeed!
Celebrate ‘merica day with Ween singing an ode to an eastern US “delicacy”, pork roll. Nothing says “freedom” like processed meat commonly referred to as “mystery meat”!
Patrick Cowley was an electronic dance music pioneer, becoming most famous for producing hits for disco maven Sylvester. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Cowley moved and attended the City College of San Francisco. He later went on to found the Electronic Music Lab there. He ended up selling quite a few of the creations he made experimenting with the school’s equipment to John Coletti, owner of famed gay porn company Fox Studio in Los Angeles. The above is an example of one of these pieces. Far from the “bow-chicka-bow-wow” music typical of porno soundtracks, Cowley’s productions have a sophisticated funk to them and show a great deal of programming and playing prowess. Unfortunately, Cowley suffered from the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Doctors were unable to successfully diagnose his illness and he died at the ripe young age of 32.
Mykki Blanco is a lot of things: a rapper, a writer, and activist, a performance artist, a poet. But most of all they are FIERCE. Always coming with loads of rhymes and lots of attitude, Mykki has put themselves in a special place in the rap game worldwide. Lately they have been taking a more singer-songwriter route. They have even gotten Mike Stipe on a track, which is no small feat in itself! Reign on, Mykki!
Coil’s second album, “Horse Rotorvator”, was created during the AIDS epidemic. Then member Stephen Thrower said in a recent interview that the album was absolutely a reflection of those horrendous times for LBGTQ+ people. “We felt that other gay artists weren’t really getting to the dark heart of it, and the sheer horror of what was going on. But we had a toolkit to confront it.”
A B-Side for a single released just a year before was for their cover of Soft Cell’s cover of Glora Jones’ “Tainted Love”. Whereas Soft Cell had turned the R’n’B number into a synthpop classic, Coil opts for a funeral dirge interpretation. The desperate theme continues through the music video which features a cameo from Marc Almond, the singer for Soft Cell.
Sons of Kemet are a London based quartet of saxophone, tuba and two drummers. With this unique lineup they create an alchemy of West Indian funk jazz reggae. Their jams are self-propulsive with effortless grooves. Their momentum has been so great that they have to break up. Drummer Tom Skinner is now playing with Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood in The Smile. Tuba player Theon Cross just released his own solo LP. Saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings continues to amaze with his numerous projects, all of high quality. Long live the Sons of Kemet!
Tim Maia was a Rio de Janiero based singer-songwriter known informally as the James Brown of Brazil. The majority of his musical life was devoted to marrying US funk and soul with Brazilian music. In this early tune he even writes and sings in English. While the lyrics may not be an exact replica of what rock ‘n’ roll songs sounded like at the time, the music mimics what was popping off in the dancehalls for teens in the States during the early 60s.
