soundscapes

The End...

All good things must come to an end, I suppose, and Music 295 is no exception.

I’ve learned a tremendous amount about electronic music over the course of this semster and now feel that I can comfortably use the tools and knowledge I’ve gained in this class to explore some of my favorite types of music.

Way back in our first or second section, my TA Matt said something to the effect of “the medium of music is becoming less and less about the theory and notation, and more about the sound itself.”  I wasn’t quite sure of what he meant at the time, but now it’s obvious: in creating my assignments I never found myself composing or writing pieces completely in advance or hearing everything beforehand in my head.  Rather, the process was about experimentation, creating new sonic textures, keeping the ones that work and throwing away the ones that don’t.  It’s a new approach to music making for me and one that I think I could grow to love.

Anyway…enough mushy stuff.  Let’s talk about my final composition.  From the onset, I knew I wanted to do a dub piece.  It is the style of music I love and the reason I signed up for this class in the first piece.  I wound up doing a dub re-imagining of a classic 1977 Bunny Lee dancehall track called “Warfare.” Here it is:

Warfare by Bunny Lee All Stars Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

As you’ll soon find out, my rendition is quite different.  The main elements I kept were the bassline, the intro vocals and the melody.

For drums, I sampled and looped one of my favorite Keith Hudson beats while adding a bit more reverb for that classic saturated dub sound.  I also used a dub kit software instrument from Reason to add fills/other weird sounds.

For me, creating a convincing bass sound (absolutely essential in any type of reggae music) was the most difficult part.  I had to go to tremendous lengths to configure effects, modulation and amp modeling for a realistic sound.  In the end I think it turned out ok, but if you listen closely the attack and (lack of) realistic decay betray the bass sound’s digital nature.

Finally, I incorporated some outside vocals into the mix.  Namely, I sampled from a poem called “If I Waz A Tap Natch Poet” by the legendary dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.  I was actually fortunate enough to see him perform here in New Haven last month and it was a very special experience.  Here is that particular poem in its complete glory:

If I Waz A Tap Natch Poet by Linton Kwesi Johnson Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

Putting it all together, we have “Warfare Dub Version.”  Hope you enjoy it!

Warfare Dub Version by Danny Hakim Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

For our fourth and final assignment we were to create a minute-long track using Reason and ReCycle, a really useful tool for creating new samples and loops from pre-existing tracks.

The assignment was to be written in Drum n’ Bass/Jungle style.  Among all the styles of electronic music we have studied in class I tend to like Jungle the best.  I like the variety of syncopations that come from speeding up breakbeats, and I personally think sampling R&B and funk tracks is a lot cooler than sampling, say, Disco.

The break I used in this assignment comes from a Bobby Byrd track called “Hot Pants.”  This is the only thing you can hear for the first fifteen seconds.  Then I imported a few of my favorite songs into ReCycle to generate fresh loops.

The shout that begins at 0:15 comes from the song “Pattern Against User” by At the Drive-In.  Here is the original in context:

Pattern Against User Sample by At The Drive-In Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

After another eight bars comes the “anger” scream, which comes from Jimi Hendrix’s “Bold as Love.”  Once again, the original:

Bold as Love Sample by Jimi Hendrix Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

The track continues with these samples for a while, experimenting with effects and modulation.  Finally there’s a muted guitar pattern from “Catamaran” by Bear vs. Shark:

Catamaran Sample by Bear vs. Shark Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

Putting it all together, here’s the final result:

Assignment 4 by Danny Hakim Fandalism Free MP3 Hosting

the beginning...

So here is my first foray into the blogosphere.  What could be the impetus for such a momentous decision, you ask?  The answer is quite simple: it’s a requirement for a course I’m taking this semster: Introduction to Electronic Music.

As the class progresses this blog will be updated with new posts chock full of interesting facts, music samples, videos and more.

My taking this class might be surprising for some as I have very little knowledge of dance music.  My main musical interest—electronically speaking—is dub, the sub-genre of reggae that uses a host of techniques to craft new sonic textures out of existing recordings. So to get things started I’ve decided to post a video by two absolute legends of dub music: Lee “Scratch” Perry, the man who pioneered dub on analog equipment, and Mad Professor, the man who carried dub through the digital age.

Lee Perry and Mad Professor - Man Man Dubwise