Im Excited!

Wes

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 3 was removed from Youtube; you can watch the movie in its entirety right here.

Besides being an entertaining documentary in its own right (purely from a fan’s standpoint), Funky Monks also offers some insight into a few key elements that lend themselves to crafting a quality record.  For the most part, these elements revolve around the personnel and demonstrate how a project can be a success if everyone is focused on their specific role during production.  Some casual observations:

Musicianship and Serving the Song:  Flea recalls wanting to be the best player he could possibly be- traveling the world and ripping the bass to the fullest possible extent.   At a certain point he realized that by doing so, he was putting himself into a box.  When it came time to track for BSM, he was interested solely in playing what was needed to serve the song.

The Producer’s Role:  Rick Rubin’s resume doesn’t need to be mentioned here, but in the movie, we see him very much on the job.  He provides collected detachment and logic that’s vital to bridging the gap between the emotion of the music and its technical execution.  He’s connected to the music, yet objective enough to properly direct the sessions and provoke effective performances from the group.   Going back to my first observation on musicianship, it’s Rubin who instructs Flea to drop several notes from a part which ultimately became the bassline to “Give It Away.” A good producer is like an additional member of the group- but one who is trusted by the other members to approve or scrap ideas and keep everything productive (no pun intended) and under control.

The Businessman:  Most independent artists today take the responsibilities of marketing and promo on themselves, which is fine, but it was interesting that this video included some input from the groups’ label rep/project manager.  By today’s standards, he’s the guy most people in the “new music business” would consider a greedy label “scumbag” or “a bloodsucking suit” or something similar.  In actuality, this guy had a hand in lining everything up for the project’s production and subsequent release, plus all of the other bits of cumbersome unpleasantries that a recording group shouldn’t have to worry about during production.  Thanks to that guy, the band could focus on being a band and getting the best performances captured with no intrusions or obstructions.

Analog vs. Digital:  It was surprisingly refreshing to hear the reels winding back and forth throughout the movie; we miss that sound.  If you’ve ever read our blog before or know us personally, I think by now you know what side of the debate we stand on, but for those who still have no preference or can’t tell the difference in quality between analog and digital, the comparison of the following videos demonstrates it pretty well.  To this day, the Chili Peppers are a great band, but listen to the sonic difference between a song recorded to tape versus one produced digitally and tell we which you prefer.  I personally hear the biggest difference in the drums; what do you hear?

“Suck My Kiss,” Blood Sugar Magik (1991):  Ah yes, dynamic range.

“Look Around,” I’m With You (2011):  Great song, but just doesn’t quite feel as “alive” as the other one.

Award-winning composer Hans Zimmer allows a glimpse into the conscious of creating a film score.  In this video, we see the thought process and experimentation involved in creating the theme for Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (“Why So Serious?”).  In order to create the ambience of a deranged sociopath, unconventional sound creation had to be a part of the design:  From dragging razorblades across piano wire, to tapping pencils on table tops, to anguished cello and guitar sounds- the idea of anarchy played a central role into crafting the tension and mayhem needed to match the character.

The Dark Knight, Original Soundtrack:  ”Why So Serious?”

Hans Zimmer is a film composer and music producer.  He has composed for over 100 films and has received four Grammies, two Golden Globes, a Classical BRIT Award, and an Academy Award.  Some of his brilliant film scores include The Lion King, Gladiator, The Dark Knight, and Inception.

Avid caught up with Drake’s longtime friend and producer Noah “40″ Shebib at this year’s NAMM show.
40 talks about his mobile production rig, the part it played in producing Drake’s Take Care, and his personal preferences regarding VSTs and plugins.

@VirusHipHop checks in to see what people are saying about his EP, The Epidemic, and informs viewers about his new project, currently works, called Sink Or Swim.  This video features performance clips of Virus’ recent show at Martini Club in Chicago, where he rocked the stage with Slaughterhouse rhymespitter, @JoellOrtiz.

MORE:
New Music:  Virus – ‘Epidemic’ Now Available at Bandcamp
Video:  Virus:  ”Coffee Shop”

A peek into the life of a sex offender, “comedeogenic” Chicagoan Paul Thomas presents the first episode of Ped Crossing, his new reality-comedy web series.  In the spirit of Thomas’ off-kilter brand of humor, Ped Crossing is sure to raise a few eyebrows and provoke some laughter.  Ped Crossing also features music from The Bank, but no children were harmed during the production process.

For more info, please visit bigheadpaul.com

MORE:
Video:  ”Smackin’ Your Gum,” Paul Thomas

In this video we get to sit down with Ken Paul (aka @Kengineering), a producer, mixing/mastering engineer, and studio designer with over 25 years under his belt in the audio field.

Ken talks about his setup and offers “sound” advice to new engineers/producers- emphasizing that regardless of the gear or studio environment, the best way to develop your chops behind the boards is by being present, interactive, and unafraid to experiment.

“Friend” Ken on Facebook (facebook.com/kengineering) to view photos of his design projects and learn more about what he does.

Thanks, Ken!

Filmed at Kimball House Rock back in September for the Life In Lo-Fi record release party, the series of videos captures some highlights from the event.

video:  WBCMagazineVideo 

MORE:
Video:  Kimball House Rock – Sophomore Year ft. Fess Grandiose
New Music:  Fess Grandiose – ‘Life In Lo-Fi…Vol. 1′ Now Available at Bandcamp! 

The Bank:  2011

After coming off of our last custom project in 2010 and learning from those experiences, we spent most of 2011 making further improvements to our facility and refining our core services (recording, mixing, and mastering)- which we were able to apply to various projects throughout the year.  Two stand out projects were Virus’ The Epidemic and Fess Grandiose’s Life In Lofi…Vol. 1, both of which we recorded, edited, and mixed almost exclusively.  We also provided various assists on projects for a number of other artists, including Lungz w/Mic Terror (“Get In Tune” from the Dream Killaz mixtape), Vicky Pang, Cochise Soulstar, Patrice Forde, Abi Cruz, Associado (AVE Music Group), J. Riv., and Louie XIII, among others.  We’re greatly looking forward to the opportunities, projects, and talented people that will come our way next year.

TJ’s Recap:  2011

iStandard Tech Reviews:  For the last couple of years I’ve wanted to develop a video series featuring tips and firsthand information about production and gear.  Time, direction, and resources were my biggest obstacles, as evidenced in an ill-fated  series I attempted to start in 2009 called “Omnimedia.”  Thanks to the good people at iStandard Producer, I was given the opportunity to resurrect the idea and apply it with a more cohesive direction.  The  result has been the “iStandard Technical Review,” a series of  shorts which cover production techniques and feature new and exciting products available to todays beatmakers and producers.  I’m currently working on the series’ 10th webisode and I look forward to making many more.

Take It To The Stage:  One pleasant surprise for me this year has been working with Fess Grandiose on his live sets.  During the production of his album, we discussed our shared influences in music and he invited me to perform with him.  I’m very familiar with the Chicago live scene, having performed with different groups and bands over the years, but since 2007 my attention has been turned almost entirely towards production- only playing drums in-session for projects.  This year I played with Fess at least once a month, and being back on the live scene has been fun, interesting and rewarding.  If you get the chance, I highly recommend catching Fess live; it’s always a “Grandiose” event and he brings something fresh to live Hip-Hop that I’ve never encountered before (and I say that from a show goer’s perspective, not a participant’s).

Fess Grandiose performing at The Beerics – August 2011

The Year In Music:  What year-end recap would be complete without a “tops” list?  While this year was admittedly my most nostalgic (see the “Hip-Hop Archives” posts), it was almost impossible to ignore all the amazing music that came out this year.   Music in 2011 was so exciting in that it came from many different arenas of this turbulent industry:  the Indie/DIY/Free-Music world put out releases on a par with the best of the majors.  That said, here are five albums I kept in heavy rotation this year, in no particular order:

1.  Cocaine 80s – The Pursuit:  This EP, helmed by No I.D., mysteriously surfaced on the internet.  Featuring Common (“Summer Madness”) and a host of guest appearances, this soulful blend of Hip-Hop and R&B was the soundtrack to my summer.

Download:  Cocaine 80s – The Pursuit EP
Key Track:  “Anywhere But Here” 

2.  TheWeeknd – House Of Balloons:  I love when an album has a consistent feel throughout its entirety instead of sounding like a collection of songs, and House Of Balloons definitely fits into the former category.  The first installment of a trilogy that came seemingly from out of nowhere, the album’s exceptional production set the mood, delivering a dark tone that matches its subject matter.

Download:  The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
Key Track:  “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls”

3.  Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne:  I was giddy with anticipation last year when I caught the early buzz that surrounded this album- needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed. Easily the most talked about album of the year, there isn’t much I can say about The Throne at this point that hasn’t been said.

Key Track:  “Gotta Have It”

4.  Fess Grandiose – Life In Lo-Fi…Vol. 1:  In all honesty, this album made my list on its own merit and not because I worked on it.  Quite the contrary, I rarely listen to the projects I’m involved with after I hear the mastered version; usually I’ve heard it so much throughout the course of its production that I’m eager to move on.  Not the case here.  …Lo-Fi strikes a chord with me in the spirit of boom-bap (or as Fess says, “vintage rhythm”) and is reminiscent of works by Madlib & J. Dilla- two of my favorite Hip-Hop beatsmiths.  Besides that, I respect Fess’ effort for staying true to his influences and having the balls to sample some of the songs that he did.

Download:   Fess Grandiose – Life In Lo-Fi…Vol. 1
Key Track:  “The Rotation”

5.  Frank Ocean – nostalgia, Ultra:  Frank Ocean’s talent is undeniable and I eagerly await to see what he does next year.  Self-released in February after sitting on Def Jam’s shelf, the album features cassette effects and old video game sound bites in between bouts of Ocean’s deep and introspective  crooning.

Download:  Frank Ocean – nostalgia, Ultra
Key Track:  “lovecrimes”

And that’s a wrap.  Happy New Year!

MORE:
Alubms That Defined Our Decade
New Music:  Fess Grandiose – ‘Life In Lo-Fi…Vol. 1 Now Available at Bandcamp! 
New Music:  Virus – ‘Epidemic’ Now Available at Bandcamp
The Bank:  Hip-Hop Archives Posts
iStandard Tech Reviews 

In this video, we visit the studio of a Chicago legend: producer & DJ, Danny The Wildchild.

Danny has been rocking parties and moving crowds since the 90s. A pioneer of the North American Drum N’ Bass scene, Danny’s performed with some of the greatest DJs in the world- including Qbert, Craze, and many, many more.

We sat down with Danny at his studio, “Wild Studios,” to check out his “museum” (an amazing collection of vintage gear), and discuss his approach to production.

Big S/O to @Danny_Wildchild, thanks for letting us come and visit.

Danny The Wildchild Drum Scratching at QBert’s Octagon:

video:  thudrumble