It's Arbitrary - Filed under 'A to Z'

Jazz at the Pawnshop

The journey through my MP3 collection is almost halfway through and it's much harder than I thought it would be to select just one track for each letter. Take J for instance - there's quite a few artists I considered and it was a tough decision. In the end it was between Jurassic 5 and Jazz at the Pawnshop and even as I was writing this I was changing my mind every 30 seconds :-\

In the end I went with the first track off the first Jazz at the Pawnshop CD (a legendary recording amongst audiophiles), Limehouse Blues. I still love listening to it because of the live energy captured in the recording. It won't sound too special if you're listening to this on your laptop using crappy iPod earbuds, but play the CD on a real hifi and you'll find yourself transported to a crowded smoky basement club in Stockholm. The chatter coming from the tables and till ringing at the beginning is almost magical in its clarity. I also love the way the musicians try to, but don't quite end the tune several times, before coming together and finishing on a flourish. Brilliant stuff.

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Filed under // A to Z mp3 music

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Jul 15

The Incredible Bongo Band - Apache

You'd be forgiven for not knowing the name, but chances are you'll recognise this when you hear it.

...the band is best known these days for its often-sampled cover of "Apache", an instrumental tune written by Jerry Lordan and originally made popular in the UK by The Shadows, and in North America by Jørgen Ingmann. The group's version of "Apache" (produced by Perry Botkin, Jr.) was not a hit upon release, and languished in relative obscurity until the late 1970s, when it was adopted by early hip-hop artists, including pioneering DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, for the uncommonly long percussion break in the middle of the song. Subsequently, many of the Incredible Bongo Band's other releases were sampled by hip-hop producers, and the "Apache" break remains a staple of many producers in drum and bass. The song received popular attention again in 2001 when it was featured in an ad for an Acura SUV."

For the full story of The Incredible Bongo Band, read All Rise for the National Anthem of Hip Hop on the NYT website.

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May 16

Rockit

Rockit was released in 1983 and opened the door to the use of Hip Hop DJ techniques in popular music. Some say Grand Mixer DXT, who featured on this track is actually the inventor of scratching. So, H is for Herbie Hancock. And History.

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May 16

Utopia

You know, I hate to be one of those people who says "I used to like them, before they were famous", but with Goldfrapp it's so true. The early stuff I like, but it goes downhill rapidly after Black Cherry.

G is for Goldfrapp (but just the early stuff)

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May 15

Kool Is Back

Here's one for you music trainspotters, F is for Funk Inc.

I tracked this down for the horn sample used in Full Force's Alice I Want You Just For Me - it turns out this track has been sampled a whole bunch of times.