EPT
Rap
Avant-Garde Metal
28th Feb-14th Mar
15th Mar - 21st Mar
Desperation & Futility
Music Mag #6 - 29th March - 11th April
I got an overload of CDs this week so I’m sorting them into two seperate issues with a link between the two. Genius. Just something I’m worried I have to point out: Underlined song titles are usually links
Music Mag #7 – Jazz into... Part 1 – Jazz Hop
I like to trace my music tastes, where they started and how they developed. I’ve found that I can figure out why I like my current music based on what I listened to when I was younger and so this two-parter blog will be about comparing the Jazz I listened to growing up (courtesy of my Dad) and my current tastes in metal, hip-hop and so on. It’s not rocket surgery to see why someone would like ska or jazz-hop after listening to jazz all their life. The combination of the pop music and so on aimed at teenagers combines with what you’ve been familiar with all your life and lays out a path for you to follow. So without further ado, let’s listen to some of the jazz that is responsible for my current taste in hip-hop.
Firstly, take in this cheesy fan video. It has everything that smooth jazz videos like. Tropical locales, bikinis and (for some reason you can’t make a smooth jazz video without them) planes. But let’s skip that. The opening two minutes of this song are chilled out smooth jazz. What is all jazz-hop? Chilled out smooth jazz. See, I told you it wasn’t going to be very complicated. Because this is so self-explanitory, I’m just going to talk about this track. I love it. The switch from smooth and chilled into amazing guitar solo then the vocals that lead into the breakdown. Amazing stuff. But hang on a moment, what genre of music suddenly changes styles like this at a moment’s notice? Why metal of course. This track is a great place to start these blogs because I can easily tie it into a lot of styles that I’ve grown to love. As I said, the smooth flow when I was younger would probably be the first time I was chilled out by a song and getting used to unorthodox changes in music like that from an early age really helped ease me into the somewhat spontaneous metal scene.
I’ve been played Tom Scott songs for about as long as I’ve been alive. I have a lot of memories driving with my Dad while listening to his stuff so it’s only sensible that it has rubbed off on me somehow. I like to thank this track (alongside all the Jarre I was played) for getting me interested in beats. Something about this song when I was younger made me listen to the drums throughout. It’s not that they’re impressive or unique or anything but for me they helped me appreciate how drums can drive a song forwards. The looping of the sounds in the background (the bass, synths and so on) is another thing you’ll recognise from every hip-hop track ever. The toe-tapping of Tom Scott’s songs really helped me get into the whole beat-driven hip-hop scene. Combine that with the amazing music and you’ll realise why I never went for mainstream hip-hop and preferred the stuff that felt like it was actually written.
I mean, just listen to this. Then listen to any jazz hop. Really, it’s exactly the same. The smooth beat, the bass riding in the background and the guitar and jazz introduction. So, Lee Ritenour was one of the other guys who I grew up with. Same story as Tom Scott really. This track is real smooth and again, no surprise to see how I came across Hip-Hop. I don’t have much to say about this type of jazz really. All the musicians are stupidly good and it’s so laid back and chilled out that I just end up typing a few words and listening to it. I reckon you could just get someone talented to rap over this and you’d be set.
Album Review: Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection – Nujabes + Others
Sky is Falling (feat CL Smooth) - Nujabes
Hip-Hop, Jazz-Hop
Sky is Falling (feat CL Smooth) - Nujabes
Hip-Hop, Jazz-Hop
Now that you’ve heard those jazz tracks, listen to this one. I think you could make a good case for why I like both styles of music. The beat on this track is just ridiculous. It’s amazing layered jazz, like in the songs above, but at the same time it seems so easy to rap over. Now that’s credit to Nujabes and CL Smooth for being so good at what they do but compare the drums in this to Night Rhythms. The same simple drums. Compare the whole instrumentation to any of these songs. The best thing is, there’s clear influence, impossible to deny but at the same time it isn’t at all stolen or un-original. Nujabes has taken it to his own place and that’s basically what the whole of this compilation album does. I love it. It has great rap tracks like this combined with a load of smooth hip-hop tracks. It’s a great record and you should try it out. Listen to the tracks by Uyama Hiroto to hear some real blending of traditional jazz and modern hip-hop. Truly awesome stuff. I paid a silly amount of money for this album and I don’t regret it one bit.
This is Tom Scott on sax. It has to be. I refuse to believe that it’s anyone else. But again, let’s do some simple comparisons. The early guitar (well, guitar like sound) is a staple of Jazz and Jazz-hop alike. The synths are straight of 80s jazz and the sax playing overtop could be from any jazz song. This draws so many parallels with the Tom Scott track that I tried to convince by dad it was a lost track by him. It didn’t work because he saw the CD artwork. But anyway I can’t get enough of the smooth Lee Rit style backing combined with the Tom Scott style sax playing over-top. This track combines two of the big artists of my childhood with my recently found love of Japanese hip-hop. It’s like it was made for me.
My New Albums
As I said, I ended up with a lot of CDs this week so I’m just going to list all the hip-hop here this week and the other stuff next week. My japanese order showed up you see. What this means is that the first three CDs cost me an absolute bomb so bear that in mind while reading the short reviews.
Hydeout Productions 2nd Collection – Nujabes + Others
Yeah, just get this. Ok? Good. What? It’s expensive? Yeah true. Ok, TRY and get it.
Mirror – Dj Okawari
I adore this CD too. It’s a bit more poppy and probably even more cliché than other records but I love it all the same. It’s chilled out smooth hip-hop from start to finish with some interesting female vocals added to the songs. On a side note, the album artwork for this cd is amazing. I absolutely love it. Scans do not do it justice. The booklet, the cover, the back and even the disc itself have an incredible theme. I don’t know how to describe it well so google it to get an idea of it all. Try Afterschool and Luv Letter if you’re not sure about Sweet Light.
Peace of Mind - Kondor
This is a real simple album. Background music almost. It’s chilled out and nice to listen to but it doesn’t really reward close listening. I do like it though. It’s good dinner music. The Intro, Outro, Interludes and Soul Skit are the tracks that I really like.
Samurai Champloo Departure – Nujabes/Fat Jon
This one I got cheap so forget the expensive rule here. This CD is pretty good but the thing is, the Nujabes tracks do way more for me than the Fat Jon ones. The Nujabes tracks, like the incredible Aruarian Dance are beautiful pieces with amazing lead instruments that flow wonderfully into each other. The Fat Jon tracks are just a bit more forgettable. I got this for about £6 though so it’s totally worth it for that cost. The opening and closing track from the Anime series is on here and all the Nujabes tracks are worth listening to. Perhaps if Nujabes wasn’t on this CD then the Fat Jon tracks would sound better. Who knows?
Albums Released This Week
A new Scar Symmetry album is out this week and someone told me the new Gorillaz was out today but I'm convinced that came out a while ago.
Last Paragraph
My wallet is a lot emptier this week. I got my order from Japan which cost about £47 for three CDs and something like £14 for postage. I knew it would cost a lot when I ordered it and I was happy with it. The CDs are great so I’m not annoyed. The thing is, I apparantly had to pay VAT to the good old British Government but the goods comes in at over £18. So on top of the £61 I had to pay another £10.44. Well that sucks but I guess you live and learn. So I received a letter about these charges and got a bill for £23.94. Huh?! Why so much? Oh, apparantly this greedy ass company is charging me a £13.50 clearance fee and holding my package random until I pay it. I... is this even legal? Anyway, I caved and I paid it. From now on if I import from Japan I’ll be doing it privately. £84.94 for three CDs...
This issue has a bit of a one track mind and I wrote it in a hurry so you'll have to let the music speak for me in some cases. Tune in next week to see a slightly less obvious blog about how my Dad’s jazz got me into progressive metal!
Poll: Favourite track this week?
Sky is Falling - Nujabes (3)
43%
Transcendence - Santana (1)
14%
Jungle Wave - Tom Scott (1)
14%
Night Rhythms - Lee Ritenour (1)
14%
Sweet Light - DJ Okawari (1)
14%
7 total votes
Transcendence - Santana (1)
Jungle Wave - Tom Scott (1)
Night Rhythms - Lee Ritenour (1)
Sweet Light - DJ Okawari (1)
7 total votes
Your vote: Favourite track this week?
(Vote): Transcendence - Santana
(Vote): Jungle Wave - Tom Scott
(Vote): Night Rhythms - Lee Ritenour
(Vote): Sky is Falling - Nujabes
(Vote): Sweet Light - DJ Okawari
