One of my favorite "electronic" artists is Four Tet, and I'm going to his show on Saturday in San Francisco, so I figured he should be the feature of this week's playlist. Keep in mind when listening that the songs are composed of samples -- i.e., he's not playing live instruments. His extensive use of live/acoustic samples, however, creates an organic feel to (most of) his songs that I think is pretty unique in electronic music. It may take a few listens to really get into what he's created, but give him a chance. Also, some of my favorite songs of his are his remixes of Madvillain songs, which aren't available on Lala, so check those out if you like what you hear. Enjoy!
Showing posts with label samples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samples. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Four Tet
One of my favorite "electronic" artists is Four Tet, and I'm going to his show on Saturday in San Francisco, so I figured he should be the feature of this week's playlist. Keep in mind when listening that the songs are composed of samples -- i.e., he's not playing live instruments. His extensive use of live/acoustic samples, however, creates an organic feel to (most of) his songs that I think is pretty unique in electronic music. It may take a few listens to really get into what he's created, but give him a chance. Also, some of my favorite songs of his are his remixes of Madvillain songs, which aren't available on Lala, so check those out if you like what you hear. Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hip-hop/Electronic Beats Podcast
This week's episode of the EconoMix podcast (available here) features hip-hop/electronic beats. In hip-hop, the "beat" is the non-vocal portion of the song (it would be would be less-than-accurate to say it's the instrumental portion of the song, since the beats are usually produced using samples and electronically-created sounds rather than conventional instruments), which is often interesting and complex enough to be consumed without a vocal track.
Rap beats, in contrast, are usually not intricate or dynamic enough to be appealing without vocals. The beats used in most mainstream rap songs rely on volume and intensity to get the listener's adrenaline pumping, which limits the range of emotions they can convey. Also, the level of musicianship that goes into the production of most rap beats may be limited, and rap often seems to be more about theatrics than music. (I'm On A Boat (Feat. T-Pain), a catchy mock rap song from a recent SNL skit, is a perfect example of this.)
Many people seem to categorize rap and hip-hop together, so hip-hop often isn't given a fair chance. In beats from both genres, each sound -- whether sampled, created electronically, or recorded -- has to be painstakingly manipulated and mixed together to create the final product. Hip-hop simply seems to take full advantage of this production process, and the result is beats that are often far more intelligent, layered, and dynamic than those in rap.
For the record, the intent of this post is not to malign rap music, but rather to simply distinguish it from hip-hop. When listening to the beats in the podcast, try to appreciate the various moods and influences you can hear. Enjoy!
Podcast available here (track information below)
Rap beats, in contrast, are usually not intricate or dynamic enough to be appealing without vocals. The beats used in most mainstream rap songs rely on volume and intensity to get the listener's adrenaline pumping, which limits the range of emotions they can convey. Also, the level of musicianship that goes into the production of most rap beats may be limited, and rap often seems to be more about theatrics than music. (I'm On A Boat (Feat. T-Pain), a catchy mock rap song from a recent SNL skit, is a perfect example of this.)
Many people seem to categorize rap and hip-hop together, so hip-hop often isn't given a fair chance. In beats from both genres, each sound -- whether sampled, created electronically, or recorded -- has to be painstakingly manipulated and mixed together to create the final product. Hip-hop simply seems to take full advantage of this production process, and the result is beats that are often far more intelligent, layered, and dynamic than those in rap.
For the record, the intent of this post is not to malign rap music, but rather to simply distinguish it from hip-hop. When listening to the beats in the podcast, try to appreciate the various moods and influences you can hear. Enjoy!
Podcast available here (track information below)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)