One often thinks of hip hop music as completely electronic aside of the vocals.

This blogger, however had a sudden realization whilst driving around Boston, blaring this album.

He realized how easily this music is disected and translated into something playable by live musicians.

Here is on example

Above the Clouds

“Above the Clouds” is proof positive that the the art of creating music from sampled sound extends far beyond a cracked copy of Fruity Loops and snippets of imported audio from a few CDs. The best beatsmiths all have an unidentifiable ability to ‘hear’ arrangements and musical structures from the most unlikely of sources and recycle those sounds into something their own. Premier, unsurprisingly, is one of these individuals. His production for “Above the Clouds” is absolutely brilliant and ranks among the finest of his career; how someone could make something this bangin’ out of the first few seconds of John Dankworth’s “Two-Piece Flower” is beyond mortal comprehension (I’ve offered the original source below for this example).

Incidentally, “Above the Clouds” lends itself surprisingly well to transcription, despite its overall weirdness and the audible repeated triggering of selected samples in the beat. What sounds like a shamisen on the original recording could be played by a palm-muted and slightly flat guitar, and two oboes would be required - a tad unorthodox, yes, but crucial for the counterpoint in the latter half of the second bar (unless a polyphonic oboe can be found as a substitute, of course). Premier wisely chooses to leave the bottom end open, only inserting two emphatic bass hits to signal the loop; he’s cleverly reminding you that it’s there, but he’s not going to clutter the track with it. Note the 32nd-note pinched kicks before the first and third beats, which give the track a sense of propulsion that the more common 16th note pinches would lack, as well as help enforce the impression that the tempo is faster than it actually is (roughly 86 bpm). It’s hardly surprising that Inspectah Deck straight-up destroys this cut with a verse that surpasses any of the other guest spots on the record.

 

Music always takes you places when you listen to it, the same piece will take different people to different places, and even the same person can end up in a completely different place every time he heres a certain piece - depending on his mind set.

that is why I found this so interesting.  I would never have thought these thoughts. if you like this example you can go here for more.

I would like to tell you that as I write this I am listening to the most bewitching piece of music that I have heard of in a long time.

I found out about it here.

Apparently Lykke Li is about to release her debute EP and is going on tour with El Perro Del Mar.

Already garnering much critical acclaim from all over the world, Lykke Li’s debut EP ‘Little Bit’ hit North American retail shelves this week.

Read what people are saying about Lykke Li:

“On a ye-ye-influenced pop-noir track, our favorite new Swedish Sienna Miller look-alike (a South by Southwest breakout) delivers her English lyrics with adorable ESL flair. We Lykke.” - Rolling Stone

“‘Little Bit’ is so gloriously coquettish that if, by some fluke, it ends up not being massive, we’re going to come round and crap through all your letterboxes. Consider this a warning.” - NME

 

I don’t know quite how to define what I have heard except that it is quite bewitching. The drums have a primitive sound to them, and are very present, though they do leave a lot of place for this wonderful vocalist.

for more information about tour dates and about Lykke Li go here

 

This a widget of Lykke Li and El Perro Del Mar - so that you to can start your morning or continue your day or even finish it in a bewitching fashoin.

Paul Hester was best know as the drummer of Split-Enz and Crowded house. he took his life in 2005 at the age of 46. I have recently run into some great videos of him and have been reminded what a great drummer and a funny man he was.

this blogger out of Cincinnati tells us

duo Bad Veins has received a $10,000 unrestricted grant as winners of the Target Music Maker Award in connection with the Tribeca Film Festival. They’ll accept the money at this year’s festival in New York City (April 23-May 4) and play a high-profile showcase May 2 at Webster Hall in Manhattan along with The Hold Steady, The Virgins and Republic Tigers. Sebastien Schultz told me the Bad Veins didn’t apply for the award program and had no idea they were even being considered until informed they’d won. Grammy-nominated music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, who recently launched her music label Chop Shop Records, curated Tribeca’s “Breaking the Band” program and led the selection process for the new cash award, which is given to an unsigned musician or band.

The music world certainly needs more people like Alexandra Patsavas!

I don’t know if it is just me or drummers leave bands more than other members. It seems that the star position is given to the guitarist that is usually the singer as well and the others are less important as band members. Yes one hears about artistic differences between song writers and performers that can split up a band but it is a different thing. With the drummers it seemed that they are at times taken for granted and are there to help other sound good. Love to hear stories from personal experience on the topic of the drummer situation in bands.