Author Archives: Katherine Sanchez

Record Club: “Could It Be” by Kaidi Tatham

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Tapping your feet, bobbing your head, and swaying your shoulders are all normal ways the human body uses to groove with music. But while listening to “Could It Be,” you may find yourself doing a little bit of everything to try and keep up with Kaidi Tatham’s modulating production. The song has a whirling, danceable energy, bolstered by a driving cowbell with a clear Latin and Caribbean imprint, and keyboard textures that keep an analogue whimsy within this “plugged in” track. With its crystal-clear sound, you can almost see the instruments figuring in quick succession after the sparse and dry intro, which sounds a bit like clanging drumsticks in a cave forlorn by the apocalypse. The off-key piano notes aren’t very danceable either, and they’d be off-beat if there was a beat to begin with. The discordant noise reminds of creaking metal gates, but then, with no lead-up or reason to expect otherwise, lush syncopation swings open the door to reveal the light Tatham has in store for us.

The body, in response, launches into pattern-making and head-nodding. The initial pattern Tatham weaves together is pace-made by a cowbell and tight cymbals shining over a swaggering Latin drum beat while the bass hangs low, playing when the melody doesn’t. Meanwhile a fuzzy synth, doubling the half-notes of the drum beat, creates melodic harmony with bright keys placed high in the mix. This draws attention to the rhythm of the track. Another synth comes in, this one in ode to funk. There is a lot of blending happening, but no time to think about it. All the while, the melody is modulating over and over, not totally unlike a car careening off a Mario Kart road: the color is there but the missteps are not. As much as the melody builds, it hasn’t abandoned itself.

Halfway into the track, our original melody abandons us, and our headnod yields to the sensual new melody that’s been introduced. The original melody has been interrupted by an ascending repeated phrase from the funky synth, which is echoed by the finally-used snare, like a staircase elevating the song into its next “verse.” The melody clears, and the 80’s synth is playing quietly now while a new sound takes over: warm, shimmering notes ooze, but the familiar backbeat marches on. It hasn’t changed from the first melody, acting as a thread between the sounds. The cowbell is much quieter now but it’s there, like an encore. More discordant notes close out the track, reminding us of where we started. The track follows a bell-curve structure, with the center-most parts of the track allowing for the most modulation. This provides a unique experience in the human body: we get to experience all the sensations, from discomfort to hip-swinging fun, that music can offer in a short four-minute track.

Syncopation: the concept of playing rhythms that accent or emphasize the offbeats. It shifts or displaces a standard rhythm by stressing beats generally not stressed.

Half-notes: a musical note with the time value of ¹/₂ of a whole note.

Melody: a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying.

Backbeat: a strong accent on one of the normally unaccented beats of the bar, used especially in jazz and popular music.

Modulation: variation in the strength, tone, or pitch of one’s voice.

Katherine Sanchez: Performance Review, Mochilla Presents Timeless: Suite for Ma Dukes

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What happens when you put some of the most influential names in orchestra, hip-hop, bossa nova, and hybrid jazz from across the world in one room? Truth happens. Truth happened then, on February 22, 2009.

In 2009, Brian Cross (aka B+) organized a series of live events at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles. The Timeless series captured the lasting impact of several artists on the world of hip-hop and beyond. Live, fully orchestrated performances by Ethiopia’s Mulatu Astatke and Brazil’s Arthur Verocai bookended the Suite For Ma Dukes, a tribute to James “J Dilla” Yancey, by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. The tribute began with a few words from the artists present:

“How’s everybody feeling’? I just wanna say I feel blessed to be here, to hear JD’s music being expressed in this way is just another step towards how great his music, how wonderful and how divine it is. There’s not many times I created music that I felt like it was the most divine music and being able to do that with J Dilla it was some typa connection that I couldn’t describe to anybody.”

Wonderful, divine, great: Common couldn’t have put it any better. I mean, from his unique vantage point as a revered legend in rap and frequent collaborator with late producer James Yancey, better known by his future moniker J Dilla, his word is essentially truth. Which is a word that comes as close as I can think to describing the essence of that room where the Timeless series blossomed for the celebration of sound and as tribute to Dilla: truth.

On Mochilla Presents Timeless: Suite for Ma Dukes Miguel Atwood-Ferguson pays tribute to Dilla by interpreting his music for a 60-piece orchestra featuring special guests Bilal, Dwele, Posdnuos, Thundercat, Talib Kweli, Karriem Riggins and more. This coming together of artists was nothing short of magic set to music. This premiere performance left many in the sold out crowd in tears, with famed BBC personality Giles Petersen saying “That’s just about the most powerful thing I’ve heard. Brilliant.”

Any lover of hip-hop could talk your ear off about the impact J Dilla’s production made on everyone in the scene. Full-length books have been written about him, his style, how he pushed music forward and played with composition and form in new and inspiring ways. Inspiring to many, including Questlove and Erykah Badu. Take it from Kanye West himself, producer of producers:

“Me and Common would go play basketball and hang and all that. But me and Dilla just focused on tracks. He had the organic feel but still the sonics were breakthrough, and he could give you a warm sound that still cut through speakers. It’s like he was making Quincy Jones production sessions inside his MPC.”

JD’s influence is astounding given the brevity of his time on earth: he passed away at 32 due to lupus. Just 32, and his legacy inspires musicians from around the world, from across genres, to get up and come together and dance and sing and even cry. That’s all another way of saying “to heal.”

That’s what I felt, at least, when I first came across the DVD recording of this performance on YouTube so many years ago. I have been a fan of Dilla for a long time, namely of his hallmark album “Donuts,” without really understanding the impact of his work. I simply felt the music. It spoke to something in me which wanted healing. Take this song, for example, the Timeless performance of “Fall in Love,” a song produced for Slum Village.

Hearing the iconic melody set to an orchestra for the first time was like falling in love. The symbols crashing, the bells reverberating in the first minute. Then the horns like slow and serene rivers, with high woodwinds prancing over the drumbeat, held tight by Riggins. The build-up burning, then letting up into the sliding violins which seem to close out the song, but then come in deep horns and shimmering synths and everything comes together. And then, of course, the cheering crowd, their clapping throughout like a pacemaker. In the recording, a camera pans over to a seat left open with a cello leaning against it as the music swells—Dilla’s instrument. That is where he would have sat.

This rendition is not unlike the original sonically. Its musical essence remains intact and in many ways is both heightened and deepened with the love of collaboration. They find new valleys and caverns in the track to explore and build upon. Every member of the room, from the audience to the backup singers to JD’s mom herself, Ma Dukes, is involved and enthralled and in love.

Brilliant, truth, love: take from this review what you will, but from the recordings of that event? You would have a hard time denying these elements from making an impression on you. Take a listen, you might fall in love.