Go here for the StrangeFlow interview!!
funk
All posts tagged funk
So… I don’t remember exactly what happened…
All I remember Is putting on one of GalaxC Girl’s hats, and everything got funky and blurry from there on out… I woke up, some hours later, with a page full of words in front of me, which led me to believe that I had, indeed, finished the interview with GalaxC Girl that I had intended to write from the get-go… Now, aside from momentary bouts of tasting bright colors (yellow tastes like blueberries) as well as the occasional psychedelic flashback that I’m a four-armed super-hyphy panda-bird from the future, everything has returned to normal. But, perhaps this is not a hallucination. Maybe I was always a hyphy panda-bird, I just never realized it until GalaxC Girl and her magical bag full of head gear came along?
It’s not the first time I’ve been drugged during an interview, and probably, not the last…
Well, as I said, words had appeared before me, revealing an interview with a DJ who has been captivating EDM audiences with her crazy performances for years! She has sold out shows all over the place, from big outside events to club across the country, as her selection and destruction of psychedelic crunk’d-out glitch-hop and bass draws a packed audience wherever she goes. Her fans get will get hardcore and flash their awesome GalaxC Girl tattoos for you, as GalaxC Girl works hard as hell to make sure the showcase you’re witnessing is completely unforgettable and inspiring. Also, rumor has it, she can fly.
Anyway, let’s get to the interview!
StrangeFlow: So what’s the deal with the hats, GalaxC Girl? What set it off? At what point did your creative energy start flowing into into these magical crunked out head-toppers?
GalaxC Girl: I’ve always made all kinds of art. Including lots of edible art and wearable art. Especially wearable art. I’ve sewn clothes for a long time stitching art on fabric. I call it tattooing fabric. Hehe. I wanted a dope hat and although I’d never really painted much before, I knew it would be easier than painting cakes with frosting so I painted myself a sweet Hunab Ku and everyone was flipping out over it…so I figured if peeps were so down, why not bust some out for sale to have actual, authentic GalaxC Girl merchandise for the merch booth at my shows for my fans/supporters. Y’know, original art by me instead of factory manufactured art. Some of them get snatched as soon as I post them to my facebook page and never make it to a show but I’m trying to bust out enough to have at least a few at my shows.
SF: I love the R2-D2 ones, which one is your favorite?
GX: Oh I love the R2 too! I knew I wanted to do that before I ever even ordered the first batch of blank lids! I couldn’t believe I’d never seen one before and knew it would be the shit! I was literally squealing with delight as I painted that one.
SF: Do you have a favorite?—or is that like asking you which one is your favorite kid?
GX: Haha, I cannot pick a favorite! I’ve totally referred to my hats as my kids and the people buying them as adoptive parents. I want visitation rights, pictures, stories and updates of their life
SF: If you had as many kids as you have hats, do you think you’d just say ‘fuck it’ and choose a favorite kid? (Cuz I would… )
GX: Gosh. Haha. I don’t know. The “gear whore” hat is pretty damn awesome as ever.
SF: How much do the hats cost?
GX: I did the first few for a super special introductory price of the sacred Maya number 52. That wasn’t really feasible and even at $75 that’s still below minimum wage (I accept tips for anyone so inclined). But I’m doing it for the love and to get dope original art on my favorite peoples (my supporters) heads to give them maximum pimptitude levels as they make the world a brighter place by displaying artful reminders of the beautiful, complex nature and imagination of the cosmos.
SF: And what increased percentage of funk will people attain by wearing these?
GX: Infinite percentage!
SF: I must say, that sounds correct. I feel the funky part of my brain burning with delight and excitement. Also, I am starting to hear shapes. They’re really getting loud, by the way.. Should I be worried? Or is this just kinda… you know… kinda just, ‘how it goes,’ when someone tries on one of your colorful head-toppers?
GX: I think you tried one of my hats on and it inspired your pineal gland to release DMT into your brain!
SF: Ah. Well, then. That would explain a lot. I wonder if the world is ready for this… So anyway, as far as these hats go, do you have any new ones you’re working on at the moment? Would you be willing to hint at what’s in store?
GX: Yes! So excited! Almost finished with another Egyptian kind of theme. With a scarab holding a stargate portal with two winged cat guardians so that the wings are on the side of your head. So your brain can take off and fly! To another GalaxC! Or anywhere in the universe!
And, I have a huge circuit fetish and have started a circuit hat! Flippin stoked on it. It’s gonna look sweet as fuck in blacklight!
SF: It all has a very unique style… I feel like it’s spirituality mixed with bass music mixed with science fiction… Did I hit the nail on the head with that assessment? …or did the nail hit ME on the head? Am I completely wrong??
GX: Haha, yes! You and the nail are ONE!
SF: Any final thoughts or recipes for everyone?
GX: The hats/caps of planets (aka the poles) they look like frickin vortexes! Have you guys checked that shit out!? Omg!! Google image any of the planets poles, it’s so amazing!!
Planets, indeed! If you want more information on GalaxC Girl, her shows, her hats, her life, etc. hit her up on the Facebooks at http://www.facebook.com/galaxcgirl , and her website is located at http://www.galaxcgirl.com
Very fun interview!
Not that shit that puts your grandfather to sleep, that shit your grandfather fucked his stripper girlfriend to in 1928, both of em messed up on reckless amounts of moonshine, weed, and who knows what else! I want jazz that threatens to kill people. I want jazz that has killed a few people. I want jazz that’s vicious and breathes fire, I want chainsaw jazz that wants to fuck your grandmother. (See photo above)
Now, you might be thinking, “Ah, StrangeFlow, what are you doing? Talking about jazz, now? This is an electronic blog, isn’t it? Come on, make with the step!; either dub-, 2-, or future-; but don’t kill us with this shit. Why now? Why here?
Because I think jazz might be beyond genre; I think jazz is an aesthetic, and I’ll tell you how that relates to electronic music.
Let me explain what I mean… Jazz is not just a specific chord progression, but a mood. It’s not what notes you play, but with what attitude you play them with. To put it in context with modern electronic music, I have often thought that really good breakcore should sound just like jazz. Not the musical genre of jazz, but jazz as a kind of musical verb.
For breakcore specifically, it would mean jazzing out the breaks and samples in such a complex and seemingly chaotic (yet precisely controlled and meticulously formed) way so as to create a tangled string of beautiful and colorful knots; making a mess while simultaneously cleaning it up – a contradictory sound – a jarring language of intersecting sounds and noises, all fitting together like jagged little pieces to a mind-blowing puzzle. Good breakcore should have jazz in its DNA.
So, what I’m getting at, basically, is that jazz needn’t act like the boring old senior citizen most people take it for. And, to be fair, there have been some interesting trends for jazz in the last twenty years. Well, more or less… And, I’ll point out that even though I personally see it as an aesthetic, it’s not unusual to see it acting as merely a genre. Most people see it as one more passing trend, and nothing more. Sure – an interesting, and perhaps an epic trend – but an older one at that, and one that’s mostly dead, at this point.
But I think it’s bigger than that. I think that if “jazz-as-a-genre” dies (or if it already is dead) the spirit it encapsulates will still be with us, showing up in other forms. Jazz is what happens when musicians play, when they have an articulate conversation purely through the realm of musical devices and instruments, within the mode of uninhibited improvisation. It’s a mental wave length, a language. It can be fast, slow; straight, crooked; happy, blue; and in addition, it can also be maniacal, sinister, evil, and potentially quite perverted.
It’s really a very vivid bastard.
So, although I do think jazz music could (and should) reincarnate itself as a voodoo cannibal from hell, and even if the genre as we think of it isn’t coming back (with that same specific combination of conventional jazz instruments and formulas from the 20th century) the gene of jazz will probably stay inside us, as a species, for another million years. If we dig deep, we can get to it, as it’s always there.
Perhaps this is the way we should evaluate some forms of artistic expression, from now on – as being, potentially, more than just a genre. Not necessarily based soley on popularity or uniqueness, but on whether or not it’s BEYOND all those things, and if it can change you, mentally, to a specific degree, when you hear it, and entice you into performing or creating something creative with a certain type of energy. On that note, I also think punk is an aesthetic, as well. And, on that token, I think it might be arguable that funk is also an aesthetic, when it’s done right – meaning, when you’re not ‘faking the funk,’ – it’s a mix of confidence, sexual energy and experimentalism. Notice how I didn’t define it at all with musical concept? I’ll also point out that funk was once used as a description of jazz music, before it turned into it’s own genre, decades later. There’s lots of cross-pollination. In fact, I see no reason why you couldn’t punk out some funk with a jazz outlook, as well…
Well, I think I’ll finish this article here. If there’s any interest, maybe I could elaborate and go on to talk about punk or funk later, but for now, I think I’ll wrap it up. I don’t want to go off on any more tangents, like the one where I explain how melody is all just color, American dubstep is actually heavy metal, or, on a lighter note, how it’s impossible for anyone to look sexy while eating Taco Bell… no, I’ll save those for another day. Ha.
So, yes, to say that jazz is not a genre it’s simplistic. It can act as a genre, but really, it’s more than that, too. I’m not against the specific genres that jazz has formed, in fact, there are lots of different forms of jazz music that I love; espeially bop, dixieland, and electro swing… But, various other forms of music beyond jazz (that are now seen as genres) can also fit the description of going ‘beyond genre,’ as well. As I said, more on that later. I need to go work on some more sample packs… Leave a comment, tell me what you think! :-)
-StrangeFlow
Free ?uestlove Beats!
So, I’m sure many of you are familiar with ?uestlove and his incredible drumming skills. He’s a prodigy of rhythm, and emulating his sound, or, at least, borrowing it, might seem like a good idea, right? Oh, but that damn copyright infringement! That’ll surely stifle you, right?
Wrong! Here’s some free source material you can use right now, straight outta the studio of ?uestlove – free drums to use in your music! Yes, free! Go ahead, take a look, he just posted the track, called, “Ludwiggy,” to Okayplayer’s soundcloud page, and it’s pretty fucking fun. A nice, hard, funk break. You can’t get better than that, in my opinion! I love a good, hard break.
He played a Ludwig vintage drum kit (the same company that made drums that the Beatles played with) and released the track recently, so no copyright infringement, no holler, no mess – just straight-up, raw, old-school rhythmic dopery.
Typically, I plan to release my own free drums, here on Bassadelic.com, but figured, in the interest of providing as much quality content as possible, it would be in everyone’s best interest if I shared something this awesome. So here: http://soundcloud.com/okayplayer/uestlove-ludwiggy-free
and be sure to thank ?uestlove, if you enjoy his beats! J
-Will
New album, 'Meltdown,' by Atomic Reactor
If you take a look at http://atomicreactor.bandcamp.com (Atomic Reactor’s releases page) you’ll notice there are about four different releases offered, but what you might not realize is that they all came out in the last year, and more are scheduled to come out soon!
As well, on February 13th of this year, he and kLL sMTH teamed up as “2Nutz,” and released an EP that you may have heard about, entitled, Blapahedronous (Prime Dub Records); and Atomic is also releasing an EP on Muti Records called Meltdown, which will be coming out on March 26th.
“I have packed a lot of releases into a short amount of time.”
Word.
I got a chance to listen to a lot of Atomic’s “older” music (as well as his unreleased stuff) and I have to say, it’s fun as hell! His ‘REMIXXXXX’ release spans the gambit, tossing in sounds from the likes of Snoop, Nit Grit, and even the Goosebumps theme (if you’re unfamiliar, ask someone who was born in the 80s) and he shows no sign of slowing down – in fact, it seems as though he’s finding his voice in electronic music and is likely to tear it up for some time to come.
I was able to conduct an interview with this relatively new face on the scene – this happenin’-glitch-hoppenin’ producer, and talk to him about his past and hopeful future in electronic music. His real name , as hard as it may be to believe, is not Atomic reactor, but David Holsapple; he lives in Colorado, and has been sharpening his skills for the last few years.
“My whole experience thus far in the electronic music world has been full of twists and turns. Where I am now is nowhere close to where I thought I would be four years ago and the future seems unpredictable but I’m very excited for the next step of this journey.”
So where was he a few years ago?
“From a young age I have always had a strong connection to music.”
He started playing Clarinet when he was in high school, but it wasn’t until he got to college that he decided to try his hand at electronic music, and, working as an electrical engineer student, he bought Maschine and would jam with anybody he could (including his brother, Cualli, who produces and plays guitar quite well. Eventually, he shifted to Ableton as his primary DAW, and his first release was Space Time Joy Factory.
“Instead of working in a more improv style I had pretty much gone to the opposite end of the spectrum and was producing in a style of over-production where I would work on a single track for two weeks, sometimes more. This greatly improved my skills in sound design, composition, and mastering.
“…At this point I became very interested in artists like Eskmo and Amon Tobin, who are just killing the sound design and sample manipulation. This interest sparked the creation of my Sliced Swiss EP, which I created to push the boundaries of my creative ability as well as sample manipulation and released it in November of 2011.”
What does Dave listen to in his free time, when he’s not building massive bass-bombs?
“My ‘personal favorites’ was a hard list to make but my very, very favorites are: Tipper, Vibesquad, Mr. Bill, Circuit Bent, Freddy Todd, kLL sMTH, Cualli, and iONik. Each one of those guys is bringing a unique style that they have evolved with many years of disciplined production methods.”
So his new release?
It’s called Meltdown. The first track, ‘Body Movin’, sounds like a night on the town in some futuristic robot city in Japan – very fun, very thrilling, and also very melodic. Although mechanical in it’s aesthetic, Atomic Reactor’s new release doesn’t stray far from the extremely melodic, from the the whirly and fast-paced synth-work on ‘Unreal,’ to the Opiou-esque rhythmic / melodic intricacy and tranced-out pads on ‘Intergolemia,’ it’s a very enjoyable ride, the whole way through.
“I’d love to seen the overly convoluted dubstep scene start moving into a glitch side trance movement. I’m loving the melodic glitch bass world instrument sound that has been spawning over the last year (mostly coming from down under). ”
Another thing I noticed about the album – I wondered about a possible (and subtle) Beastie Boys homage, as two of the tracks on the album remind me of the title tracks from ‘Hello Nasty,’ but maybe I’m just being hopeful.
There’s also a kLL sMTH remix of ‘Body Movin,’ which gives the song a more bouncy flow, and a very pleasing vocoder.
“I am very excited about this release because it is the very best of my solo production to this point. Since December kLL sMTH and I have been putting together another release that we want to drop just before festie season starts. ”
After listening to the album, I feel like I just got my car thoroughly washed with lazers and bass, possibly by alien robots from the future. But despite the ridiculous and unnecessary space-age metaphors, it’s actually a somewhat easy-going and mostly-midtempo album. Very danceable. On the one hand, yes, it has all sorts of meticulously cut up sounds dancing around, but its so well-done that it becomes accessible and instantly rewarding.
All in all, a fun glitch hop release from a rising star on the scene. Get ready for more tracks from Atomic, he seems to be geared up for more interstellar action soon!
“My goal in producing music is to push the boundaries of vibrational frequencies while tickling peoples conscious with love. Also, playing the main stage at Red Rocks would be unbelievable!”
The new album, ‘Meltdown,’ (Muti Records) will be dropping on the 26th of March, 2012.
-Will
Bassadelic.com :: #1 samples source online! We help electronic / hip hop producers with sounds, resources, tutz, theory, interviews & more! 