Breakbeat Tuesday – Call Me Ishmael

I’ve been collecting records for a long time now and have amassed a pretty sizable collection at this point. Currently I own approximately over 15,000 records, across genres and formats, and it’s spread out over my apartment here in Brooklyn, my storage space about 2 blocks away, and the basement of my mom’s house in Philly. Thankfully my mom has put up with my obsession, as well as my wife – who actually encourages me to have vinyl in the house (she finds it aesthetically pleasing.) Truth be told, when we moved into our new home last year, I put all the rest of my vinyl into storage but around January or February of this year I started pulling pieces because honestly, as a DJ, my house just felt naked without any black wax around. Here’s a photo of what my house USED to look like (just a slight angle…) from an piece called Dust & Grooves that my man Elion Paz did in early 2009.

Also, thanks to this guy, I’ve sort of rediscovered the unparalleled joy of playing vinyl in my DJ sets. Please, do not get me wrong – I LOVE Serato, I swear by it actually. I use it predominantly for my sets, and it has opened new doors for me both creatively and professionally. But there’s nothing like “that real thing” know what I’m saying? And the funny thing is that over the past 6 months I’ve been on a wild vinyl-buying binge and it’s felt great! And I’ve bought shit from flea markets, “boutique digger” shops, second hand stores, personal collections, eBay, Discogs, even the back of a pet store (that’s another story for another time.) I’ve spent cents on the dollar for spectacular finds, as well as having spent over 4 figures for one piece. All in the game, and I accept that.

So there’s a lot that I have, and a lot that I don’t have, but I’m always on the come-up. But there are a few joints out there that are super elusive to me. They don’t have to even be that rare, they just don’t cross my path, my own personal record “white whales” so to speak. This is one of them, that I don’t have, and am waiting for the day I actually have a copy of this 45 in my hand. It’s the thunderous “Hey Joyce” by Lou Courtney. Courtney hails from Buffalo, NY (Caps I see you) and was a one-time member of The Fifth Dimension. He came out with this record on Pop-Side in 1967 and it’s a stomper. A real heavy break beat as you will hear, and some amazing vocal work by Mr. Courtney over production one one-time Funk Brother Robert Bateman. I first got hip to this record when I heard it used on Main Source’s “Breaking Atoms” and then about a decade later it again rose to prominence for being used in the DJ Shadow / Cut Chemist 45. But this record rises above all… and I STILL DON’T HAVE IT. I need it. I want it. I’ve played the MP3 from California to Moscow (where it got an incredible response actually) but nothing beats having the actual vinyl.

So THERE YOU HAVE IT, folks. Cosmo DOES NOT have everything. There are fractures in the armor appearing. The man with all the goods cannot seem to get one of the most pedestrian wants added to his collection (I know “pedestrian” is relative but… )So I’m going to creep over to a corner and sulk, letting my head drop. And then I will raise my fist to the sky, shaking my head while tears or anger form in my eyes as I exclaim “I’ll follow him around the Horn, and around the Norway maelstrom, and around perdition’s flames before I give him up!” I will not give up on you yet, leviathan of a 45. I will find you yet, and have my revenge… You damned White Whale of a funk 45 hahahh….

Lou Courtney “Hey Joyce” (Pop-Side, 1967)

Breakbeat Tuesday – You Done Did It

So it just happened by chance that the past 2 Breakbeat Tuesdays were with songs featuring one of the greatest drummers of our time, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie so this week I decided to dedicate solely to this man who is one of the greatest of all time and without a doubt one of the godfathers of the breakbeat.

To say that Pretty Purdie changed the game is an understatement. His unique innovations in drumming changed the way that not only the instrument was played in pop music but also in the way that it was recorded. And his innovations in rhythm and time are invaluable. Let’s not mention that his drumming can be found on basically the laundry list of the GOATS of music – James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Gil Scott Heron, Steely Dan, Curtis Mayfield, The Beatles, Miles Davis, Hall & Oates, The Rolling Stones and so on and so on.

When I was in school (and yes, I went to college for this music shit haha…) one of the things that I studied was the ancient African tradition of spacing, breath, time or air interspersed between the notes in music and how that empty space was just as important if not more to the construct of the song. The notes, beats, melody are the materials that the song is made up of but the empty space between all of that, the “ups” or the “ands” is actually where the song truly lives. I don’t want to go to far into it because that’s like thesis material, but point being, Purdie has a philosophy with his drumming that is pretty much exactly this. He calls it his “ghostnotes” as you can see in his explanation here.

Pretty Purdie is directly responsible for so many famous recorded drum beats in history it’s ridiculous. But here are just a few that I love and want to share with the world. The first one is the ferocious “Soul Drums” off of the also titled album from 1968. Basically it’s just a soul-jazz saxophone vamp that kindly steps out of the way when Purdie is ready to come in and blow the roof off the place with absolutely THUNDEROUS drumming. See for yourself.

Bernard “Pretty” Purdie “Soul Drums” (Date, 1968)

Next up is the song “Hap’nin” from the Purdie composed soundtrack to “Lialeh.” For those that don’t know, “Lialeh” is an adult film (called “The Black Deep Throat”) in 1974. I’ve never seen it, but this is a pretty dope instrumental funk jam from the soundtrack.

Bernard Purdie “Hap’nin” (Bryon, 1974)

Last but not least is a track from the 1977 collaboration album between Purdie and The Last Poets. I think this is a great track that showcases his drumming as the sole instrument in a song and the driving force, even when it doesn’t actually stand out in front and more just rides in the background as the wave that The Poets can ride on.

The Last Poets “Blessed Are Those Who Struggle (Douglas, 1977)

Breakbeat Tuesday – Welcome To The Neighborhood

A couple days shy of exactly one year ago we moved into our new home in Fort Green right off of Fort Greene park. Had anyone ever said to me that I would be a property owner at my age, in New York, especially in this neighborhood I would have said that you were smoking freebase. But, here we are, living the life, and I couldn’t be a happier man. Special love and kisses goes out to my wife – congratulations on one year, hon!

Not long after I moved here I did my best to walk around the neighborhood and get my acclimated. Here’s the market, the bank, here’s where I get my keys made etc. One afternoon while I was heading home down Dekalb Avenue I walked by this really cool looking coffee shop that was playing some fantastic sounding Salsa so, being the coffee addict and music lover that I am, I decided to go in a check out my local java spot, with an energy and excitement for having discovered this brand new thing…

… It wasn’t a coffee shop. It was a random Puerto Rican Ex-Marine’s kitchen that he just happened to be sitting in at the time with his buddies (all Marines I gathered by looking at the tattoos,) watching the Yankees game. The all stopped and just stared at me as I was standing right in the middle of his kitchen. I was silent, looked around and saw the giant USMC and Puerto Rican flags hanging on the wall, turned back to them and said “Um, I think I made a wrong turn…” They were dumbfounded, and didn’t say a word over the blaring music or the competing volume from the Yankees game. They just stared at me for what seemed an eternity. Then I realized, I was wearing my Phillies cap. I quickly made my exit.

“Welcome to the neighborhood…”

I walked by there all the time and of course they’re still there, hanging out, holding court. Don’t don’t seem to recognize me. I don’t always wear my Phillies cap though. A couple weeks back I walked by and they were playing this song:

The Latin Blues Band feat. Luis Aviles “(I’ll Be A) Happy Man” (Speed, 1968)

Breakbeat Tuesday – Rest In Peace Melvin Bliss

Melvin Bliss has died and I don’t know what to say about it because I barely know anything about him. And, while it’s sad when anyone passes on it’s not like Mr. Bliss had a personal effect on me or on the world in the way that someone like MJ or Biggie Smalls did. Or did he?

Not too long after I first started DJing, I saved all my money and went down to Tower Records on South Street in Philly and bought the entire Ultimate Breaks & Beats collection (something every DJ should have done at one point in their career – a DJ not knowing his UBBs is like a chemist who can’t recite the periodic table.) Anyway, on Volume 505 (“the purple one”) there was this one song that I loved by Herb Rooney, a haunting and spooky song with dark piano and all these strange minor chords where the singer was singing about these vague ominous visions of a future world where love is replaced by synthetics. “Replacing a woman with a love machine…” So crazy, and in full listen it’s a very beautiful song, musically, lyrically, well constructed, produced and mixed.

But obviously the thing that hit most hard about the song was the opening 6 seconds, which has one of the hardest drum breaks known to man. Instantly I knew it the first time I heard it. As someone who grew up on rap music in the 1980s it was unmistakable. Listening to this song “Substitution” reminded me of the first time I heard “Ego Trippin’.” Do you remember the first time you heard “Ego Trippin’?” I do…

Eventually I came to realize that the Herb Rooney was just the composer & producer of the song and that it was actually performed by Melvin Bliss. Mel (born Melvin McClellan) was a Chicago native who eventually relocated to New York to work on the jazz / lounge singer circuit here. Somehow Mel linked up with Herb Rooney of The Exciters fame to release a 7″ single for New York based Sunburst Records, which was the song “Reward.” (As an aside, here’s an incredible early 60s “music video” of Herb with The Exciters doing “Tell Him” in a zoo. Incredible find!)

So Mel recorded “Reward” and the story goes that they just needed a B-Side for the single and so Rooney came up with “Synthetic Substition.” None of the dudes even knew what the song was about but they knew it had quite a groove. So they put it down, starting with a thunderous 6 second drum beat laid down by none other than Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, one of the most prolific and influential drummers of American music history. The record did well at the time but these guys couldn’t look into the future and see how they were changing the world. And that’s exactly what they did. A short 6 seconds and everything is different now, with the appropriation of the Substitution beat and they way that it was instrumental in becoming one of the building blocks of hip-hop and eventually modern pop-culture. I was talking about this with my man a few weeks back about how these dudes had no idea how large this was to become. They were just in their groove, but with all the right elements in place – the drums are microphoned up just right, the levels on the board are perfect, drummer on point of course, tape rolling… and before you know it run that through a filter 15-20 years later of some guys from Bronx or Connecticut or West Philly. Allow that to marinate and before you know it, you have 6 seconds of drums, or even so far as to say the individual kick drum hit, the individual snare hit, that are instantly recognizable by an entire generation of people. You don’t know shit about some 45 that came out in 1973 on Sunburst by a lounge singer Mel Bliss. But you do know this record, you grew up listening to this record even if you didn’t realize it. Substitution is so deeply ingrained in the collective consciousness of our generation that it’s ridiculous. Now I don’t even know what “Reward” sounds like but I know “Substitution” like the back of my hand. I own a lot of records but the original Sunburst 45 is something that has been elusive to me for years now. I’ve never gotten around to ponying up the $150-$200 for a copy. One of these days though… One of these days. It’s an integralsong, an integral piece to have. If the UBB’s are hip-hop’s periodic table, “Substition” may be its Carbon. And there’s nothing like having the real thing, no substitution…

And so thank you for your contribution to the planet, Mel. You helped change the world in a wonderful way, whether you knew it or not, by just doing what you do. Rest in peace to the one and only Melvin Bliss. For more info, check out this fantastic and moving write-up obituary style written by Matt Rodgers courtesy of Wax Poetics Magazine. Thanks to my dude Monk-One for sharing this.

Here is the original version of “Synthetic Substitution” as well as some more goodies. My man Monk-One did an article recently on Mel Bliss for Wax Poetics and (although I haven’t read it yet) I only expect the absolute best from him. You should grip Volume 42 now while you can, and in the meantime here are a few edits that Monk decided to bless us with. First is his re-edit of “Synthetic Substitution” that takes all the parts and piano chords and chops them up in a really lovely and engaging way. The second his his “Bonus beats” where he takes the “Impeach The President” drums and replays them in the “Substition” pattern (much like the way that Dilla played the “Long Red” drums in the “Big Beat” pattern on De La Soul’s “Verbal Clap“)

Melvin Bliss “Synthetic Substitution” (Sunburst, 1973)

Melvin Bliss “Synthetic Substitions (Monk-One Re-Edit)” (2010)

Monk-One “Impeach (Substitution Pattern)” (2010)

And last but not least, here’s a great mix by my man the incomparable Matthew Africa which showcases 47 songs that sample these legendary drums. Great mix, great concept, greater dude. Peep game below and show some love.

Matthew Africa “2 Busy Saying Yeah 19 – Substituition”

Tracklist:

1. Ultramagnetic MCs: Ego Tripping
2. Xperado: Watch Your Step feat. O.C.
3. Divine Force: Holy War
4. Ghostface Killah: Mighty Healthy
5. N.W.A.: Real Zaggin Don’t Die
6. Too Poetic: God Made Me Funky
7. Onyx: Throw Ya Gunz
8. Pharcyde: Ya Mama
9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth: For Pete’s Sake
10. Public Enemy: Don’t Believe the Hype
11. Willie D: Put the Fuckin’ Gun Away
12. MC Jr. Cas: Walk On the Wild Side [Club mix]
13. Almighty RSO: One in the Chamba feat. M.O.P.
14. Group Home: So Called Friends
15. T-Wiz: Good Thing Goin’
16. Knowledge: Put On Your X
17. Def Jef: Black to the Future RMX
18. Top Choice Clique: Peace of Mind
19. Biz Markie: Cool V’s Tribute to Scratching
20. Supreme Nyborn: Versatile Extension
21. Ultramagnetic MCs: Pluckin’ Cards
22. Freddie Foxxx: Crazy Like a Foxxx
23. Percee P & Ekim: Now They Wanna See Me
24. Robbie B & DJ Jazz: Comin’ Correct
25. AMG: Trunk of Funk
26. Zhigge: Toss It Up
27. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out RMX
28. Public Enemy: Brothers Gonna Work It Out
29. Von Love: This Is How It Should Be Done
30. Choice M.C.: This Is the B-Side feat. Chill Phill & MC Sergio
31. Ol Dirty Bastard: Cuttin’ Headz feat. the RZA
32. Wu-Tang Clan: Clan In Da Front
33. Naughty by Nature: Yoke the Joker
34. Ghostface Killah: The Champ
35. Funk Lab All-Stars: La Da Da
36. Digital Underground: Tie the Knot
37. Too $hort: Hoes
38. EPMD: Mr. Bozack
39. De La Soul: Stone Age
40. Coolio: I Remember feat. J-Ro & Billy Boy
41. Method Man: All I Need
42. Scarface: Murder by Reason of Insanity
43. Eazy E: Eazy Street
44. Gang Starr: Code of the Streets
45. New Style: Drop the Bomb
46. C.E.B.: Get the Point
47. Brotha Lynch Hung: 24 Deep
48. Melvin Bliss: Synthetic Substitution