Breakbeat Tuesday – Special Guest Skratch Bastid

This is a quick and incomplete update as I’ve been running around and had one of the busiest weekends in a while. But, I try not to neglect the scheduled Breakbeat Tuesday cause I know a lot of folks check for it on a regular basis. Well, this week we’re starting the first ever guest appearance of Breakbeat Tuesday – something that a lot of people have asked about doing and I have a lineup of writers in the cue. With no further hesitation, it is my honour, as an honourary Canadian, to present the first extra special guest – Skratch Bastid. The Bastid is a good homie, and for my money, one of the best DJs in the word, no question.

When he got with me to collaborate on a 4 turntable project in his Toronto home I jumped at the chance. Working on a whole bunch of of tightly scripted routines we’re fin to take the 2X4 game to the next level for the one night only appearance, this Friday at The Drake in T-Dot. That also is going to be my birthday so you know it’s going to be fun for me no matter what. So when he said he wanted to contribute a BBT in conjunction with the Friday show we’re doing together, it made perfect sense. So here you are, the first ever guest, Breakbeat Tuesday, as told to you by the one and only… Skratch Bastid:

These are 3 songs that I think have perfect breakbeats. My favorite types of breakbeats are ones that leave a lot of options for a DJ to cut doubles of them. Beats that become a song themselves inside of their original composition. I think that’s what makes the concept of breaking and sampling so interesting: a certain part of the record can spawn whole new songs or ideas when rearranged. Long breaks that have simple yet interesting changes provide a lot of choices for DJs that want to create something new out of an existing song. Of course, it’s always a trip to hear bugged out moments of greatness on unsuspecting records, but there’s more value in a break that you can enjoy for more than 5 seconds. Songs that are actually dope in their entirety and that a listener can enjoy from front to back, but which a DJ can rearrange the best parts of to make their own on-the-fly edit of the song.

Most of the songs on the Ultimate Breaks & Beats series fall into that category, and one of my favorites off of those records is “Funky Music Is The Thing” by The Dynamic Corvettes (Abet, 1975). Released on 7″ in 2 parts, it’s a Sly & The Family Stone-ish ode to good music, punctuated by horns, vocal harmonies, and a heavy beat. The b-side opens up into a big 30 second break half way through the side, drums pounding, fuzz guitar wailing, and the greatest cowbell player known to man doing their thing. Heavy. A lot of fun to loop. Steinski, Twin Hype & JVC Force all had fun with it, but from a production tip you gotta love how the king Mantronix freaked it and recreated it on Just-Ice’s “Cold Getting Dumb”. Here’s an extended mp3 of Parts 1 & 2 pieced together.

Dynamic Corvettes “Funk Music Is The Thing Pts. 1 & 2” (Abet, 1975)

A similar break is Booker T & The MGs’ “Grab Bag”, off their album “Universal Language”. The band behind the bulk of Stax’s early success. Without question one of the best rhythm sections ever. This album kind of sucks, though. When I first started buying records, I skipped through this album quickly and passed over this track entirely. Not long ago, my homie Birdapres sat me down to listen to this track and I was shocked to hear this. Pretty much the saving grace of the album. This is a really dope beat to break. The guitar/bass melody lead-in into the drums lends itself to different patterns. You can hear it in the chorus of Big Daddy Kane’s “Set It Off.”

Booker T & The MG’s “Grab Bag” (Asylum, 1977)

The last record contains one of those breaks that is satirically long. Compared to your average song, you could say that the above two breaks pretty lengthy. It’s a lot to ask the band to shut up for more than a few bars to let the drums go for dolo. It’s gotta stay interesting somehow. But by the time the disco era hit, it would seem that fans/dancers were a little more accustom to hearing beats and grooves on their own and in a more drawn out arrangement. What happens in the last 4:30 of The New York Community Choir’s “Express Yourself” 12″ takes the length of a ‘break’ to a whole ‘nother level. The bass and singing fade out and the drums ride out solo into one of the tightest ‘straight-ahead’ disco breaks I’ve ever heard. It speaks for itself, and takes it’s time while doing so. Listen.

Enjoy! Try them out. Get busy. Shouts out to Cosmo for setting off the nerdery and for the guest spot. I’m out. -Skratch Bastid

The New York Community Choir “Express Yourself” (RCA, 1977)

Thanks, Bastid for doing that for the site and thanks to everyone who took the time to read that. One of the things about the whole BBT thing on this site is emphasizing the personal connection and significance of these records, so it’s nice and refreshing to get someone else’s perspective. And don’t forget that me and Skratch Bastid will be performing our 2X4 set at The Drake this coming Friday, which is also my birthday, so even if you have to steal a car to get there, you better be in the house.

Breakbeat Tuesday – Rock Rock Yall

I have so much going on right now that I can’t get into a full in-depth thing about this next record. All I know is that it’s a MONSTER, and that I played it somewhere and sometime in my set on Sunday to thunderous effect. I first heard this in the form of Kool G Rap’s “Untouchable Remix” of  “On The Run.” Someone told me it was a Ray Bryant record so I spent the next 6 months buying every record by dude I could find, until I copped “Up Above The Rock.” Like so many soul jazz records of the late 60s it was chock-filled with tepid standards of the time like “Little Green Apples” and Burt Barcharach jawns. But the title cut? Damn… So ill, and it’s been a favorite ever since in my sets. The production is very unique in it’s sound, as it’s on Cadet and they had a very distinctive sound and feel to their records at the time, courtesy of producer Richard Evans. The composition of the song is very cinematic and matched perfectly for the storytelling prowess of G. Rap’s mafia fairytales. And to me this was one of the first productions that made me think the Trackmasters had taken their shit to the next level. Anyway, a Philly DJ living in Brooklyn plays a jazz song by a Philly pianist sampled by a Queens MC at a party in Los Angeles, and all because of that, it being give to you.

Ray Bryant “Up Above The Rock” (Cadet, 1968)

And for good measure,

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo “On The Run (Untouchable Version)” (Cold Chillin’, 1992)

Breakbeat Tuesday – No Time To Burn

So this Breakbeat Tuesday thing has really taken off and I’m pleased to announce that the column is soon going to be syndicated on a bunch of other sites. Also, be on the lookout for several guest entries for BBT starting very soon with some of your favorite DJs, producers, artists and just all around “folk.” But let’s get started with this week’s entry.

Now I’ve mentioned this before but my man ESPO aka Steve Powers was really instrumental on putting me on to a lot of records back in the day. I would lamp over his house in West Philly and he basically sat me down in front of the turntable and would be like “Okay, now you LISTEN to this Funkadelic record and LEARN IT.” So I am forever beholden to this dude for putting my head on at the right place and right time. For the few people out there who don’t know who dude is , get your shit together. And while you’re at it, stop messing around and buy his book. So anyway, this is a record that he put me up on, from Black Heat’s “No Time To Burn” album.

I’m going to start with Phillip Guilbeau, who was a trumpeter and session player that was most known for recording with legends such as Count Basie, David “Fathead” Newman, Hank Crawford and Ray Charles (he was soloist on the landmark 1961 album “Genius + Soul =  Jazz.”). Guilbeau recorded a ton of music during the 60s and by the time the early 70s had rolled around, Guilbea became involved in the latest evolution of sound, funk music. He was living in Washington DC and was the trumpet player for the group The Young Senators. The Young Senators were the top-rated R&B group in the area after the release of their hit, the Guilbeau penned “The Jungle” after which they were asked to tour as the backing group of Eddie Kendricks. Kendricks was so enamored of their sound that he recorded his seminal album “My People… Hold On” with the Young Senators as the band who played all the music, including what is widely considered the first ever Disco song, “Girl You Need A Change Of Mind.”

Gilbeau was still very active in the DC community which was a hotbed of talent that included Chuck Brown’s Soul Searchers, and another group that Gilbeau discovered, Black Heat. Black Heat was in the community and, had ties with The Young Senators. Gilbeau took Black Heat to Joel Dorn at Atlantic Records, whom he had known from his days as session player for Ray Charles and Hank Crawford. The funk outfit was signed and, with Dorn on production, Atlantic (which was always a very forward thinking imprint in general) was ushered into the future with a brand new sound. Black Heat recorded 3 albums before they disbanded, but not before leaving their mark.

Espo pulled this record out and put it in my hands in what was probably 1990 or 1991 and told me “Do not tell anyone what this record is or share it with anyone.” I looked at it with the wild dudes on the cover with all the flames and the words “No Time To Burn” across the front and I swore I was looking at the baddest shit I had ever seen. When he placed the vinyl on the turntable and “You Should’ve Listened” came on with it’s heavy funk and overall ATTITUDE (that’s a common theme with me I think) I was beyond excited. But then when right past 2 minutes the song revs up and launches into one of the baddest breaks I had ever heard it was game over. Just furious drumming, with percussion where you can definitely see the DC sound, and the very beginnings of what would eventually become Go-Go music. Espo looked at me and was like “I told you, so so keep this under wraps.” That was probably the beginning of a long stretch of time where I blacked out my labels and was very secretive about my records. Well the pendulum swings again and here we are, with me sharing this with the world. Not that this is a Secret Squirrel break at this point or anything, but I think you know what I mean. Anyway, I hope you don’t mind Steve. I figure the Statute Of Limitations for Funk Breaks expires around the 20 year mark. But thanks, my dude. This one is a killer.

Black Heat “You Should’ve Listened” (Atlantic, 1974)

Breakbeat Tuesday – Deep Connections

You know that this music thing is really my thing, like I would be doing what I do even if I wasn’t getting paid for it. I guess it’s a compulsion, but that doesn’t really explain the connection that I have to music properly. But I just get a sense of indescribable enjoyment out of it, much like the way my sister Zoe Strauss describes her connection to the visual in this short film about her. The thing is I’m nowhere near as smart or talented as her… “Through the Lens of Zoe Strauss“ from Ted Passon on Vimeo.

But yeah man – sometimes there’s just something that hits you hard. Sometimes you hear something that instantly connects with you and there’s no way of putting it into words. So you’ll just have to listen. This past Thursday I did a show in Atlanta with my dudes Kon & Amir and the homie Injex from Sound Table. The night was over and I was standing in the back yard when I heard a song coming through the crack of the door that was so beautiful and haunting that I immediately had to rush in and see who it was. Injex was on the decks just playing 45s after hours and I walked in the booth like “Yo son what the eff is this?” The record was just ending at the time and, at the same time I was walking up, both the bartender and the last dancer on the floor simultaneously walked up, all three of us individually demanding to know what the record was. He showed me the 45 and it was so on. The next day in my hotel room in Montreal I was able to get a copy online (from the homie James Pants as a matter of fact!)

It was The Three Degrees. This is like a record that I should have known, but I didn’t. Sometimes things fall through the cracks and you miss joints, and this is one of them. The Three Degrees are a female vocal group from Philly and pretty much the “first ladies” of the TSOP organization. Mostly known for their songs “When Will I See You Again” and “The Sound Of Philadelphia” they went through a few variations of their lineup throughout the years but regardless of the members they always had one of the most distinctive vocal stylings of all time. Like top shit, eclipsing many of the more notable and supreme names in music history in my opinion.

This song came from their first album which predates TSOP, the 1970 “Maybe” release on Morris Levy’s Roulette imprint. The album was helmed by Philly producer Richard Barrett, who decided to lead the girls debut record off with an album cut buried deep on the first album by Cleveland rock outfit James Gang, “Y’er Album.”

The song was written by the great Joe Walsh and honestly, even though I have “Y’er Album” I never picked up on this cut, probably gravitating towards some of the more drum-laden tracks. But listening to the remake made me realize how incredible of a song it is. However I definitely feel as though the original is eclipsed by the remake, with Barrett’s orchestration being so lush and rich but never heavy-handed, coupled with absolutely perfect harmonies. This song floors me. It’s flooring me right now as I type while I listen to it.

The Three Degrees “Collage” (Roulette, 1970)

Okay just want to be clear here, Breakbeat Tuesday isn’t just about “breakbeats” and whatnot, it’s just about joints and heavy tunes. But since I know a bunch of folks out there like their drums and breaks and whatnot, here’s a joint from the first James Gang album that sort of fits the bill.

James Gang “Funk #48” (Bluesway, 1969)

“Wintertime is a razor blade, that the devil made, it’s the price we paid for the summertime.” – Hope you are enjoying your summer… – C