Day 17 : April 3 - Counting Down The Days
Much like the days, this music is hard to keep count.
Prelude Steve Reich - Clapping Music
This is a classic among music school students. Most undergrads have to learn this piece as part of their theory training (I didn’t cause ya boi went to commuUuUunity college). The clappers start in unison, but then shear off into phases, syncopations, and various grooves. Performed here by Michael Rareshide and Tom Lee.
Nate Smith - Skip Step
Drummer, songwriter, and producer Nate Smith trips up the beat here, putting little skip steps (getit) of an extra 8th note at the end of every other beat, so 4/4 + 9/8 (2+2+2+3) (count like 1 2 3 4 - 1 2 12345 or 1 te 2 te 3 te 4 te 1 te 2 te 3 te 4tate). Some great in the pocket grooves with some tasteful licks and some funky af guitar.
Interlude: Aka People - Bobangi
Aka People, from the Western Basin region of the Congo, are known for their music. Their oral traditions have been noted by UNESCO as masterpieces of human creativity. Their music is marked by complex polyphony and improvisation, perhaps not unlike the homo/polyphony seen in the Bunuun people and in Appalachian shape note singing, but more rhythmic precise (though I am not an ethnomusicologist and you should consult the work of Simha Arom). The style has been described as ‘ostinato with variations,’ which, as shown in the work of Ligeti and Reich, can create very complex textures. This recording is actually from a recording by French pianist Pierre Laurent-Ainard which features Ligeti and Reich alongside these recordings of Aka people.
Judd Greenstein - Four on the Floor
Judd Greenstein is a New York-based composer and co-director of New Amsterdam Records (which put out a ton of great great music). With Four on the Floor, Greenstein gives us a very funky and elaborate abstraction of pop and rock music. This piece slams, but always surprising and constantly fresh. Should be a standard of string quartet repertoire. Played here by the Jasper string Quartet.
Interlude Aka Pygmies - Yangisa
Tool - Jambi
Not the craziest metric scheme in the world (9/8 for most of the piece, 6/4 in the solo), I included this piece because it absolutely slams. That riff is just funky and the interplay of the rhythms between the parts is zesty. It’s helped by Tool’s amazing production, which always lends such depth to their records. The name, Jambi, refers to iambic pentameter…or maybe the genie from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse…
Interlude Aka Pygmies - Mai
Frank Zappa - Po-Jama People
Having spent the last two weeks in my po-jamas, I feel personally attacked by this content. Zappa bringing some funky fresh vibes to this disparaging fake news about people in onesies. While mostly an excuse for some very tasty guitar solos, the post-chorus breaks are delightfully off-kilter.
Postlude Topology, Trichotomy - Clapping Music
A very funky and full-throated take on Steve Reich’s Clapping Music by Australian new music ensemble, Topology. Their harmony, while definitely tasteful, also highlights the changes within the rhythmic duet. Very zesty.