184 entries under "sound"

Carpenters: Top of the World

From A Song for You (1972). Caught me by surprise to hear this while looking for something in a local Asian supermarket—my mom used to sing it as a kind of showpiece and even recorded it once in a studio. Listening more closely, I hear for the first time that there’s electric piano everywhere, orchestral strings, and these cool IV-I cadences before the verses start.

Hundred Waters: Particle

From Currency (2017). Starts with delicate acoustic piano tones and chords. I usually find it interesting when to use blocky (predictable) patterns from techno music without the music feeling too repetitive; the constant contrast here makes it always dynamic and alive. Lots of triplets and dotted rhythms throughout, twice used in the melody to create this feeling of continuously moving, dropping (for example, around 57s). The lyrics and melody help evoke a sense of flying, soaring, falling.

Vulfpeck: Back Pocket

From Live at Madison Square Garden (2019). Inspiring to hear a thousand-strong audience sing a complex line in three part harmony. Lots of beatboxing, music via voice and the body. Guitar shredding partially mirrored on voice. Surprising to clarinets at the end in this context. Good vibes, happy times, saudades for live music.

DUCKWRTH: I’M DEAD

From I’M UUGLY (2016). Time feel for instant body shaking, decorated and supported with seventh chords, bass patterns that repeat with variation, and effects to create contrast between sections. Lyrics slot into the drumming like Lego.

Zventa Sventana: Мужа дома нету

From Мужа дома нету (2019). Combines electronic sounds with folk singing. Lots of cool percussion and odd production details throughout to keep things dynamic (several only occurring once in the whole song). Touches elements of techno music without being too formulaic, might be the combination with various vocal timbres that keeps it feeling alive.

Have You Ever Had A Dream

Charles Cornell created complex jazz piano arrangements for a whole compilation of various memes with people speaking—this one is my favourite. If I listen to the original audio, I can’t help but hear this music.

Lisa Hannigan: What’ll I Do

From Passenger (2011). Starting hook got my attention right away. Bright, sunny vibes created with vocals, strings, bass, percussion, and clapping; some of it would normally feel cliché to me, but I enjoyed this. The constant offbeats create a deep swing effect: your body will move.

Murali Coryell: Softly Let Me Kiss Your Lips

From Eyes Wide Open (2000). Prepare yourself for nine minutes of ‘stank-face inducing’ blues vocals, guitar solos, lush organ chords, straight on the triplet drums, scatting… Imagine starting your day with this.

Clogs: Kapsburger

From Lantern (2006). Pure instrumental bliss in this journey that lasts just two minutes. Simple harmonies on guitar that surprise by shifting with subtle voice-leading (often changing one note of the chord at a time). There might be hints of Bach in here, or maybe I’m just projecting what I want to hear.

Amit Trivedi: Shubhaarambh

From Kai Po Che ! (2013). Soundtrack for a Bollywood film, with lyrics in Gujarati. The introduction has a strong time feel without any rhythmic accompaniment. There’s bagpipes (!), and I know how odd it might be to feature that in Indian music, but the duduk-like instrument called ‘shehnai’ went right to my heart.

Ornette Hawkins: Raw Sun Live Sessions (2018)

Live jazz-infused drum and bass from an artist with a killer name.

The Everly Brothers: All I Have to Do Is Dream (1958 single)

One of the first things I played in public on the piano when growing up; the harmony fits perfectly in one hand and can be pretty satisfying to repeat for hours—great way to learn about 3rd and 6ths.

The Dixie Cups: Chapel of Love

From Chapel of Love (1964). Super soulful vibe created from vocals, bass, horns, glockenspiel, drums, and clapping—fewer ingredients than ice cream.

Bobbie Gentry: Reunion

From The Delta Sweete (1968). Complex interleaving of multiple parts with folksy Southern USA accents. Listen to the percussive clapping, bass drum, and guitar on the left channel, with voice and trumpets in the right channel. Reminds me of Moondog.

Israel Fernández: Fiesta (Bulería)

At COLORSxSTUDIOS (2021). The simplicity of a powerful voice accompanied by delicate clapping and feet hitting the floor, heard in stereo. Even without understanding the lyrics, one can appreciate how the fierce singing cuts through your prefrontal lobe. An example of making music with the body and whatever’s around (the desk might have been my primary instrument for years). As an aside: there’s too much good music on this show, and I would appreciate recommendations.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Rare Things Grow

From EARS (2016). Mishmash of many exquisite textures: water glugging, saxophone flutters with delay and reverb, possessed drone voices, quartal harmonies, celestial singing, some shakers in just the right places. Hinting at indigenous musics through instrumentation and motifs, but unapologetically electronic, jazz, and modern. The cover art might be a good metaphor for how this strange and beautiful thing makes you want to keep staring, or listening.

Asmaa Hamzaoui, Bnat Timbouktou: Oulad Lghaba (2019)

I love Gnawa music. Powerful sound from this all female group (the backup singers translate to “Timbuktu girls”). A smattering of polyrhythms everywhere makes it feel like there are usually multiple meters happening simultaneously. Listen to the intricate yet free-flowing ornamentation in the lead singer’s voice and to the bluesy notes of the guembri (like a bass). Hope I will have the privilege to hear them live some day; if you want to get some idea for how the music is performed, see this live concert from Poland.

Ondatrópica: 3 Reyes de la Terapia

From Ondatrópica (2012). Intense combination of beatboxing and breathing (or perhaps hyperventilating) with a repetitive pattern that seems like it’s performed live and not a copy/paste of the same audio. This backdrop makes a strange fusion with the Cumbia-style improvising accordion. Dark and interesting like chocolate 80% noir.

Jazz Pianist Reacts to SKATE by Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars

I was once fascinated by the feeling of being moved nearly to tears by a series of chords, yet not able to explain what that means to people without lots of experience making music… Charles Cornell gets at some of this, albeit still talking to musicians, but with more heart-warming enthusiasm than I might display publicly (for something that can seem so technical): it’s clear that he has a strong personal and emotional connection to what he’s hearing, and that this is enriched by a deeper understanding of the materials. As he mentions, there are different ways to interpret musical harmony, but this might be a good way to get a glimpse at how music nerds (like me) hear songs. You might also learn a thing or two about theory, and share his excitement at how this song brings complex techniques into mainstream music.

Alvin Lucier: The Duke of York

From Bird and Person Dyning (1972–1973). I skipped the Latin recitation in the beginning, but feel free to hear from the start—either way, try to stick with it for the whole experience. Simple processes and simple inputs over time transform your perception; instead of proposing ‘what’ to listen, the composer guides us 'how’ to listen. The use of stereo is for guiding your attention (if you allow it). As it develops, it feels like being inside of someone else’s trip: notice how provocations create a chain of effects in sound, how it still feels 'organic’ despite being heavily electronic; observe the unfolding of a process, someone playing with their own perception and yours, often leading to surprise without shock.