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Postcards From Shibuya #7: Meiji Shrine/The Inner Garden
Posted by nicolaymusic on November 4, 2009 at 8:45 AM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together
Before I even wrote a single note of music, I knew that one of the centerpieces on City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya would have to be called Meiji Shrine. The place just left that much of an impression on me.
Meiji Shrine, or Meiji Jingu in Japanese, is a large Shinto shrine dedicated to the beloved and influential Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken, and situated in the forest at the end of Omotesando, across the street from the legendary Budokan hall. The people of Tokyo visit the shrine to practice their religion and to pay their respects to the spirits of the emperial couple. Many consider Meiji Shrine and the adjacent forest their spiritual home.
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #7: Meiji Shrine/The Inner Garden
Postcards From Shibuya #6: Omotesando
Posted by nicolaymusic on November 2, 2009 at 7:13 AM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together
Omotesando is the name of one of the main avenues in the Shibuya district. It is best known as an upscale shopping area featuring several international brand boutique stores and outlets. Over 100,000 cars drive down this avenue every day.
As I was going through all of our photographs of Shibuya, searching for album art material, I came across the image of the cars driving down Omotesando, and I knew I had found the front cover.
''Omotesando'', one of the earlier pieces that I recorded for City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya, opens the second suite of instrumentals on the album, and, following the avenue that it is named after, segues into "Meiji Shrine''.
Thanks for listening,
Nicolay
Listen now on Last.fm:
Omotesando
Postcards From Shibuya #5: Saturday Night/A Ride Under The Neon Moon
Posted by nicolaymusic on October 6, 2009 at 2:12 PM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together.
Electronic/dance music continues to be a big influence on me, as evidenced by the 'City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya' album in general, and "Saturday Night", featuring the fabulous Carlitta Durand, in particular. While putting together the final configuration, Phonte convinced me to include the full 6-minute version, and I am glad he did. "Saturday Night" became the centerpiece of the album.
Best listened to LOUD!
Until next time,
Nicolay
Listen now on Last.fm:
Saturday Night feat. Carlitta Durand
A Ride Under The Neon Moon
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #5: Saturday Night/A Ride Under The Neon Moon
Postcards From Shibuya #4: Rain In Ueno Park/Satellite
Posted by nicolaymusic on September 25, 2009 at 9:56 AM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together.
"Rain In Ueno Park" and "Satellite" are the third and fourth movements of the first 'Shibuya' suite and, similarly to "Shibuya Station" and "Crossing", they are closely related to each other.
Ueno Park, technically not situated in the district of Shibuya, is one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks, built on the hallowed grounds of a long-gone temple. A steady rain came down for the entire time that we spent visiting the park and its neighbouring areas, under the expert guidance of our friend GG. Even though we were quickly soaked through and through, Ueno did leave a lasting impression, as you can hear in "Rain In Ueno Park".
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #4: Rain In Ueno Park/Satellite
Postcards From Shibuya #3: Shibuya Station/Crossing
Posted by nicolaymusic on September 17, 2009 at 4:21 PM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together.
'City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya' is built around two 'suites', or sets, of four and six instrumental songs respectively. The two suites are book-ended by several vocal songs that feature Carlitta Durand. "Lose Your Way", the album's introduction, segues into the first suite, consisting of "Shibuya Station", "Crossing", "Rain In Ueno Park" and "Satellite".
The demo version of "Shibuya Station" was among those first ideas that I recorded almost immediately after returning from my trip to Tokyo. The uptempo drums and percussion represent the frantic pace of the city's traffic, with a nod to 8-Bit Nintendo music in the intro. With over two million people passing through each workday (!), "Shibuya Station" is one of the world's busiest railway stations, and it seemed like the most appropriate starting point for a walk around Shibuya. A big shout out to my brother Zo! for laying down a smoldering solo on the Rhodes.
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #3: Shibuya Station/Crossing
Postcards From Shibuya #2: Lose Your Way
Posted by nicolaymusic on September 11, 2009 at 2:04 PM
In a series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together.
I recorded an instrumental demo, titled "Universe", towards the end of the sessions for 'Leave It All Behind', as I was getting ready to put together the 'Shibuya' album. Much like most ideas that I put down, I sent it to Phonte for some feedback. Over the years, this practice has become somewhat of a litmus test for me. Fortunately, he took to the track. I personally hadn't necessarily considered "Universe" for inclusion on 'Shibuya', but a few months later, when Phonte sent me the song he wrote to it, titled "Lose Your Way", everything literally fell into place. We had been brainstorming on conceptual ideas for the album, and the song brought all of the different elements together, inviting the listener to take a trip to the city, with the voice of Carlitta Durand as a guide.
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #2: Lose Your Way
Postcards From Shibuya #1: The story behind Shibuya
Posted by nicolaymusic on September 4, 2009 at 8:33 AM
In a new series of blogs titled 'Postcards From Shibuya', Nicolay explains what the inspiration was for his new album and how its songs came together.
Ever since I first released the original 'City Lights' album, I have been planning a sequel, hence the 'Vol. 1', and later 'Vol. 1.5', in the title. I knew that I wanted it to be another collection of instrumentals, and I knew that I didn't want to simply repeat the formula, and so I wasn't quite sure in what direction to take the sequel. This all changed when I got the chance to visit Tokyo (Japan), in November of 2006.
Continue reading Postcards From Shibuya #1: The story behind Shibuya
Off The Shelf #7: Little Brother/The Foreign Exchange BBC Radio 1 LIVE Session (January 2005) | FREE download
Posted by nicolaymusic on August 25, 2009 at 4:59 AM
It's Connected week at Nicolay Music!
In celebration of the 5th anniversary of the release of The Foreign Exchange's debut album 'Connected', we have a very special 'Off The Shelf' installment for you today!
At the end of January 2005, on the heels of a sold-out performance at London's Jazz Cafe, Little Brother/The Foreign Exchange (consisting of Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, Nicolay, Yahzarah, Darien Brockington and DJ Flash) recorded a live-in-studio session for Gilles Peterson's Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 (United Kingdom). Originally, the BBC Radio 1 only aired the two Foreign Exchange tracks, 'Come Around' and 'Sincere', but we are now presenting this session in its entirety. Enjoy!
Thanks for listening,
Nicolay
At the end of January 2005, on the heels of a sold-out performance at London's Jazz Cafe, Little Brother/The Foreign Exchange (consisting of Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, Nicolay, Yahzarah, Darien Brockington and DJ Flash) recorded a live-in-studio session for Gilles Peterson's Worldwide show on BBC Radio 1 (United Kingdom). Originally, the BBC Radio 1 only aired the two Foreign Exchange tracks, 'Come Around' and 'Sincere', but we are now presenting this session in its entirety. Enjoy!
Thanks for listening,
Nicolay
LITTLE BROTHER/THE FOREIGN EXCHANGE BBC RADIO 1 SESSION [right click and save to download MP3 file]
Vocals by Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, Yahzarah and Darien Brockington | Keyboards by Nicolay | DJ Flash on the decks | January 2005
Tracklisting:
01 Speed (Little Brother)
02 The Way You Do It (Little Brother)
03 Come Around (The Foreign Exchange)
04 Sincere (The Foreign Exchange)
Continue reading Off The Shelf #7: Little Brother/The Foreign Exchange BBC Radio 1 LIVE Session (January 2005) | FREE download
Off The Shelf #6: Ilwil feat. Jameze - "So Far" Prod. Nicolay | FREE DOWNLOAD
Posted by nicolaymusic on August 4, 2009 at 9:14 AM
We've come so far...
This week's 'Off The Shelf' installment was actually requested through Twitter. You may know the song "So Far" in the instrumental version that is included on City Lights Vol. 1.5, or in the remix version that is included on The Dutch Masters Vol. 1, but the original vocal version is a little less known. The song, performed by Ilwil (Donwill and Ilyas) featuring Jameze, was recorded around 2002, during what you could call our Okayplayer days. I'm sure that we posted it up on The Lesson, and Ilwil included the original version on their 'Beat Thieves Vol. 1 Mixtape', that is no longer in print.
Continue reading Off The Shelf #6: Ilwil feat. Jameze - "So Far" Prod. Nicolay | FREE DOWNLOAD
Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Raw Life" (1/2)
Posted by nicolaymusic on July 24, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Nicolay breaks down the production and mix of Raw Life by The Foreign Exchange (from Connected).
Music: Nicolay/Lyrics: Phonte, Joe Scudda/All instruments: Nicolay/All vocals: Phonte and Joe Scudda
Backstory:
It should be no secret that the incredible beatwork of the late great J Dilla has been hugely inspirational to me, especially when I was first getting into production. I learned by studying his music, that there is room for musicality and for experimentation, as long as there is a strong and steady foundation going on underneath. Dilla's signature tracks always had that "sweet spot", that chord progression or melody that would tug at your heartstrings, while the drums and the bass would work on your neckmuscles at the same time. As a producer, his drums were eye-opening for me, not only because of his choice of sounds and of ways to process those sounds, but because of his often-imitated "drunken" style of drum programming. Before I got into Dilla's music, I suppose I more or less thought of drum hits as being relatively "fixed". For example, in one bar of four counts, you put a kick hit on the one and the three, a snare hit on the two and four, and hihat hits on every eighth note, with "swing" timing applied (or not, depending on what is called for). Dilla's programming taught me that if you exaggerate this "swing" timing, the drums come alive and feel more "human" and "in the pocket".
