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| Blogs | Subscribe to our feed | Thursday September 02, 2010 |
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".
Continue reading Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Raw Life" (1/2)
Off The Shelf #5: Nicolay & Ugene - "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" | FREE DOWNLOAD
Posted by nicolaymusic on July 21, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Leave off that safety catch!
Today, I am another year older, and what better to commemorate this than with a particularly festive 'Off The Shelf' download, aimed for the dancefloors!
In the previous installment of this series, I broke down the story of how I first met the lovely and talented Moon Baker, many years ago. That story really isn't complete without acknowledging another good friend of mine, the amazingly talented Dutch singer and keyboardist Ugene.
In the previous installment of this series, I broke down the story of how I first met the lovely and talented Moon Baker, many years ago. That story really isn't complete without acknowledging another good friend of mine, the amazingly talented Dutch singer and keyboardist Ugene.
Continue reading Off The Shelf #5: Nicolay & Ugene - "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)" | FREE DOWNLOAD
Off The Shelf #4: Moon Baker - "Stay" [prod. Nicolay] and more! | FREE DOWNLOADS
Posted by nicolaymusic on June 23, 2009 at 12:43 PM
This installment in our 'Off The Shelf' series will take us back in time some fifteen years...
Around 1995, I was playing bass in a Dutch P-Funk outfit called Groovin' Pict. It would be an understatement to say that I could write a book about the many adventures of this group and its various formations, but that is a different story altogether. Back then, one of our rival bands had a new female singer called Moon Baker, who was both gorgeous and incredibly talented, and after hearing and seeing her in action, we all knew that we had to get her to join our ranks. To our delight, we were eventually able to persuade her to come sing with us, and Moon and I ended up playing music together in different configurations of the group until around the year 2000.
Fast forward to 2004. Moon called me up one day and told me she was at long last going to start working on her solo debut, and she wanted me to be the album's main producer. Over the course of two years, we worked on and off on writing, arranging and recording her album, titled "ABC Of Romance". It was released in 2007 by Supertracks Records, and knowing that, the term 'Off The Shelf' should not be taken literally in this particular context. However, I think that the release was limited to The Netherlands, Germany and Japan, so I don't think you'll mind if I drop one of my favourite songs that we did together, "Stay". If you like this track, you can find the full Moon Baker album "ABC Of Romance" on iTunes, Amazon and CD Universe.
Fast forward to 2004. Moon called me up one day and told me she was at long last going to start working on her solo debut, and she wanted me to be the album's main producer. Over the course of two years, we worked on and off on writing, arranging and recording her album, titled "ABC Of Romance". It was released in 2007 by Supertracks Records, and knowing that, the term 'Off The Shelf' should not be taken literally in this particular context. However, I think that the release was limited to The Netherlands, Germany and Japan, so I don't think you'll mind if I drop one of my favourite songs that we did together, "Stay". If you like this track, you can find the full Moon Baker album "ABC Of Romance" on iTunes, Amazon and CD Universe.
Continue reading Off The Shelf #4: Moon Baker - "Stay" [prod. Nicolay] and more! | FREE DOWNLOADS
Off The Shelf #3: United Soul feat. Yahzarah & Phonte "Soulclap" (Nicolay Remix) | FREE DOWNLOAD
Posted by nicolaymusic on June 9, 2009 at 9:17 PM
A summer full of music continues!
I am pretty sure that the fellas of United Soul (an R&B duo from Philadelphia that since changed their name to U.City) didn't end up using this remix, but I know they liked it, and so does my wife Aimee, who suggested it for the next installment of Off The Shelf. Just a smooth joint to cuddle up with your significant other to, done somewhere in '05. Shoutouts to U.City, Yahzarah and Phonte. Enjoy, and thanks for listening!
Nicolay
Nicolay
' SOULCLAP (NICOLAY REMIX)' [right click and save to download 320 kbps MP3 file]
Vocals by United Soul, Yahzarah and Phonte | All instruments and programming by Nicolay, 2005
Off The Shelf #2: The Last Poets feat. Keith Murray "Dakari (Nicolay Remix)" | FREE download
Posted by nicolaymusic on May 26, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Industry rule #4080: Record company people are shady (c) Q-Tip
Things don't always work out as you would hope, and the reasons why usually have little to do with music, and all the more with the people "behind the scenes", as the following example illustrates. Of course, not everyone in the music industry is a shark, but it certainly is my personal experience that the good people are exceptions that prove the rule.
At the end of 2004, I was contacted by a fairly well-known indie hip-hop label's A&R (Artist & Repertoire) director (who shall remain anonymous). The guy was working on a new project with legendary group The Last Poets, and he wanted to see if I could remix a song called "Dakari" track that also featured Keith Murray. The remix was intended for a 12" single to promote the album, and would potentially even be included on the album as they were not too thrilled about the beat that was used for the original track. Eager to expand both my range and my resume, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to reach a new audience, and we came to an agreement that worked for all parties involved. I finished the remix in January of 2005.
At the end of 2004, I was contacted by a fairly well-known indie hip-hop label's A&R (Artist & Repertoire) director (who shall remain anonymous). The guy was working on a new project with legendary group The Last Poets, and he wanted to see if I could remix a song called "Dakari" track that also featured Keith Murray. The remix was intended for a 12" single to promote the album, and would potentially even be included on the album as they were not too thrilled about the beat that was used for the original track. Eager to expand both my range and my resume, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to reach a new audience, and we came to an agreement that worked for all parties involved. I finished the remix in January of 2005.
Continue reading Off The Shelf #2: The Last Poets feat. Keith Murray "Dakari (Nicolay Remix)" | FREE download
Off The Shelf #1: Nicolay - "Nautilus" (A tribute to Bob James) | FREE download
Posted by nicolaymusic on May 12, 2009 at 1:47 PM
'Off The Shelf' is the name of a new bi-weekly series on Nicolay Music. For each installment, Nicolay digs into his archives to present you with a gem that has never been released, or that has otherwise been forgotten about. New installments are posted every second and fourth tuesday of the month. Get it while the getting is good... and trust us, it is going to be GOOD!
In July of 2006, I was approached by people representing world renowned jazz keyboardist Bob James. They were working on putting together a project, to be called 'Sampling Bob James: The Nautilus Project', on which several DJ's and producers would present their take on one of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop history, 'Nautilus', from Bob James' 1974 album 'One'. To my delight, I was invited to be one of the contributors, but instead of sampling the original, I chose to 'cover' it and re-create the track from scratch.
Continue reading Off The Shelf #1: Nicolay - "Nautilus" (A tribute to Bob James) | FREE download
Inside The Producer's Studio (Part 2): On sampling
Posted by nicolaymusic on May 5, 2009 at 2:34 PM
In the prologue and the first part of this series, Nicolay opened up his studio to the public for a virtual overview of the tools that he likes to use. For the next several parts, he will zoom in to the actual music making process, from the initial idea to the fully arranged and mixed production.
So far, we have had over 4,000 unique visitors logging on to our 'Inside The Producer's Studio' series, and I would like to sincerely thank everyone for their attention and for their kind words of appreciation and encouragement. I'm thrilled that so many of you have shown interest in our blogs. Please do continue to help spread the word!
Because I am a musician first and foremost, I have never had to rely on sampling alone. Still, there's no question that technique involving sampling makes up an important part of my music production process. Earlier on in my career, a new idea would usually present itself in the form of a sample that I would find by randomly going through my records, in search of that next "Oh shit!" moment. Even though I love to go record shopping like any fan of music, I am not much of a "digger" because my collection is fairly small, especially after moving from one continent to another. I have personally never seen the point of owning thousands of records, knowing that I would never be able to listen to or study most of them in my lifetime, and so I only buy and hold on to records that are significant to me for one reason or another. As a result, I have a personal connection with each record that I own, and those are the records that I turn to for inspiration.
Record shopping in Shibuya, Tokyo November '06 | Uploaded by Nicolay Music.
On sampling
Because I am a musician first and foremost, I have never had to rely on sampling alone. Still, there's no question that technique involving sampling makes up an important part of my music production process. Earlier on in my career, a new idea would usually present itself in the form of a sample that I would find by randomly going through my records, in search of that next "Oh shit!" moment. Even though I love to go record shopping like any fan of music, I am not much of a "digger" because my collection is fairly small, especially after moving from one continent to another. I have personally never seen the point of owning thousands of records, knowing that I would never be able to listen to or study most of them in my lifetime, and so I only buy and hold on to records that are significant to me for one reason or another. As a result, I have a personal connection with each record that I own, and those are the records that I turn to for inspiration.
Continue reading Inside The Producer's Studio (Part 2): On sampling
Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Daykeeper" (2/2)
Posted by nicolaymusic on April 22, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Nicolay breaks down the production and mix of Daykeeper by The Foreign Exchange (from Leave It All Behind).
Music: Nicolay/Lyrics: Phonte/All instruments: Nicolay/All vocals and vocal arrangements: Phonte and Muhsinah
In his comment on the first part of Making 'Daykeeper', Eric Hirsh asked: "Any insight as to why both Connected and Leave It All Behind start with the same sound sequence (but both depart from it in different ways)?" Thanks for bringing that up, Eric; while discussing the origins of 'Daykeeper', I had unintentionally skipped over that intro sound, but it's an important element of both albums. I think it was Phonte's idea to bring back the sound that opens 'Connected' as a "sound logo" that would instantly identify the new album as a Foreign Exchange project. Since we were working with the "Leave It All Behind" concept, I wanted to take the original sounds, to let the listener know that The Foreign Exchange is "back", but develop them into a different, darker direction, to let the listener know that everything is not the same. At this point, the sound logo has begun leading a life of its own as we open all of our shows with it, and it always invokes quite a stir in the audience.
Continue reading Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Daykeeper" (2/2)
Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Daykeeper" (1/2)
Posted by nicolaymusic on April 10, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Nicolay breaks down the production and mix of Daykeeper by The Foreign Exchange (from Leave It All Behind).
Music: Nicolay/Lyrics: Phonte/All instruments: Nicolay/All vocals and vocal arrangements: Phonte and Muhsinah
Backstory:
I came up with the basic track in november of '06, after coming back from my visit to Tokyo. Japan had made a huge impression on me and I was still in that state of mind, calling the track idea "Shibuya" before sending it over to Phonte to check out. I knew that it was very different from what we had done before, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with it and whether or not it would "fit", but when Phonte heard it, he knew that this was the direction that we were looking for and started to write to it. Not too long after, he recorded the hooks and verses together with Muhsinah and sent them back to me. I was so inspired by the song that I came up with the 3/4 section in the middle almost right away. In turn, Phonte and Muhsinah recorded their additional vocals to the middle section and with that, the song was complete.
Continue reading Inside The Producer's Studio: Making "Daykeeper" (1/2)
Inside The Producer's Studio (Part 1): On using the computer
Posted by nicolaymusic on April 7, 2009 at 8:55 PM
In this first part Nicolay explains why he uses a computer and which software he uses for what purpose.
Photo by Stevie Mack | Uploaded by Nicolay Music.
It doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you use it well.
That has been my motto throughout the years that I have been into making music. I have never been a purist or even a "gearslut", and I really don't believe that it matters much whether you use an MPC, an ASR10 or Fruity Loops to make your beats, or at this point, whether you run a laptop or a $100,000 studio. What matters only are the results, and you generally get the best results by using something that you are very familiar with.
