Funk43

I am awake. Feel me?

Get Back

Apologies for the delay between posts. I've been diligently producing for you, but this is the first project I've been able to complete with my busy schedule. I was hoping to throw a rap acapella on this, but unfortunately I could not find a suitable match. Anyway, let's talk about this beat.

Not too long ago, I began producing a trap remix (which you will hear eventually). I enjoy working on it and it has taught me a lot. However, I have been drifting away from it in the last couple months. Something (although I couldn't tell what) about that track was bothering me for a long time. Eventually I showed it to a close friend who's only feedback was "It's good,  but it's not you..".

Since then I have directed my affections to the aspects of my production that fulfill me the most. Using your standard synthesizers, 808s, and risers can be a lot of fun, but they limit the life that can be breathed into a track when they are the main components. Rather than employing the skills that I have been working hard on cultivating, this track was an exercise in the skills that come to me naturally. Manipulation makes up the majority of this beat. Over the last few days, much like a puppet master, I have sifted through my sounds and forced them to dance according to my will.

The kick drums, the claps, and two of the four hats used are the only sounds left somewhat in tact. Everything else has been whittled to fit a new purpose. Here's a fun list of some of the sounds/people who are the life of this beat: motor switches, cello, Aaliyah, DMX, Fabolous, Eminem, Lollievox, and of course a bongo drum. What I love about this track is how uneasy it feels. Something just isn't right, which is also what makes it feel so good. It's riddled with uncertainty, yet flows with an unusual and eerie calmness.

In any event, I will hopefully have more music coming your way soon. My arsenal has grown, and I can't wait to show you some of my new weapons; especially now that I have resurrected my sharpest tools.

For Days

My favourite electronic genre has always been house. My cousin introduced me to it when I moved to Canada and it was nothing but love from then on. I love all of it; electro house, deep house, minimal house, disco house, progressive house - the list goes on.

I've actually always wanted to produce house music myself, but hadn't found the groove I was looking for until recently. It's you that I wish to thank for it. This blog has served as an incredible motivator for me to take my music more seriously, and I'm now reaching a point where I constantly need to find creative ways to produce with this lacking setup. Yet, despite its limitations, I love it to death for what it has given me.

This song reflects so much of what I've felt in the last couple months. Despite how busy and fast paced things have been, it's been a hell of a fun ride with many more stops to come. Like I said in my last post, I've found a certain clarity that I was previously lacking. Maybe it's time to throw down more grooves that reflect that.

What do you feel?

Split

Forgive me again for the delay in delivering this song. I won't bore you with the technical details, but by the time this track was completed it had 8 different project files (some of which were corrupted along the way). The inspiration for this one cannot be boiled down to one event or idea as it was produced over an extended period of time and therefore serves as a host for so many experiences and feelings sounds. 

In the last few months so much has changed that I feel like a brand new person. I love it. At some point, everyone sits down and asks themselves what they are really doing. Where am I going? What is the plan? Why do I do what I do? Who do I do it for? When I started this blog, it was as a tool through which I hoped to achieve some sort of enlightenment and share thoughts which had formerly been described to me as less palatable. There were some who would dismiss or even vilify me for my position; people who remain blind to the reality that lays right before them as they fervently seek escape. However, I no longer allow myself to be held by the fetters of their doubt, and the path that lays before me has never been clearer. 

Clarity, as a matter of fact, is the best way to describe what this track has provided for me. Its production has been influenced by so much that getting to see it as I can now is refreshing and highly motivating. It's time to run towards my fate. Any and all are welcome to join me, but I certainly won't wait should they begin to lag behind.

A New Beginning

Now that we are somewhat acquainted, I think it's time for me to show you a little more of myself. From here on out I will accompany each post with a song of my own creation. I originally wanted to start with the first song I ever made, but then I realized that I don't want to waste your time.

It is my hope that our growing relationship will be mutually beneficial. I want to provide you with a deeper look into my mind and the sounds within. I want you to feel what I feel and hear what I hear. I want to tell you things that can't be expressed with words. However, far more important than what you will learn about me throughout our time together, is what you will learn about yourself.

I've always had these sounds practically blaring within my skull - fighting and clawing their way out through any musical outlet I afforded them. But just as any artist, be it a painter, sculptor, or even a watchmaker (that shit can get pretty crazy), I have had to work very hard at refining my technique. An idea is only worth so much if you can't express it accurately.

For a long time I took a playground approach to my music. "Anything goes! Just try it out and see what happens!" This worked for a while, but as soon as I wanted to dabble with and create more complex sounds, I realized that I needed to work on my technical skills. Therefore, I cleaned out my toolbox and started fresh. The track attached to this post is my latest creation. It has been somewhat of an obsession for me over the last couple of weeks. I've played it over and over again while listening ever so intently. I wanted it to be a perfect portrayal of what I felt when I started it.

What does it make you feel?


A New Beginning by dhemicu3

The T Junction

We have all been faced with conflicting choices at one point or another. More so than we realize, these choices (however seemingly insignificant at the time) can have great impact on who we are as people. Obviously we aren't talking about your typical 1% versus 2% milk dilemma; but rather decisions that I like to call "t-junctions". Go to university or start working? Stay at home or move out? Learn another language? Move to another country or stay in your native one?

For a lot of people, these decisions are no-brainers. However, the reality is that they often make them based on expectations that have been set for them from early in life. Most of us are born with a predetermined path to happiness that is constructed with materials provided by one's culture, religion, family, gender, race, social class, or any other combination of definitive factors. Come to the t-junction and go left. At the next one make sure you turn right.

That's too easy. Why should anyone just accept a path that has been set for them? What if I want to take a different path? Perhaps one not offered at the t-junction.

This is the t-junction that I feel like I'm standing at right now; and deep inside me is the growing desire to grab a cutlass and start hacking my way through the middle until I reach the destination of my choosing. I strongly believe that it's time for me to invest in one of those. This blog will be my first cutlass. Let's see how sharp I can make it.