Ken Moore has been working on theremin emulation for some time now. He developed a Wii remote based theremin, and was quite helpful to me as I was developing my AirDeck project, which was also a Wii based theremin emulation application. Now Ken has done it again. This time, with the Kinect motion detection device that is used with the Xbox 360. Perhaps, if I can find the time, I can work on something similar with the PlayStation Move, which I have, and then we will have effectively converted all three motion based video game systems into theremins. Check this out:
Month: January 2011
The Most Commonly Sampled Breakbeats – Techno Edition (Part 3)
My first post here in 2011 is a continuation of something I started late last year, which is a list of breakbeats commonly used in classic techno songs. Sorry for the delay, between the holidays and working on some music, this was the first opening I had to finish this. Hope the wait was worth it!
These last four breaks may not have been used as much as the first seven that were documented in part 1 and part 2, however they each deserve recognition in that they were used in several songs that were in heavy rotation during the golden era of oldskool techno. They are also all very distinguishable breaks; easy to spot once heard.
All girl 80s dance/R&B band Klymaxx brings us this funky break from their tune Good Love:
http://www.youtube.com/v/a2xWXYfvDWg
This loop was also used in a remix of Kariya – Let Me Love You For Tonight, but Klymaxx predates the Kariya track and so this is very likely the original source. This break is very distinctive and was featured in one of the most well-known techno classics of all time… Bombscare by 2 Bad Mice:
http://www.youtube.com/v/iQVv40_9NSo
You can also hear this beat in DJ Phantasy and DJ Gemini – Never Try the Hippodrome:
http://www.youtube.com/v/kkmqyItSXU4
As well as is in this rare, well sought white label by Schedule 3:
http://www.youtube.com/v/0Z-HpbtUDOM
This version of Apache is actually a cover recorded by Michael Viner’s Incredible Bongo Band, released in 1974 without much acclaim. In terms of hip hop and drum & bass, this epic break ranks up there with the Amen, the Funky Drummer and the Think break. I cannot mention this break without featuring this historic clip of Grandmaster Flash cutting up Apache on the wheels of steel:
http://www.youtube.com/v/C9aG3xc9IZw
Like many popular hip hop breaks, it also found its way into several popular techno and acid house songs. It is very easy to recognize due to the powerful reverbed congas. Here it is in The Break Boys (aka Frankie Bones and Tommy Musto) – And the Break Goes On:
http://www.youtube.com/v/uit8WhT0XVM
As well as Panic – Voices Of Energy:
http://www.youtube.com/v/_6G9vQKdmNw
Listen to the little breakdown at (:57) of Todd Terry’s Just Wanna Dance. There is the Apache in all its glory.
This drumbreak is a hybrid creation of two other well-known breaks, with some additional flair such as a booming sub-bass and was featured in the song Run’s House off RUN DMC’s Tougher Than Leather album:
http://www.youtube.com/v/0xMJZHrG_94
The two breaks in question include James’ Brown’s Funky Drummer, which rivals the Amen break in terms of overall usage in hip hop, drum & bass and techno tunes:
http://www.youtube.com/v/dNP8tbDMZNE
The second break is from the song Ashley’s Roach Clip by funk group Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers:
http://www.youtube.com/v/ZfymVPOdMwk
Ashley’s Roach Clip is yet another very recognizable and well known loop that has been used in countless hip hop and even mainstream songs, probably most famously in Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full.
The Criminal Minds used the Run’s House break in the 1992 ragga techno hit Baptised By Dub:
http://www.youtube.com/v/v84mJACUmu8
It is also featured in Urban Shakedown’s Some Justice:
http://www.youtube.com/v/e3x0BMNy99c
And again in Naz AKA Naz’s dark proto-jungle work Organized Crime:
http://www.youtube.com/v/nOKlm95G5nM
Last but not least, there is this funky little break from the Isley Brother’s Get Into Something:
http://www.youtube.com/v/092WyVP4cv0
The break is somewhat similar to the Think breaks with the background voices, tambourine and snappy snares. We hear it on one of the very big tunes of the day, 4 Hero’s Mr. Kirk:
http://www.youtube.com/v/THCj2AJuNVE
It can also be found on Nation 12’s Electrofear(unfortunately, no YouTube clip of this version of the song is available).
The breakbeat is, and continues to be, a powerful weapon in the arsenal of dance music producers worldwide. While these samples have powered the energy behind many hip hop, drum & bass and techno tracks, it is also important to recognize and acknowledge the incredible drummers who were the original sources of these loops. I believe it is also interesting and worthwhile to listen to these loops in the context of their original songs. There is a wonderful history that flows from these rhythmic interludes. Thanks for allowing me to share at least a little bit of this history with you. I also hope that this will broaden people’s musical tastes into some wonderful work that, while clearly stylistic departures from the tunes which sampled them, are incredible gems that deserve to be enjoyed in their original glory.
Mojo's Dojo 