Blog.H34 : Music, Design, Culture » Beat Evolution pt.01: Footsteps In The Dark

Beat Evolution Pt.01

Here’s the first of what I hope will be a series of posts where we look at how some of the sounds we hear today make use of the sounds of old. Influences can be heard in almost any music out there, but hip-hop has brought to light a technique for incorporating this into the music that is definitely worth exploring. This is one of the most obvious examples in my collection:

The Isley Brothers slow jam Footsteps In The Dark (Parts 1 & 2) may not have seen much initial commercial success, but it proved a prime track for hip-hop producers later down the line. It has a rhythm that’s steeped in funk and slowed down to sex-pace, and a bouncing bass line that goes back and forth, almost causing the guitars to moan and wail in response…you can tell what I’m getting at here, this band done gone and took a freaky candle-lit slamfest and translated it into notes and melodies. The lyrics add an extra layer to the song, with Ronald Isley pensively contemplating his suspicions, torn between his feelings and coming to grips with the realities that put his love for this woman to the test.

In 1992, Ice Cube brought a sample of the song into the studio, and with the help of DJ Pooh, crafted his breakthrough hit It Was A Good Day, which to this day, is regarded his biggest hit, and definitely my favorite (with Wicked in a close second). The song’s lyrics tell the tale of a thugged out Compton G having a good day in his hood of South Central, LA. I can’t wait to see how this song is remembered by the time we’re all old and grey, but it’s definitely a slice of music history I remember as clearly now as the first day I saw the music video on MTV when I was 7 years old.

is a self-proclaimed liquid association, with members sort of coming in and out of the picture. J Dilla was in the lineup during the groups emerging phase, so it’s no surpise that this track, which he produced for their 2000 self-titled album, draws from the Isley Bros with the skill to literally re-fit Footsteps (1 & 2) into the beat you hear there. In this case, it’s there to accentuate the track, rather than acting as the basis of the instrumental. It’s equally enjoyable, yet more subtle and disjointed, revealing a hint of the production techniques heard in some of his more abstract beats.

My favorite example of the use of Footsteps though, has to be Dilla’s posthumously-released track Won’t Do, which came out on in 2006 about 6 months after he passed away. This beat makes Footsteps melt into wax and then disperse into the air like a giant puff of smoke. It’s no surprise it was used in Entourage in a scene showing Turtle rippin’ a binger, the song sets the mood of hazy relaxation the likes of which you usually hear in more soulful grooves…but then you remember, that’s just the point, it’s built on a slowjam from one of the ultimate soul groups of the mid century.

And since I love the track so much, I posted the music video as well…Dilla might be the only dead musician I actually get emotional over his no longer being alive.

>FREE MUSIC UPDATE!!!

I just found this on XLR8R…Daedalus took what sounds like the Ice Cube/Pooh mix of the track and Obamatized it, as part of his Fire Magic Blood project. Roll on over there for the free download.