PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Bayou Quinze (with Marty Straub)

And now for something different.

I had an idea for a particular groove in mind, and laid out my chord sheet accordingly. Everything from the placement of pushes to the placement of the chord changes (and yes, there are three chords in the main body) was pre-designed to serve this rhythmical idea. I found a suitable funky style to start with--a techno drum and funk bass--and began to add instruments from the funky spectrum.

Adventurous users of BIAB are likely aware that some Real Tracks may behave oddly when pushes occur on beats other than the ONE, and are more likely to behave oddly when pushes occur with less than a bar separating them.

But my mantra when working with BIAB is: "Listen to the Band" so possibilities developed as I added additional useful tracks. Before long I had a really crazy thing happening.

Between the rhythm and the main chord and instrumentation, it felt odd and swampy. And whenever I think of "odd and swampy", Marty Straub (Babu Music) always comes to mind.

Obviously.

So I sent him the prototype and asked if he'd like to join in. Join in, he did, in a delightful and delicious way, adding not only his flowing bass-line(s), but a change-of-direction bridge and outro with beautifully harmonized chords. Even before they arrived, I'd already started to carve out a production in Reaper and he helped me hone it to where it is now.

The Title--Bayou Quinze--comes from the Cajun-French word for 'swamp', roughly. "Quinze" is also French, but I will leave it for you to decipher both the definition and it's relevance. I have absolutely no idea if there really is a place called "Bayou Quinze", but if there is then this piece is a recollection of the glorious time I spent there when I was 15.

Obviously.

The piece officially ends at about 2:15, but this is the extended album cut.

We certainly hope you enjoy, but don't say I didn't tell you it would be different. We'd also encourage you, if you enjoyed the spin, to come back to it and try to figure out just why you did.

Bayou Quinze



****** Song Summary *************
Key=E , Tempo 105,

Style is _SAFARI.STY (Safari Jungle Drum and Bass)

RealTracks in song: 3756:Guitar, Electric, Soloist PopFunkySoulBrent Ev16 095
RealTracks in song: 3249:Guitar, Electric, Background ModernFunkSingleNotesBob Ev16 110
RealTracks in song: 2890:Accordion, Rhythm PasoMusette Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 3372:Banjo Guitar, Rhythm OldTimeBonfireAndy Ev16 110
RealTracks in song: 2857:Harmonica, Background CountryPopJellyRoll Ev 120
RealDrums [in style:TechnoJungleBass-EF-HH16,OpHH [Multi]
RealTracks in song: 2763:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryBluesRockMike Ev 110
RealTracks in song: 2619:Organ, Rhythm Funk Ev 100
(unknown Piano Utility track)
(unknown Utility track Steel Guitar 1)
(unknown Utility track Steel Guitar 2)
Loop in Song: Drums\CongaIsland16[single]
Straub in song: Marty

*******************

In order of appearance (to my best reckoning):

Drums\CongaIsland16[single]
BIAB Scales (ascending)
TechnoJungleBass-EF-HH16,OpHH [Multi]
Marty
Banjo Guitar, Rhythm OldTimeBonfireAndy
Accordion, Rhythm PasoMusette
Guitar, Electric, Soloist PopFunkySoulBrent
Harmonica, Background CountryPopJellyRoll
Guitar, Electric, Background ModernFunkSingleNotesBob
(unknown Utility track Steel Guitar 1)
(unknown Utility track Steel Guitar 2)
Female Vox saying "Quinze"
Organ, Rhythm Funk Ev 100
(unknown Piano Utility track)


I did my own reverbs for this using Izotope's Neo-Verb. I also used a guitarish effect on the main guitar with Izotope's Stutter which I think gave the guitar an appropriate nervous tone. There's obviously a backwards guitar line in there somewhere. Most tracks got some Neutron treatment. Mastered in Ozone 9.

Gambling card game or fifteen...options abound.
Marty provided a very dexterous part...well done Marty.
I really liked the rhythm and progressions but the lead instruments weren't as engaging and cool as the backing.

When I saw that Marty was involved, I knew this was going to be special

This is beyond awesome, one of the coolest pieces of music I have ever heard.

That bassline is insane! And everything else you have done in this track, just pure ear candy.

Love that female vocal part! And the solo instruments work for me, I liked that jazzy guitar (could have been a tad louder in spots for my tastes).

Excellent mix too! This is great guys, listened a couple of times.

Tangmo / Marty,

An outstanding and mesmerizing piece. Love how the rhythm is so interconnected with the vibe of the individual tracks - everything about this works!

Loved it!

Bob

"Different" is apt. It's definitely not what I expected. Of course, unmet expectations are not necessarily a bad thing. The beginning was reminiscent of a recording I heard of the Portsmouth Sinfonia in 1973 (not the tune so much as the jangling nature of the various instruments). Some serious creative juices flowing there!

Tangmo,

Wonderful.
Imaginative.
Colorful.

Extraordinary use of BIAB.

Extraordinary use of Marty.

Superb mix.

Ear Candy to the max.

fj

Fascinating. Whatever the formal rhythmic structure is, my mind does not readily latch onto it, and so wanders in the rain of notes trying to orient itself, which makes everything sound new over and over again. Listened twice, very enjoyable.

Believe it or not, I found myself recalling Captain Beefheart's instumentals.

This certainly has an excellent rhythm bed, so interesting mix of different styles, there's jazz, latin, funk, reggae and much much more. Pure world music. Creative chord progression. And that bassline is excellent. Mix and all the fades and breaks, clever. This is a magical mystery tour that I want travel many times.

Janne

Hi,

Really interesting piece of music - I enjoyed the listen.

Thanks

Best Regards
Nigel

I'm tempted to say this is off the wall but, there are no walls in sight.

I dig it.

I'm always fascinated by the many flavors of "World Music", this one takes all those flavors and serves it up in a tasty gumbo.

Well done!

moto

Interesting and engaging mix of instruments--love that rhythm--though about a minute in I was wondering where it was ever going to go.

Very cool song Tangmo. Very awesome sounds. Marty was excellent. Open canvas. Well done

A Cajun psychedelic band! Flashback to the 60s! Loved it!

This is a strange but very captivating masterpiece that is mixed to perfection. Great bass chops.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip!

Two thumbs up.

Bela Fleck, for the uninitiated, is an avant garde banjo player (yes banjo) who writes some remarkable complex instrumentals. This reminds us of him. And that is very good in our book.

We think this would be great sync library material.

It is a stunningly creative use of BiaB and the addition of Marty more than glued it all together ... his lines are hard to purge from one's head

Just imagine that the superlative comment truck backed up and dumped the entire load in your yard.

Great,

J&B

Remember when his music was called "Newgrass"?

What an amazing journey working with you on this, Tangmo. It also brought me to more of your music to enjoy. Man, you are one creative cat, man. This Cat, Man, Do. And do it so well in so many styles. My "odd & swampy" ol' self is at your service whenever you need it. Thanks again.


YES! I love Bela Fleck. Spent a week once with Victor Wooten and so many others in Victa's Bass Camp (Woot Camp). And hey, that's a great image your dump truck brings up. "Superlative Comment Truck" --what a mind.

Amazing work guys, very creative, and engaging.

Loved the bass and just the overall vibe.

Excellent.

Peter

Hi Tangmo and Marty,

You were quite right when introducing this song in the forum; something completely different!
But fascinating different, I must say. So much is going on, although, in a way, nothing really happens.
I hear an intriguing rhythm with a swell bass line and in between all kinds of instruments doing their things. Extra fascinating was the singer's performance with one word! To me it means 15, but here it is a swamp! Wonderful!

I did what Dave said. I listened a couple of times.
And he was right,
Hans

Dave said it and I agree all the way! Thanks, Torrey

I do these kinds of things fairly routinely after learning some new musical thing. Sometimes it's nearly immediate. Sometimes it has to soak while I imagine how I can employ BIAB. Not all these experiments yield listenable results. Those that do end up here.

Obviously.

Thanks all for the listens and comments. Thanks especially to Dave. I'm still a little high from that.

Mostly, I want to say thanks to Marty. Odd and swampy he may be (and insane too, according to Dave) but he "got it" straightaway and approached it with the same sense of fun I had. His bass is the "lead instrument" (not counting, perhaps, the guitar RT on his passages) and he brought coherence to incoherence. And he's fast, too. And funny. This is a Marty Straub thing every bit as much or more than a Tangmo thing. I hope very much to work with him again.

"Quinze" is, as was surmised, "15" in French. Why is that relevant? There are 15 beats in what I'd consider a complete musical phrase. If scoring, I'd probably call it 4/4, 4/4, 7/4. In addition (though far less obvious) there is a sort of 7/8 poly-meter thing going with four measures of 7/8 and an extra beat. That "extra beat" is where the chord changes are in the main sections.

That is all. You may now resume your lives.