The Villa by HaroldandtheGauchos
This song I did while studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina last year. The keyboard part is played my friend Fabian Ayala, a 15 year old music student who performs with Gustavo Gauzman, a band that focuses on Cumbia, dance music which originated in Columbia, and Chamamé, an Argentine folk music popular in the band's home province of Chaco on the Paraguayn border.
Here is a clip of Gustavo and Fabi playing a chamamé in Fabi's rooom.
In Argentina low-income housing areas are dubbed "Villas Miserias," and typically are made of makeshift housing built with cheap materials such as cinderblocks and tin. This record was made in "Villa Carraza," just south of the city of Buenos Aires. The lyrics to song come from a conversation I had with another member of Gustavo Guzman who migrated from Chaco to Buenos Aires to find work in the 1970's. We spoke for an hour or as he compared life during and after the military dictatorship that ruled over Argentina from 1976 until 1983. It was interesting to hear his perspective on the difference between then and now in an impoverished part of the city.
Check out the television in the background of the video- The house had few amenities, and a dire need for water pipe improvement, but a television was considered key by the family.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Killing Giants - David Boman
Killing Giants by David Boman
When I got Ableton earlier this summer I was pretty overwhelmed by the programs size and complexity. After realizing that the trial and error method was not going to get me the understanding I needed to make my own music, I turned to youtube. After spending a frustrating but necessary amount of time starting at my computer screen and slowly learning different techniques I decided to attempt my first piece. This song is it. I don’t think that my music will continue to fall exactly into the same musical category as Killing Giants, but it was a step in the right direction and I am happy with how it turned out.
When I got Ableton earlier this summer I was pretty overwhelmed by the programs size and complexity. After realizing that the trial and error method was not going to get me the understanding I needed to make my own music, I turned to youtube. After spending a frustrating but necessary amount of time starting at my computer screen and slowly learning different techniques I decided to attempt my first piece. This song is it. I don’t think that my music will continue to fall exactly into the same musical category as Killing Giants, but it was a step in the right direction and I am happy with how it turned out.
Friday, September 10, 2010
No Changing - Peter Muller
No Changing by HaroldandtheGauchos
This is one of the first hip-hop songs I've done seriously. The sample is from the first few seconds of Flamenco Sketches from the classic Miles Davis record "Kind of Blue." When I was digging for samples a few months ago, the bass and piano intro sounded like it should be from Sabzi's library, so I felt like it was time to try something. After adding a busy beat without much room for vocals, Clarke Reid and David told me to calm it down, which led to the minimal drums that are now on the track. The sample called for some melody, so I had Austin Houvener sing the hook.
This is one of the first hip-hop songs I've done seriously. The sample is from the first few seconds of Flamenco Sketches from the classic Miles Davis record "Kind of Blue." When I was digging for samples a few months ago, the bass and piano intro sounded like it should be from Sabzi's library, so I felt like it was time to try something. After adding a busy beat without much room for vocals, Clarke Reid and David told me to calm it down, which led to the minimal drums that are now on the track. The sample called for some melody, so I had Austin Houvener sing the hook.
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