SOUND ANCESTORS: A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN TIMES

SOUND ANCESTORS: A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN TIMES

Cover: Madlib Invazion, 2021.

              Other-worldly soundscapes, samples dug from long-forgotten crates, and heavy drum rhythms; these are just a few descriptors one could use to describe the latest album from LA-based DJ, producer, and MC, Madlib. Sound Ancestors is the 11th installment into Otis Jackson Jr.’s solo release catalogue, and was released on January 29, 2021 through the label Madlib Invazion. Since its release, Sound Ancestors has received various accolades for its inventive approach to the genre and unique sonic attributes. Across its 16-track, 41-minute run time, an extensive musical gamut is run, crossing through passages of free jazz explorations, flamenco rhythms, and downtempo hip-hop beats - and that isn’t even scratching the surface of some of the genre-bending that takes place within each respective track. Despite the eclectic palette that informs and inhabits much of the work, the sounds and conventions of hip-hop and R&B are the foundation that holds this eclecticism together, as many of these masterfully sourced samples are often recontextualized through the addition of punchy, banging drum beats. Through the method that the album was created, the immense blending of genres, the variations in recording qualities, and the title of the album itself, Sound Ancestors works to both address, and create, a particular musical ancestry, one of which I will work to unpack now.

Madlib - "Sound Ancestors" (Madlib Invazion, 2021)

Collaboration between artists can be a powerful way to share knowledge, techniques, and influences, and in the case of Sound Ancestors, this sharing between artists becomes apparent quite quickly. The album was born of a collaboration between Jackson and UK-based electronic music producer Kieren Hebden, otherwise known as Four Tet. Hebden is a renowned electronic artist, creating music that spans the range from upbeat minimal house to abstract electronica. As Hebden (2020) states in a quote posted on the album’s Bandcamp page, the album was shaped over the course of a few years, with Jackson sending Hebden hundreds of “tracks, loops, ideas and experiments that [Hebden] would arrange, edit, manipulate and combine.” There is no doubt that the influence of Jackson holds a strong presence within every track on the album, as stylistically he is inclined to create music that leans towards the overarching genre of hip-hop. However, the involvement and influence of Hebden can not be ignored, as there are times within tracks where small elements of electronica poke through, even though no material used on this album was directly generated or sourced by Hebden. One example of this can be heard at the beginning of the track “Loose Goose” (Madlib Invazion, 2021), which features a filtered and heavily effected synthesizer, something which you might find yourself hearing in a typical techno track. The reason why I wanted to go into such great detail on this album’s creation process is to expose the inherent lineage - or, ancestry - that Hebden is imparting onto the album, strictly by default of his involvement in its creation. By having such a heavy hand in the production process, Hebden is synthesizing his own musical heritage with that of Jackson’s, which in itself creates a new line of musical ancestry. Whether or not this was a building block of their collaboration is uncertain, but one can definitely draw the connection to the overall sound and style of the album.

Madlib - "Dirtknock" (Madlib Invazion, 2021)

The way that genre is approached within this album also works to address a theme of musical ancestry, as there is a wide variety of musical lineages that are being tapped and drawn from across each track. More often than not, the songs hearken back to times past, and examples of the sounds and styles of each decade since the 1950s can be heard across the board. This is quite literally the case in terms of the samples that are used, as quotations spanning from 1959 to 2021 are utilized at different times on the album (WhoSampled, 2021). One notable example of this cross-pollination of genre can be seen in the track “Dirtknock” (Madlib Invazion, 2021), which combines Young Marble Giants’ “Searching for Mr. Right” (Roughtrade Records, 1980), a rhythmic drum loop that signals the sound of 1990’s hip-hop, and vocal ad-libs straight out of a hip-hop-style track (WhoSampled, 2021). In this case, the sounds of 1980s post-punk and 1990’s hip-hop are fused together to create something entirely new, with it both addressing a musical lineage of the past, and inserting itself into the creation of a new kind of lineage.

While the fusion of different genres is certainly prevalent across the album, there are also moments where opposing genres are juxtaposed directly next to one another, with one example being in the album’s title track, “Sound Ancestors” (Madlib Invazion, 2021). The song’s first section consists of a gamelan-esque tribal percussion piece, as its fast-paced rhythmic energy swiftly moves through different chord progressions. After an extended period of this recording, the song abruptly cuts to a recording of an improvisational jazz trio, with a flautist soloing wildly, and an upright bassist and drummer following these improvisations. There is no attempt to meld these two very distinct styles of music, and one might almost feel that this cut feels crude in its delivery. But it is the inclusion of these two different techniques that Jackson and Hebden expose how their musical ancestry can be presented, as their influences can manifest in a synthesis of genre, a bifurcation of genre, or both. Through looking at these two songs alone, four extremely disparate genres of music are sourced, each with their own conventions, influences, and heritage, and it is through this fusion and juxtaposition that Jackson and Hebden effectively mark their intentions with this album.

Jackson (left) and Hebden (right). Source: https://www.rappcats.com/madlib-sound-ancestors/

In addition to the juxtaposition of musical genres, Jackson and Hebden also use purely sonic means to address a particular musical heritage, which is namely done so through the use of opposing qualities of recordings within the same song. One of the most prominent uses of differing recording fidelities can be heard in the album’s closing track, “Duumbiyay” (Madlib Invazion, 2021). The track focuses itself around a sample of Six Boys in Trouble’s “Zum, Zum” (Folkway Records, 1959), which is a recording of a group of 11 and 12-year-old African American boys from New York City singing and playing percussion. The quality of the sample consists of what you would expect of a recording from that time: distortion, crackling, and lacking in high frequencies. These elements become heightened by the addition of a high-fidelity recording of a jazz band, as a drummer, keyboardist, and bassist play an arrangement that exactly matches what the Boys are playing. There is not a lot of processing to try to match the qualities of recordings taken from these different time periods either, and at some moments it feels as if both types of recording fidelity are intentionally accented. By juxtaposing these two completely different fidelities, a bridge is created between past and present, creating both an acknowledgment towards recording technologies, as well as an imagined scenario between these “distant” musicians.

As with any kind of musical practice, be it performative, or in the context of production, the result of creation can act as an exposition of the artist’s relationship with listening and expression, and in the case of Sound Ancestors, this exposition becomes clear after careful reflection and listening. Through the implementation of the techniques covered in this essay, many relationships to musical ancestry can be uncovered, whether it be through the types of recording technologies of that respective time period, or through acknowledging musical history and evolution when presenting two very different genres from different time periods next to one another. The selection of the samples themselves also reflect Jackson’s relationship to music, as it invites the listener to discover what some of his interests and tastes might be. While this album absolutely addresses its ancestors in a number of different ways, it simultaneously sparks a new branch of musical lineage, in effect creating a genre that both respects its past while forging full speed ahead into the future.

References:

Anderson, D., Moxham, P., Moxham, S., Statton, A. (1980). Searching for Mr. Right. On Colossal Youth. North Wales, U.K.: Roughtrade Records.

Hebden, K. (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.rappcats.com/madlib-sound-ancestors/

Hebden, K., Jackson Jr., O. (2021). Sound Ancestors. Los Angeles, CA.: Madlib Invazion

Six Boys in Trouble (1959). Zum, Zum. On Street and gangland rhythms: beats and improvisations by six boys in trouble / collected and edited by Richard E. Sorenson. New York, N.Y.: Folkways Records.

Additional Sample References: https://www.whosampled.com/album/Madlib/Sound-Ancestors/