Tag: Timeless
A Timeless Sneak Peek Video + Download: YEKERMO SEW
by Joy on Mar.15, 2010, under Behind the Scenes, Mochilla, Timeless, Video
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The Sounds of VTech / Yekermo Sew Trailer 
Ethiopian, Mulatu Astatke is a giant in African music. He is the inventor of Ethio-jazz. His work has inspired many imitations, many admirers, and a whole new generation of fans. His music veers from the sublime tezetas to the most foot stomping funk.
The award winning and invaluable Ethiopiques series has shed a light into a vital and amazing music scene that existed in Addis Ababa in the 60s. The composer/arranger of that era was Mulatu Astatke.
On February 1st, during the first concert in the Timeless Series brought to you by Mochilla and VTech, he blessed the sold-out Luckman Theater with an amazing show. He shared the stage with veterans of the Los Angeles jazz scene, Bennie Maupin, Azar Lawrence, and Phil Ranelin. The performance was beautiful- showcasing many classics (like Yekermo Sew featured here) as well as some new material.
Nas, Damian Marley, Cut Chemist, Quantic, Oh No, Madlib, and K’naan all have felt the influence of Ethio-Jazz- this Timeless Sneak Peek honors Mulatu and his music.
Line-Up
Mulatu Astatke - Vibraphone, Percussion
Brandon Coleman - Electric and Acoustic Piano, Organ
Bennie Maupin - Bass Clarinet, Flute, Soprano Sax
Azar Lawrence - Tenor Sax
Phil Ranelin - Trombone
Joel Yennior - Trombone
Todd Simon - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Viola
Dan Ubick - Electric and Acoustic Guitar
Trevor Ware - Electric and Upright Bass
Tony Austin - Trap Drums
Alan Lightner - Percussion
Munyungo Jackson - Hand Drums and Percussion
Right Click to Download: Yekermo Sew
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A New Exclusive Video For Dilla, Let’s Turn It Up.
by Joy on Feb.10, 2010, under Mochilla, Timeless, Video
Today is the fourth anniversary of Dilla’s untimely passing. People are celebrating his life all month long. At Mochilla, we have spent the past year working on A Suite for Ma Dukes. Until now we have held our cards close to our chest releasing videos and entirely instrumental pieces. But today in homage to the man responsible for all this we are releasing, just to you, the first vocal performance from SFMD.
Dwele sang Angel that night without rehearsal. It is a classic. Miguel’s arrangement is super heavy and Bob Power made it magic. -B+
Turn it up.
Track: Angel Feat. Dwele
Album: Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes
Artist: Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
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The Sounds of VTech / Angel Feat. Dwele
A Timeless Moment with Karriem Riggins and Thundercat
by Joy on Jan.27, 2010, under Behind the Scenes, Mochilla, Timeless, VTech, Video
It was show day at the Luckman Theatre and February 22nd, 2009 marked our second concert of the Timeless series, Suite for Ma Dukes. As the Orchestra assembled, Karriem Riggins and Steve “Thundercat” Bruner sat in the back chatting and sharing jazz stories. Karriem and Thundercat, both jazz veterans despite their youthfulness, were having a good time. Then in a flash Thundercat broke out his iPhone and asked Karriem about Tony Williams. Tony Williams had been a jazz prodigy who at 17 had played drums with the famous Miles Davis Quartet with Ron Carter, and Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock in the mid-sixties. In the seventies his band Lifetime were an amazing fusion combo making some just incredible records.
Thundercat played Williams’, “Proto-Cosmos,” and Karriem knew the song straight away. Immediately they began to play. B+ happened to be standing there with camera in hand, and was fortunate enough to capture this joyful moment. Here it is, free, happy, improvised and spectacular. Just what music is about.
Get ready for the 3 DVD Limited Edition Timeless Box Set coming 03-30-10..
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The Sounds of VTech / Proto Cosmos
The song that inspired the moment…
Take Notice With Timeless
by Joy on Jan.01, 2010, under Audio, Downloadable Tracks, Mochilla, Timeless, VTech, Video
The Timeless DVD Box Set
Timeless describes moments outside of time— moments that exist so deep inside history that they break through that finite grid. Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series is an homage to the composer-arrangers that have influenced hip-hop in the most literal and profound ways.
The creative center of popular music today is the beatmaker-producer. Whether it is Timbaland, Dilla, Dre, or Madlib, these musicians have an uncanny sense for voicings, a penchant for unusual sounds and catchy rhythms and a magical ability to manufacture a good performance. Today’s beatmakers are the direct descendants of yesterday’s composer-arrangers. Their processes—whether it be writing a memorable line for background singers or finding the appropriate moment for a baritone harmonica — mirror those of today’s musicians. The composer-arranger creates music through the frame of the bigger picture, often more concerned with how things sound together than individually. Similarly today’s beatmakers produce music on a grand scale, but through automation and sampling.
Timeless brings these two seemingly unlike worlds together. The series honors the musical legacies of some of the greatest composer-arrangers ever. Timeless celebrates the work of the composer-arranger in the context it should be seen—with full orchestras.
From Mulatu Astatke to J. Dilla to Arthur Verocai, the Timeless Concert Series touched upon the works of three musical giants. Mochilla is proud to announce the March 30th, 2010 release date of the Timeless Concert Series, a 3 DVD box set with a special downloadable audio portion. The box set will be an extremely limited and numbered edition of 4,000, which will include full liner notes, a free poster exclusive only to the box set, extra features, songs, and slideshows of images used in the presentation. To mark the launch of the DVD, there will be a series of events scheduled around its release, including a SXSW screening. Stay tuned here to The Sounds of VTech for more.
Mulatu Astatke:
Headlining the first concert in the Timeless series was the beginning of a big year for Mulatu Astatke. His recent collaboration with the Heliocentrics has made it on many people’s “Best of List,” for 2009. The anthology of his work, New York-Addis-London: The Story of Ethio Jazz 1965-1975, the first comprehensive collection of his work was a big success for Strut Records. On February 1st, he blessed the Luckman Auditorium with an amazing show. He shared the stage with Los Angeles jazz scene veterans Bennie Maupin, Azar Lawrence, and Phil Ranelin. The performance is beautiful, showcasing many classics as well as some new material. The music was mixed by Los Angeles engineer Benjamin Tierney and UK producer/musician, Will “Quantic” Holland.
Mulatu is currently touring Europe with the Heliocentrics and is still talking about the Timeless concert.
Suite For Ma Dukes:
Timeless II celebrated the music of hip-hop producer, James “J. Dilla” Yancey. Composed and arranged for a 60-piece orchestra by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the concert featured special guests Bilal, Dwele, Posdnuos (De La Soul), Talib Kweli, and more. This premiere performance is still buzzing in the minds of many, unable to shake the magic of that evening.
The music was mixed and mastered by legendary Grammy award-winning producer/mixer Bob Power. Power is the man behind hundreds of pop and jazz recordings. He’s worked with such artists as Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, India.Arie, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and even more significantly, with Dilla. Bob rarely works on smaller independent projects like this, but was so impressed with Miguel’s music that he blessed this collaboration with an epic mix.
We are premiering “Take Notice” today with Bob’s mix.
In related news, on February 6th, 2010, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony will be perform four of Miguel’s arrangements of Dilla in a tribute to great American composers. Dilla will be honored right along side George Gershwin, William Grant Still, and Duke Ellington. Only Timeless could have made this happen. Deepest congratulations to Miguel and Dilla.
Arthur Verocai:
Timeless III saw Arthur Verocai make his very first trip to Los Angeles to perform his seminal 1972 record for a capacity audience at the Luckman. The performance brought the crowd to a stand still. According to Verocai, “I never played the record, alive or dead!” and hid the record from his family because “of his disappointment at its failure during the 70s.” His utter delight at the opportunity to play this music in its complete form can be seen in the DVD. He has subsequently been offered an opportunity to do the concert again in London. Stay tuned.
The music was mixed by Verocai himself in Rio de Janeiro. He was so excited with the final result that he held a private screening of the concert at the beginning of December and invited the Carioca music community.
Three different shows with three different producers/arrangers and three different styles of extraordinary music presented. For those who attended, the Timeless Series was that of magic, love, and music that penetrated the soul. With the box set, those who weren’t able to attend will now understand what everyone has been talking about. And for those who have, a chance to relive music history all over again.
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The Sounds of VTech / Suite For Ma Dukes: Take Notice
Right Click To Download: Take Notice (Bob Power mix)
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LAST CHANCE TO ENTER AND WIN!!!
by Joy on Dec.16, 2009, under VTech
It’s the perfect stocking stuffer for the music lover in your family and tomorrow, December 17th, is the last day for your chance to enter and win one of five, brand new IS9181 Wifi Internet Radios from VTech.
Its so easy. All you have to do is tell us what you want to see more from us in the future. Is it concerts, events, festivals, downloadable music, Timeless events? Just tell us what’s on your mind. And check out our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sounds-of-VTech/59344206554?ref=search&sid=503466983.887788913..1) and if you like what you see, add us.
Let the IS9181 take you around the world. With over 11,000 radio stations to choose from (for free), amazing speaker quality, easy interface, and more, what’s not to love. And if you don’t win, why not buy one anyway. For the new low price of $149.95, its a steal.
Watch what producers Exile and Quantic make of their IS9181’s.
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The Sounds of VTech / Where Do You Wanna Go? with Quantic
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The Sounds of VTech / Where Do You Wanna Go.. with Exile
ENTER AND WIN!!!
NPR’s Look Back at Arthur Verocai’s Performance at Timeless
by Joy on Aug.10, 2009, under Audio, Concerts & Tours, Mochilla, Timeless
NPR brings us a look back at Arthur Verocai’s ground-breaking performance earlier this year at the Luckman Theater as a part of the Mochilla/VTech TIMELESS concert series. Below is the write up of the event of Arthur Verocai’s first ever live performance in Los Angeles which was enjoyed by many and forgotten by none.
Arthur Verocai:
Return Of A Brazilian Secret
Arthur Verocai in 1972.August 10, 2009 - I was standing backstage at Cal State’s Luckman Theater when I saw him: tall and thin, dark and intense, his lanky frame barely filling what was supposed to be a fitted suit. Though he was missing the mane of black hair he wore on the cover of his self-titled 1972 album, he was unmistakably composer, arranger and producer Arthur Verocai. Largely unknown in his home country of Brazil, Verocai is worshiped by the likes of TV on the Radio, Cut Chemist, DOOM and Madlib — all of whom were in attendance at this historic event, in which Verocai led a 30-piece orchestra in the first and only performance of his legendary album.
The evening didn’t disappoint. Watching him on stage was transfixing. He didn’t have to do much; he’d done all the hard work at age 25, when he wrote the original charts that this orchestra, under his watchful eye, played to the note. You got the feeling that he recognized just how important this concert was — not just for himself, but also for the lucky audience of 1,200.
The next day, as I fielded emails, text messages and IMs from those who were there, Cut Chemist put it best: “That was one of the best shows L.A. has ever seen.” I felt the need to review my collection for some high points of Verocai’s varied career — which stretched from the heady psychedelia of O Terco (whose first album he arranged) to the gorgeous pop of the little-known duo Ana Maria e Mauricio.
For the playlist assembled by Egon for this article click: VEROCAI
