“Furioso” is one of my favorite projects so far this summer. It’s the culmination of influences from recent months, and it comes with the extra dope – in my opinion – remix version, a tribute to Denver’s Bboy Factory on their 10th anniversary. Check it out:
What is the meaning of this?
Going in to the summer, I was anticipating playing for the battles at Pro-Am in Miami, and I was spending a lot of time on new beats and concepts, but I wasn’t coming up with very much. Because the jam would have Grand Wizzard Theodore on the DJ line-up, I dug into his tracks and associated others from the early days of Hip-Hop.
I came away inspired by the energy of these live recordings, including this one below, knowing it couldn’t possibly be duplicated in a studio, let alone the guest bedroom/office where I currently work.
Just a day or two before I had to head to Miami for Pro-Am, I started on a track with (what I thought was) a similar vibe, just to play during the cyphers or in-betweens, and it definitely felt different from a my recent work. Part of the joint was captured by Rollerskatin’ Edley Duclos:
“Furioso” was a continuation of that vibe, but there was an effort to work at a lower tempo than usual, mostly due to a request from a highly respected fellow DJ for battle beats that were “between 100 and 110.” Normally, that would feel too slow for me, but once I started with the drums, I knew this was going in the right direction.
Another deviation from routine was the continuous loop of the beat, with minimal changes at the outset, as the first run was built around group-vocal phrases similar to those in the Pro-Am track, so every 12 bars, the beat was broken up and refreshed for a new drop, and that would sustain it to the next break.
The droning key also made it hard to rock the boat, and it seemed to carry the drum loops, with a slight shuffle, from each heavy kick to the next, almost renewing the single note. Then the scratches…
For at least a year, I’ve been more serious about including the turntable as an instrument wherever I can, most often using in-house vocal clips to add some wholly original pieces to what can otherwise be just a combination of samples (kicks, snares, keys, etc.).
For this track, the turntable played a crucial and unique role, with intermittent scratch elements popping up unexpectedly and without a necessary pattern, and building the beat into something totally new.
The Remix
The scratches were selected from the vocal segments, which were a tribute to The Bboy Factory, shouting out the hosts, DJs, and venue of the event. I’m scheduled to play for a dope Bboy Factory event in Denver on July 30 called “The Go Off”, and I very excite. 😬
Artwork and Titles
The name and artwork were a perfect storm of a factors including the random file names I assign to new projects (while saving so they don’t disappear into computer hell if the comp crashes), recent meme consumption, and excessive goofing off.
When the word “Furioso’ emerged as (a more normal variation of) the file name, it immediately seemed to me like a bold newspaper headline, and I happened to be goofing around with the “OldBooth” app – which inserts an alternative face into old-timey photos. I was also laughing constantly at mentions of “chimken nubbets” from the highly twisted Kurger Bing IG.
From there, it took some Photoshop learning to emulate newspaper texture, and trying my best to make it look “good,” and voila: “Furioso.” Zoom in on the details for extra surprises. 😉
Stay tuned to my Soundcloud and Bandcamp pages for new tracks, mixtapes, and whatever else happens. Check out more “Behind the Beats” here.
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