Skynet Online

I couldn't think of a better post for number 22, than the Toyota Robot Quartet, completely with robot tuba solo. We are replaceable when we stop being human and stop making music.



The other thing that cracks me up: you invest how many millions of dollars making robots that play brass instruments, and what do you program them to play? Lupin the III

The Loop

Though there was already a post on electronics with brass, I wanted to do a post talking about looping and the possibilities there in.



This type of video, though seems almost hokey that its all pretty much where he lives, but it also goes to show how much you can do with 2 guys and a bunch of technology.

...Or one guy with a lot of planning...ALOT.



This type of technology is changing the face of what it means to make music, and who can do it and what circumstances that happens in.

Cimbasso post

I could hardly think of doing this blog without a combos post. Cimbassi are the most gorilla-like of the brass instruments. They sound like it and they are like a rare sighting of the gorilla in the mist.

The first video is of Mattis Cederberg laying down an arrangement of Donna Lee using the Cimbasso. This was one of my earlier exposures to the Cimbasso, and it couldn't have been on a tune that shows off the full capability of the instrument.



This is actually another song produced by Andrew Bove for Toni Dolce, you'll also notice his contribution on the looped Cimbasso backing underneath the singer. It's also one of my favorite renditions of this song, don't judge.

During one of our ABEL sessions I was introduced to this group and this video, and wanted to learn more about them.


http://www.hypnoticbrassensemble.com

Besides being raised in a Jazz family, and being from Chicago, the website doesn't easily reveal too much background on the group. The visuals in the video bring up clear political ideology which is either informed or contrasted by the music, I'm not entirely sure yet. Obviously, the video is mocking a certain time period with a certain political theme. However, the moments of the group jamming out between the politically charged imagery seems contradictory to what the intended message might be.

In terms of marketing though, the image and the idea behind it is clear. However, you really have to appreciate the period stylings of the video, and the definitely feeling that it invokes.

Brass at the Cinema

"Brassed Off" is a 1996 film about a Brass Band in the UK, about how the Brass Brand brought together people in spite of economic hardship amongst an array of socio-economic issues. This film is unique for the brass player in that the Brass Band is a central focus and puts the movie in context. The movie also is important in that it helps us understand the cultural background of the British Brass Band and why it is in existence today.

Another kind of Brass Ensemble....

I was thinking about obscure brass groups, and one that is both infamous and unique at the same time is Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass.



Random sidenote, I got Herb Alpert and Al Hirt mixed up...don't do that...

Reverse effects: Brasshouse

Ever since a friend first shared this group with me, I have been fascinated by the phenom that is Too Many Zooz. They bill themselves as a group that plays "brasshouse," that is, combining a brass band that plays house music. In this case, it is 3 guys, The King of Sludge on Drums, Matt Doe on Trumpet, and Leo P. on Bari Sax. The sounds seem brash in the context of our classical/jazz oriented ears, but what is remarkable is how this group has pushed these two wind instruments to a point of sounding like the real electronic sound, which itself was originally modeled after these instruments. In a way it is a backwards progression in modern day society. Often times we talk about how modern technology allows sound to be synthesized with even more realism, but here is a group of acoustic musicians emulating the sounds of the imperfect imitation. What I'm trying to say: the inauthentic somehow became the authentic.