I recently got into a very long winded discussion with a friend of mine about Jewish Music. You see I have a friend who like myself, is a vocalist and he's currently recording/producing an album (probably to be released by Rosh Hashonah). I asked him many questions about the direction he was looking to take and how he would differentiate himself among the other current singers/albums. The answers were quite refreshing, to be honest. He was looking into using different instruments that are not the most typical on Jewish albums ( I won't give anything away here). He was looking into hiring professional singers for backup as opposed to using a couple of friends down the block. One thing that is really annoying about many album is choir placement. They seem to be so predictable and are very similar in style from one to the other. He was looking to change some of those paramaters as well. One point I asked about was the drums. Although I know very little about drumming the fills and beats on many albums don't really bring any new depth and creation. He told me he allowed the drummers to come up with some creative ideas and spins on the songs he recorded. I have been told by some musicians that it's not uncommon for an arranger to stifle the creativity of the band. If they would allow the band to do their "thing" some of these albums might actually sound like something.
4 comments:
Good post. In a car ride yesterday, someone noted that a problem is simply that too many people think anyone can drum (well). In truth, simply playing loud and predictably adds nothing at all.
I assume you are referring to live music. This post was regarding recorded music but you are correct.
My own theory is that many of the Jewpop musicians haven't listened to a lot of music, except for other Jewpop. Therefore they reinforce the same bad traits in an unbroken chain.
Most stuff out of New York is ai yai yai dreck with arrangements out of Vegas lounges. There are some great Jewish musicians out there, but the frum velt isn't ready for real music.
I think the entire frum world's attitude towards the issue of artistic quality in Jewish music is that the most popular one man band in this town has a toll free number of NOT LOUD. Really trumpets his musical aspirations, don't it?
Post a Comment