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Can I Get An Amen?

billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,914 Posts
edited July 2005 in Strut Central
Check it out: http://www.nkhstudio.com/pages/popup_amen.html"Can I Get An Amen? is an audio installation that unfolds a critical perspective of perhaps the most sampled drums beat in the history of recorded music, the Amen Break. It begins with the pop track Amen Brother by 60's soul band The Winstons, and traces the transformation of their drum solo from its original context as part of a 'B' side vinyl single into its use as a key aural ingredient in contemporary cultural expression. The work attempts to bring into scrutiny the techno-utopian notion that 'information wants to be free'- it questions its effectiveness as a democratizing agent. This as well as other issues are foregrounded through a history of the Amen Break and its peculiar relationship to current copyright law."

  Comments

  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    Cool I'm downloading his project's .mov file to my hard-drive now. I have this techno-utopian notion that it wanted to be free.
  • OlskiOlski 355 Posts
    Great piece. I like the dry academical approach of staying complelty unkfunky by tracing down the history off one of the funkiest breaks and putting it into the context of copyright laws and culture. This is how the nerd-free parts of WP should be.
  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    techno-utopian notion

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I was wondering if a producer out there might be able to explain the appeal of the Amen Brother break? More specifically, why did DnB producers jack this one so much? Why not fuck with, oh, the 300 other breaks they could have?

    I never thought the Amen Brother break was all that, mostly because it was too fast to me. That said, I can see the appeal for chopping but not necessarily more so than, say, "Hihache." Or anything else with a clean, open drum kit.
  • dCastillodCastillo 1,963 Posts
    I was wondering if a producer out there might be able to explain the appeal of the Amen Brother break? More specifically, why did DnB producers jack this one so much? Why not fuck with, oh, the 300 other breaks they could have?

    I never thought the Amen Brother break was all that, mostly because it was too fast to me. That said, I can see the appeal for chopping but not necessarily more so than, say, "Hihache." Or anything else with a clean, open drum kit.

    the amen break sounds rich and thick like an oatmeal banana shake at irazu, and has most excellent syncopation and superb drum pattern variations for infinite chops. play it at 33 and it's not too fast anymore. also sign of a nicely recorded break--it sounds good at different pitches. also, stop hating on fast breaks. slow breaks are boring as fuck. give me some fire any day of the week.
  • FAGTILLOFAGTILLO 33 Posts
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    More specifically, why did DnB producers jack this one so much? Why not fuck with, oh, the 300 other breaks they could have?

    It's kinda hard to answer. There's just something about it that goes well with the soundscape of jungle/d&b. Also, all the little rolls & shuffles in the break are perfect for d&b programming. It can be seriously tweaked with out losing it's initial sound. In time it also became sort-of-like an unspoken contest of who could chop it up best, who could make it sound harder than anyone, etc... (geek note; Technical Itch holds the title, as of yet). Baahh, i don't know really. It's just a big part of the culture.

    But there are plenty of other breaks that have been used heavily in d&b. Apache, Ashley's Roadclip, Funky Mule, etc...

    When tech-step came in heavily at around the end of '96/beginning of '97 amen started to phase out and has only now been resurfacing for the past two years or so.

    It's really being re-vitalized in a recent sub-genre named "dub&bass" which is pretty much just jungle style amens, with heavy heavy bass and dub/reggae samples.
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,914 Posts
    I was wondering if a producer out there might be able to explain the appeal of the Amen Brother break?

    I always liked the way the drums in the amen break "popped". There is just this certain sound they have that I really liked. It is hard to describe. The break is really easy to rearrange and chop up also. When I was DJ'ing jungle/drum&bass, years back, the rammin' amens were always my favorite to cut up on the mixer. After a while though, like with any other break, hearing the same break over and over gets tired.
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