Madlib – Dirtknock
- NICK DUTFIELD
- Feb 11, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 12, 2021
Where do you see the hand of the artist? Araceli, a friend and an entertaining art guide, asked this question while she was showing a handful of us visitors round an exhibition of work by Portuguese artist, Pedro Cabrita Reis. There was a lot of found material on show so the artist’s hand was mainly evident in paint splodges he’d applied, or maybe an extra bolt or two. We came to a piece called Retábulo which was scaffolding on the wall. Cabrita had spotted this, seen its potential and then mounted the pieces in a chosen order. Beyond that, his hand was not much in evidence. So here is where a new concept took over, The Pockets Of The Artist. In other words, the skill of knowing what’s enough, when to put your hands away and stop. Before it’s too late. And you ruin everything. Forever. Like I would.
So what are Madlib’s pockets like? Hardly touched at all, is the tempting answer. In one interview, he reveals that when he samples a track, he samples it ALL, although that’s not what eventually appears for listeners, we get the results of stage two, cutting back. This might explain why he reportedly spends 22 hours a day with his samplers, and how he settled on his role as a kind of hip hop hermit, with busy hands. With the new album, editing duties have been out-sourced to electronic legend and ex-bloggee, Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, who apparently agreed to this role as a quest to ensure that Madlib finally recorded a solo album, as opposed to more of the collaborations that have cemented his status as a legend among beat makers. Collaborations with J Dilla, Madvillain, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar just for a start. Not to mention the entire Blue Note catalogue.
Regarding today’s track Dirtknock, this choice might raise eyebrows, as it’s the third single from the album, Sound Ancestors. I use single in the 2021 sense, meaning it has its own YouTube video. It has arrived free of more trappings, and of adornment, which suits it just fine. It’s awkward and it’s gritty – gritty as if the stylus was a nail tracing the thread of a tyre that just ran through grit. But with a vocal dreamy enough to ease things. Maybe it’s showing off as part of some flawed plan to fit in with the rest of the neighbourhood singles. It knows it’s not the bouncy-ish one (Hopprock), or the sweet one (Road Of The Lonely Ones), so the options are limited and Dirtknock is going to be the disruptive one.
So disruptive that we might have a new genre, Floating Grit Hop. Madlib has only gone and sampled Young Marble Giants, specifically Searching For Mr Right from the 1980 album Colossal Youth, which acts as kind of milestone on the punk gravel track that leads to shoe gaze’s smooth but heavy tarmac. And his pockets have taken some pounding. This is not some sample snippet, so much of the original has been left alone. The bassline was already trimmed for maximum dubby space, smudges of MC colour have been added, plus beats, and that seems to be enough to make things funky. This is an important ‘seems’ as you don’t earn credits like Madlib’s without learning some tricks for adding unseen groove. Go probing for those tricks if you like, or just enjoy their fruits. Sometimes, third singles creep up on you, and turn out to be the best.
THIS WEEK
Madlib – Dirtknock
66,023 views since 24th Jan Weekly Average Views – 25,676
LAST WEEK
Billy Nomates – Heels
Weekly Average Views – 26,184 Blog Week Views – 10,832
EXTRAS
Madlib – Hopprock
Madlib – Road Of The Lonely Ones
Young Marble Giants – Searching For Mr Right
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