Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Introducing The Brother AJ Breakdown Of The Tracks On The EP "7"!!!


Mood: Introspective, Optimistic, Xcited!!!
Music: Judith Hill "Angel In The Dark" Back In Time CD

3 Weeks Ago I Asked Myself On My 60th Birthday What Took Me So Long 2 Drop A CD Project I Shudda Dropped 20-30 Years Ago???  I Like 2 Say Maybe Bcuz I Was Playing In Cover Bands & We NEVER Took The Tyme 2 Work On Original Material Since We Knew Folks Needed 2 & Wanted 2 Hear The Songs They Know & Love!!! 

However On The Real…, Maybe Deep Down On The Inside…, The Real Reason I DID NOT Release My Own Project Was Bcuz I Didn’t Feel It Was Good Enuff, I Couldn’t Sing Well Enuff, Or The Production Wouldn’t Be Up 2 Snuff???  Not 2 Mention As Ms. Erykah Badu Stated “I Am An Artist & I’m Sensitive About My Ish!!! Most Of Us Artistic Types Have That Inner Insecurity We Feel When We Release Our Work Out Into The Cold, Cruel, Cynical World Which DOES NOT Alwayz Appreciate All The Blood, Sweat, Heart, Soul, Sacrifice, Heartache, & Tears U Poured Into UR Effort?!?

However In Spite Of All Those Things Over The Years I NEVER Stopped Working On Honing My Own Original Music.  This Project Clearly Shows Me On My Prince Ish As Every Single Song Was Written, Composed, Arranged, Performed, Produced, & Engineered By Me (very much like he would do)!!!  The Lone Xception Is Track 1 Detailed Below!!!

Track 1 "The King Iz Here” Was Written Waaaaayyyy Back When!!!  That’s My Son’s Voice When He Was Like 7 Years Old!!!  He’s In His 30’s Now!!!  I Alwayz Told Him He Was DESTINED 2 Be A Musician Cause I Got Him Involved In Da Game Early & He Took It 2 A Whole ‘Notha Level.

 I Sampled My Voice, I Sampled His Voice, & I Flew Them Strategically In & Out The Groove As Needed!!!  I Wanted This Song 2 Project How He Was A King..., Bcuz He Came From A King (ME)..., & We’re Heir 2 The Throne From A Long Line O’ Kings!!!  That’s Why I Have Those Soaring Horn Lines Playing That REGAL REFRAIN!!!  

There Iz A Simple Rumbling Bass Line, A Snare Drum & Handclap That Fade In & Out With XTRA Heavy Reverb On Them 2 Create More Space In The Mixxx Letting It Breathe!!!  The Drum Groove Iz Actually A Sample Of Me Playing A Swing Beat On My Old Yamaha Kit (i have a Gretsch kit now) Live.  I Recorded Myself Playing, Chopped It Up In Da Mixxx, & I JUST LOVED THAT GROOVE!!!

Track 2I’m Lonely (All That I Need)” Is The Newest Song In The Collection & W/O Trying 2 Be A Biased…, It May Be My Fave Song On The Project 4 All The Things It Took 4 Me 2 Put It 2getha!!!  It Tells The Story Of A Man In Love Who Simply CANNOT Get His Lady 2 Open Up & Change Her Ways As He Wants 2 Revolutionize Her Life!!!  He Tried, He Failed, He's Lonely..., So He’s Gonna Cut His Losses & It’s On 2 The Da Next 1!!! 

The Bassline Is The Glue That Holds It 2getha Whilst The Strings Soar Across The Chorus.  My Signature Synth Stabs Create FWD Motion As It Rides On Top Of The Drum Track.  Don’t Zzzlp On The Slinky Rhodes Piano That I Sprinkle In Here & There 4 Melodic FX!!!  Not 2 Mention As Someone Who Truly DOES NOT Consider Himself A Vocalist…, I Like The Way My Voice Sounds On This Track!!!  Tell Luther Vandross 2 LQQKOUT Cause I’m Coming 4 Him!!!  YEAH RIGHT!!!  ROFLMAO!!!

Track 3The Melancholy Way” Iz A Trippy Beatle-esque Type Song That DOES NOT Follow The Traditional R&B Funk Genre.  It Slips & Slides Along With A Loopy Kind Of Groove As It Tells A Story Of Unwavering Love!!!  I Tried 2 Figure Out What Gives It That Ethereal FX???  I Think It’s The Fact That The Strings Play Consistently Through The Whole Track As A Sound That Creeps Into Your Ear Drum W/O U Really Paying Attention 2 It!!!  Then When That 2nd Kick Drum Comes Thumping Along In The Chorus U Feel It Deeper In UR Chest As It Helps Center UR Point O’ Groove.

The More I Listen 2 The Wordz & Get Lost In The Message I Realized I Wrote This Song About My Own Marriage.  I Had 2 Replay The Events In My Mind As Subconsciously I Slid In & Out Of That Space 2 Detail The Journey.  & 2 Think She Said I Never Wrote A Song About Her???  & Quite A Kewl Tune 1 Might I Add Too?!?  LOL!!!

Track 4Mystery Lady” Iz A Deep Song Of Infidelity Told Over A Hypnotic Groove, A Throbbing Base Line, & A Syncopated Drum Beat!!!  When I Say Deep…, I Mean DEEP As In LOW END!!!  The Bass Drums & The Bassline Itself Are Damn Near Sub-Sonic 2 Make Sure U Know UR Being Submerged Into A Taboo Space!!!

By Using A Marimba As A Leading Musical Tone It Moves The Sound Into A Place We’re Not Used 2 Normally Hearing It In.  I Think That Gives Another Slick Appeal 2 It!!! The Lyrics Are Spoken During The Verses & Sung During The Chorus ala Ms. Me’Shell N’degeocello.  All I Can Say About This From A Real World Place Is…, A-Hem…, “She Knows Who (SHE)…, Or Should I Say…, (THEY) Know Who They Are???HMMMMM?!?  A True Gentleman Kisses…, But NEVER EVER Tells!!!  ROFLMAO!!!

Track 5Long Distance Lover” Iz That Classic Tale About Tryin’ 2 Love Someone Deeply & Completely From Afar!!!  This Was A Tale Woven 2 Me By A Neighbor Who Used 2 Live Across The Street.  I Weaved Her Story Into Tangible Lyrics & Wrapped The Music Around It With Some TLC!!!

It Has That Late 80’s Early 90’s Drum Machine BOOM-BAP 2 It Complete With Heavy Handed Hand Claps & Those Agogo Bells 2 Give It That Herky Jerky Motion!!!  This Was Probably The Very 1st Tyme I Truly Tried 2 Sing A Song As A Lead Singer So Give Me 7% Credit 4 Stepping Out Front!!!  LOL!!! 

My Pride & Joy On This Track Iz The Out Of Phase Honky Tonk Piano Solo I Play In The Bridge That Makes Me Smile Everytime I Hear It!!!  Yeah I’m DEFINITELY Un-Conventional!!!  The 2nd Additional Performer On My Project Is Dr. KBJ Doing The Woman’s Voice U Hear In The Breakdown & At The Very End!!!  THATZ IT!!!

Track 6We Have That Kind O’ Love” Iz Like Prince’s Purple Rain Movie As Itz The Closest Thing U Get To An Autobiographical Account Of The Bro J!!!  I Laid The Music Down & Then The Words Flowed Down 2 Me Like Manna Flowing Down From Heaven As They Got More Cohesive By The Minute!!!  By The Time I LQQKED Up…, Like The Notorious BIG Said, “I Gotta Story 2 Tell!!!

I CANNOT Confirm Nor Deny Their Actual Factual Accountability…, But If’n U Know Me…, U Can Connect The Dots!!!  This Track Iz Quite Bizzy With A Harpsichord Sound, Some Percussive Synth Patches, & Xspecially When I Get 2 The Double Call-N-Refrain Chorus Near The End!!!   In Hindsight A Better Mixxx Would Smooth Things Out Just A Lil’ Bit…, But I’m Kewl With The Finished Product!!!

Track 7Mo’ Flowww” Iz A SCORCHING Instrumental Track!!!  As A Musician 1st & A Lyricist 2nd…, The MUZAK Iz Alwayz Important 2 Me!!!  Wordz Are Added 4 That Necessary FX!!!  I’ve Alwayz Said My Dream Gig Would Be As The Drummer In An Instrumental Fusion Jazz Band!!!  I Know The General Public Needs Them Lyrics…, But There’s A Lil’ Sumthin’ Sumthin’ 2 Be Said 4 A HELLACIOUS GROOVE!!! 

Stay With Me On This Song ‘Til The End As You Hear The Various Instruments Trade Off On Some Syncopated Riffs!!!  The Bass Line Keeps The Bottom 2getha & Those Quirky Electronic Sounds I Love Spit In & Out Delivering Just Enuff ‘Tricity 2 Keep U Plugged In!!!

Between My Xtended Intros, Unformulatic Song Structure, & Out The Box Production Techniques I Will NEVER Be A Mainstream Type Artist…, UR Just Gonna Have 2 Take The Adventure With Me & Join Me If U Dare!!!

I Feel At This Point In My Life These 7 Songs Represent Me As A Solo Artist In A Way That Truly Speaks From My Inner Core!!!  I’m Working On My Next Batch Of Songs 2 Get Ready.  I May Share Some Space With Other Collaborators I’ve Worked With As Muzak Has Alwayz Had That Ability 2 Connect Folks Of Differing Abilities & Styles Across A Medium Where We Can All Bring Our Authentic Selves 2 Da Mixxx!!!

Please “WEAR THIS PROJECT OUT” Peep The Included Links 2 Check It Out On The Platform Of UR Choice!!!  Then Stay Tuned As My Next Selection Will Arrive No Later Than Mid 2021!!!  I’m NJoying This Chance 2 Go Deeper Down The Rabbit Hole Into The Sub-Conscious O’ My Mind As I Re-Discover My Own Voice Of Just WHO I BE!?!  GAWD HELP US ALL!!!  LMAO!!!

https://distrokid.com/ hyperfollow/thebrotheraj/ introducing-the-brother-aj-7

https://open.spotify.com/album/2ytlDGhEyZKXpDCOOInIPJ

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PVYHRXY

https://music.apple.com/us/album/introducing-the-brother-aj-7/1543846650?uo=4&app=itunes

https://music.apple.com/us/album/introducing-the-brother-aj-7/1543846650?uo=4&app=apple+music

The Brother AJ

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