For Dilla... The Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra - Take Notice

As you all know (if you don't know, I don't even know what to say to you...) I am a J Dilla... what's the right word here? Fanatic? Anyway. I love the man, and his music is closer to my heart than I think anyone else's is, or ever could be for that matter... because of that, this post is giving me the warm and fuzzies... and that happens like once every 16 years... check this shit out:

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The Sounds of VTech / Suite For Ma Dukes: Take Notice

Timeless describes moments outside of time— moments that exist so deep inside history that they break through that finite grid. Timeless: The Composer/Arranger Series is an homage to the composer-arrangers that have influenced hip-hop in the most literal and profound ways. 


The creative center of popular music today is the beatmaker-producer. Whether it is Timbaland, Dilla, Dre, or Madlib, these musicians have an uncanny sense for voicings, a penchant for unusual sounds and catchy rhythms and a magical ability to manufacture a good performance. Today’s beatmakers are the direct descendants of yesterday’s composer-arrangers. Their processes—whether it be writing a memorable line for background singers or finding the appropriate moment for a baritone harmonica — mirror those of today’s musicians. The composer-arranger creates music through the frame of the bigger picture, often more concerned with how things sound together than individually. Similarly today’s beatmakers produce music on a grand scale, but through automation and sampling. 

Timeless brings these two seemingly unlike worlds together. The series honors the musical legacies of some of the greatest composer-arrangers ever.  Timeless celebrates the work of the composer-arranger in the context it should be seen—with full orchestras. 

From Mulatu Astatke to J. Dilla to Arthur Verocai, the Timeless Concert Series touched upon the works of three musical giants. Mochilla is proud to announce the March 30th, 2010 release date of the Timeless Concert Series, a 3 DVD box set with a special downloadable audio portion. The box set will be an extremely limited and numbered edition of 4,000, which will include full liner notes, a free poster exclusive only to the box set, extra features, songs, and slideshows of images used in the presentation. To mark the launch of the DVD, there will be a series of events scheduled around its release, including a SXSW screening. Stay tuned here to The Sounds of VTech http://music.vtechphones.com for more. 

Suite For Ma Dukes:

Timeless II celebrated the music of hip-hop producer, James “J. Dilla” Yancey. Composed and arranged for a 60-piece orchestra by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the concert featured special guests Bilal, Dwele, Posdnuos (De La Soul), Talib Kweli and more. This premiere performance is still buzzing in the minds of many, unable to shake the magic of that evening. 

The music has been mixed and mastered by legendary Grammy award-winning producer/mixer Bob Power http://www.bobpower.com/ Power is the man behind hundreds of pop and jazz recordings for such artists as Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, India.Arie, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and more.  Significantly he also worked with Dilla while he was alive. Bob rarely works on smaller independent projects like this, but was so impressed with Miguel’s music that he blessed this collaboration with an epic mix. We are premiering “Take Notice” today with Bob’s mix. 

In related news, on February 6th, 2010, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony http://www.wcfsymphony.org/ will be perform four of Miguel’s arrangements of Dilla in a tribute to great American composers. Dilla will be honored right along side George Gershwin, William Grant Still, and Duke Ellington. Only Timeless could have made this happen. Deepest congratulations to Miguel and Dilla. 

The performance is also available for download here: The Suite for Ma Dukes Orchestra - Take Notice

For More Info:

http://music.vtechphones.com/

http://mochilla.com/