Oh! In case anyone's been wondering about the lead vocal, I didn't analyze it in this video but it sounds to me like it's in a different key - sometimes it clashes, sometimes it works out! It's very cool.
That's fairly common in music that is entirely made up of samples. I've ran into some of these happy accidents as well when I made sample-based tracks just by throwing together some of my favorite music and experimenting what works. Such an exciting way of making music, I should get back into it
I never realised the main chords part is a Pekka Pohjola sample. A Finnish musician who worked with Mike Oldfield in the late 70’s, which introduced me to him. I used to have his album, “The Mathematician’s Air Display” which Oldfield produced. I was unaware of the album this came from though.
This song & the entire Entroducing album by DJ Shadow were 100% sampled & the song & album were my favorite of 1996. Brilliant work by him to splice it all together.
Heard this at Heathrow airport in 1996. It was raining and I was in a lay by waiting and it blew me away then. Still does now. What a great album that is too. The whole album is made up of samples. Clever dude. Pekka Pohjola - Sekoilu Seestyy (Madness Subsides) that was the sample.
One of my top 10 albums of all time. Changed my life and way of thinking about samples in the way NIN first pushed me into extended chords and new time signatures. 100% samples. All made on a MPC60. People couldn't believe they were samples with how well he chopped up drum breaks.
For anyone who don't know about whosampled, the two samples analyzed here are from: The Madness Subsides by Pekka Pohjola The Human Abstract by David Axelrod
@@josh34578 the whole album comes from samples like that! also done on an MPC60 which is just.. mindblowing. stone cold classic album, would still be so if released today
Oh hell yea! Random fact I went on tour w him couple years ago and got a song on his side label liquid amber and he asked me to do a remix to play on his mountains will fall tour. He’s a really nice guy in person. So glad you’re doing a deep dive into his classics. He’s so good 😊
Hearing this for the first time in 96 was mind blowing. Easy still on my top 10 list of albums to this day. I'm surprised that my CD hasn't worn out from all of the times it's been played.
Definitely love everything about this video, thank you for taking the time! To this day, almost 30 years later, I still haven't heard anything that captures nostalgia so profoundly as this. The only thing keeping the video from being perfect is that you missed 13:33 that last piano ending part that only appears once and wraps up the song in a sorof menacing sounding chord, I'd loved to hear your take on it
Great analysis! Another secret of this progression is that it’s actually a pretty simple and effective voicing. The left hand is playing a descending bass progression G F D# D and the right hand plays chords with G as the lower note for every chords so G A# (over G) for the Gm chords, G A C (over F) for that F add9 chords, G A# D (over D#) and G C E (over D). So that common G in every chords is like the magic glue between all the chords. 😊
If you asked me what one song most represented my entire music listening life, this would be the one. The first time I heard it, I literally couldn’t do anything the rest of the day. I listened to it on repeat for at least twenty times. His song “What Does Your Soul Look Like, part 2” had the same effect.
It was this song that got me into making electronic music. Such great memories attached to this song, and whenever it comes on my playlist it always soundtracks whatever I'm looking at so perfectly. Good stuff ixi
Entroducing is one of the albums that changed my view on music. I had been flirting with Electronica before this, but was still a bit hung up about the use of sampling and drum machines, but once this fantastic record entered my life I understood the possibilities and went in headfirst.
Feel the same about this classic track. Lovely progression. Thanks for the breakdown. ♥ Samples in order, check out the originals. The Madness Subsides - Pekka Pohjola (Wurlitzer) The Human Abstract - David Axelrod (Lead piano line) Sower of Seeds - Baraka (Vocal samples)
Just for fun, the sample comes from Pekka Pahjola - the madness subsides. Thanks for breaking the part down as I've always admired it but wouldn't dare touch it.
Your sophistication and understanding of composition and structure is amazing and bringing me mad respect to these composers and artists. My musicality and fledgling songwriting chops make it easy for me to understand a not great song… but you’re helping me understand great music. ❤❤❤
Those chords you played at the end sound almost like a heavy metal riff. If you play them on an electric guitar in drop D tuning and distortion it sounds so metal. Anyway, phenomenal song, great album, superb artist. You got great taste, ixi
I still have my cd from the 90's. Every person I played this track for (especially hip-hop fans) loved this track. Song still gives me chills. DJ Shadow put together some genius tracks.
You should listen to the original track the piano was sampled from, David Axelrod- The Human Abstract (1969). It has some of the grooviest drums and bass!
So awesome- me and this album bonded when it came out - I had just moved to SF and had it on mini-disk as I would explore my new city on various forms of transit. Great to see someone of your caliber get into it and give it some love.
That’s C/D sound is a classic D11 voicing from like late 70s/early 80s pop fusion. It’s everywhere. Root, b7, 9, 11. Ambiguous/pretty implied dominant double-suspension.
The entire background wall - including herself - is aesthetically identical to the album cover of Plantasia - by Mort Garson. White wall ✅ Plants ✅ Plant holder on the upper right side - same color as the hype sticker on the original pressing. Also, the placement of the hype sticker is most commonly located at the upper right corner of the cover.✅ The bronze/goldish holder/lamp thing at the upper left side - same color as the font used for a sentence of text on the album cover. The placement of that text - also upper left side of the album cover.✅ Her hair (as it appears in this video) appears very dark on her head. Then creates a gradient into the reddish color as it flows below her ears. The plant vase in the center of the album cover - same color gradient as her hair - very dark to reddish.✅ If you took the Plantasia album cover and superimposed it over this video - you'll understand all of the above. What on earth would make my mind even remotely think of this? 🤪 Simple. Old school DJ mentality. Same mentality DJ Shadow has when he envisions songs as he's listening for samples. I'm from the same era as Josh. Also from Cali. Started DJing in 1985. Got my SP-1200 in 1988 - and MPC-60 in 1989. First met Josh in 1991 through the music industry when he was brought on to work on the Lifer's Group project. Anyone that was DJing and sampling in the 80s and 90s - has this same mentality of being able to envision sounds visually via album covers. Also, constantly "thinking in record covers". Example - when you're going about your day to day life - you'll see something random and think - "Oh, that looks like the so-and-so cover". This is due to years and years of flipping through records as you're DJing - and, having your mental playlists remembered via record covers/labels. Very cool video by the way. 👍 Go peep the cover... www.discogs.com/release/530794-Mort-Garson-Mother-Earths-Plantasia/image/SW1hZ2U6MTk2Njg3MjU=
If you're interested in the samples, check out this deconstruction of the song: th-cam.com/video/BIfyTM_Wt5k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=5vRDBd_RIZHlsmP1 (Maybe some already posted this here in the comments?)
Check out "This is Not America" by Pat Metheny Group. Gm, bass moves down to F, EbMaj7, then back up -- but there's an E natural that comes in going up to the chorus. It's not enough to be "the same", but I wonder if someone was playing around with the chords from that song and ended up w/ what's going on here? For sure when I first heard the DJ Shadow song it instantly brought This is Not America to mind. Love both.
Enjoy your analysis. Wondering if you'd attempt analyzing one of my favorite albums from around that time, The Seduction of Claude Debussey by the Art Of Noise(produced by Godley and Creme, I believe.) Made in 2000 to celebrate the life of the man who changed 20th century music. It blends Debussey's music with hip hop and jazz. Incredibly beautiful. They went out on a high note
Thanks! How much would you charge me to identify chords in The Ballad of Renegade Nell by Nick Cave? It’s an okay song but I’m obsessed with the new show, and want to be able to do a version of my own, and no one’s posted chords yet. TYIA
I used to really dig this album, then one day I stopped listening to it, and then I more or less forgot about it. Good atmosphere and mood on this. There's things about it that I don't love anymore (the DJing it's self in some respects) but it's more or less still very cool. Frankly, it's a big ole' invitation to dig into some jazz (kinda like D&B).
I was introduced (aha) to this album back in the day because it was mentioned in the Radiohead wikipedia page as an influence during the Kid A era. Fantastic album!
This album is one of my favorites of all time. Its absolute genius, a complete one-off (quite a feat bearing in mind it’s made up of samples apart from drumming)
You probably should have credited the original artists. Pekka Pohjola - The Madness Subsides is the original piano part. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 56.
Shadow uses samples as inspiration but then recreates them using live instruments himself, then represses them on vinyl. Which is why his music hits so different. Dudes a legit genius!
@@twitchyboneselectronica2375 Yeah I got excited and ended up making more of a blanket statement than I meant to, wasn't sure if that applied to this or not tbh.
As many have said in the comments, the album this is from Endtroducing is a masterpiece. If you don't have time to check the whole album, the first actual song after the intro which is called "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" is an incredibly powerful start to a phenomenal album that you would definitely appreciate. As many said before, it was made from samples and was painstaking put together to produce an equisite puzzle from the different jigsaw pieces. He pulled most of the records from the same store to make it and there is a humbling piece of him in the store from the Hip Hop documentary "Scratch" he's a genius who is very humble. th-cam.com/video/1gpKYnRdf0A/w-d-xo.html
Oh! In case anyone's been wondering about the lead vocal, I didn't analyze it in this video but it sounds to me like it's in a different key - sometimes it clashes, sometimes it works out! It's very cool.
That's fairly common in music that is entirely made up of samples. I've ran into some of these happy accidents as well when I made sample-based tracks just by throwing together some of my favorite music and experimenting what works. Such an exciting way of making music, I should get back into it
Vocal sample is Meredith Monk - Dolmen Music
yes!! I love that it fits so much even though it doesn't match the key all the time!!!!!
I never realised the main chords part is a Pekka Pohjola sample. A Finnish musician who worked with Mike Oldfield in the late 70’s, which introduced me to him. I used to have his album, “The Mathematician’s Air Display” which Oldfield produced. I was unaware of the album this came from though.
This song & the entire Entroducing album by DJ Shadow were 100% sampled & the song & album were my favorite of 1996. Brilliant work by him to splice it all together.
Organ Donor was sampled?
@@SamplersAndThings Every single sound on the album is a sample. Sometimes straight, sometimes chopped up.
And he made it on an MPC60! Nuts
@@SamplersAndThingsLove Organ Donor. The whole album is in my top 10 of all time.
@neinnononhe composed the arrangements of the songs with the samples
@@SamplersAndThings th-cam.com/video/S2uNBZLn02Q/w-d-xo.html - Giorgio Moroder
- Tears
Heard this at Heathrow airport in 1996. It was raining and I was in a lay by waiting and it blew me away then. Still does now. What a great album that is too. The whole album is made up of samples. Clever dude. Pekka Pohjola - Sekoilu Seestyy (Madness Subsides) that was the sample.
You just painted the first scene mood of every William Gibson novel. 🤣
One of my top 10 albums of all time. Changed my life and way of thinking about samples in the way NIN first pushed me into extended chords and new time signatures.
100% samples. All made on a MPC60. People couldn't believe they were samples with how well he chopped up drum breaks.
Same!
For anyone who don't know about whosampled, the two samples analyzed here are from:
The Madness Subsides by Pekka Pohjola
The Human Abstract by David Axelrod
Oh wow, I had no idea the song came from samples like that. Really cool to hear the parts on their own in their original contexts.
@@josh34578 the whole album comes from samples like that! also done on an MPC60 which is just.. mindblowing. stone cold classic album, would still be so if released today
Also, listen to “Dolmen Music” by Meredith Monk for the ethereal vocals and other little parts.
@@josh34578the whole album is created using samples.
Endtroducing was one of the greatest achievements in popular music. A landmark album made entirely of samples
Oh hell yea! Random fact I went on tour w him couple years ago and got a song on his side label liquid amber and he asked me to do a remix to play on his mountains will fall tour. He’s a really nice guy in person. So glad you’re doing a deep dive into his classics. He’s so good 😊
Beautiful insight! (foresight, more sight...)
ha!
The clock on the wall reads a quarter past midnight!!
nice one
Hearing this for the first time in 96 was mind blowing. Easy still on my top 10 list of albums to this day. I'm surprised that my CD hasn't worn out from all of the times it's been played.
used to have this record on constant rotation. sooooooooooooo good.
Definitely love everything about this video, thank you for taking the time! To this day, almost 30 years later, I still haven't heard anything that captures nostalgia so profoundly as this. The only thing keeping the video from being perfect is that you missed 13:33 that last piano ending part that only appears once and wraps up the song in a sorof menacing sounding chord, I'd loved to hear your take on it
Great analysis! Another secret of this progression is that it’s actually a pretty simple and effective voicing. The left hand is playing a descending bass progression G F D# D and the right hand plays chords with G as the lower note for every chords so G A# (over G) for the Gm chords, G A C (over F) for that F add9 chords, G A# D (over D#) and G C E (over D). So that common G in every chords is like the magic glue between all the chords. 😊
one of the best songs on an insanely good album. it's so dank and then that David Axelrod sample brings it to another level
btw, Om Unit did a cheeky remix of the David Axelrod song and it's really good.
th-cam.com/video/tkCNktjaqZ8/w-d-xo.html
If you asked me what one song most represented my entire music listening life, this would be the one. The first time I heard it, I literally couldn’t do anything the rest of the day. I listened to it on repeat for at least twenty times. His song “What Does Your Soul Look Like, part 2” had the same effect.
Striking how good a lot of that sounds with just the piano sound.
I don't know what's going on in this video at all but I love the song * - *
This album has never been out of my rotation. It's one of the finest pieces of music ever made. Perfectly captures the 90's.
It was this song that got me into making electronic music. Such great memories attached to this song, and whenever it comes on my playlist it always soundtracks whatever I'm looking at so perfectly. Good stuff ixi
This whole album is a masterpiece.
This whole album is magic. Right up there with OK Computer and Paul's Boutique.
This and 6 days are the best of DJ Shadow’s chilled atmospheric work that I’ve heard, pure transcendence
Entroducing is one of the albums that changed my view on music. I had been flirting with Electronica before this, but was still a bit hung up about the use of sampling and drum machines, but once this fantastic record entered my life I understood the possibilities and went in headfirst.
This lesson changed my life
Feel the same about this classic track. Lovely progression. Thanks for the breakdown. ♥
Samples in order, check out the originals.
The Madness Subsides - Pekka Pohjola (Wurlitzer)
The Human Abstract - David Axelrod (Lead piano line)
Sower of Seeds - Baraka (Vocal samples)
Beautiful breakdown on one of the most important pieces of sampling music ever - thanks.
A trip down memory lane
Just for fun, the sample comes from Pekka Pahjola - the madness subsides. Thanks for breaking the part down as I've always admired it but wouldn't dare touch it.
Damn, such a beautiful piece of music in its own right. Thanks!
Your sophistication and understanding of composition and structure is amazing and bringing me mad respect to these composers and artists. My musicality and fledgling songwriting chops make it easy for me to understand a not great song… but you’re helping me understand great music. ❤❤❤
O wow you got it, finally, no one but you got it right so cool and sounds, well there's no words, you rock🤘🏻
This is one of my favourite videos on the internet
wow...always have it in the car. My brother recently got it on vinyl. Nice to see it here....just had it on today.
Those chords you played at the end sound almost like a heavy metal riff. If you play them on an electric guitar in drop D tuning and distortion it sounds so metal. Anyway, phenomenal song, great album, superb artist. You got great taste, ixi
Thank you for giving me a greater understanding of my favorite track of all time
I still have my cd from the 90's.
Every person I played this track for (especially hip-hop fans) loved this track.
Song still gives me chills.
DJ Shadow put together some genius tracks.
You should listen to the original track the piano was sampled from, David Axelrod- The Human Abstract (1969). It has some of the grooviest drums and bass!
The electric piano at the beginning is from Pekka Pohjola’s The Madness Subsides.
So awesome- me and this album bonded when it came out - I had just moved to SF and had it on mini-disk as I would explore my new city on various forms of transit. Great to see someone of your caliber get into it and give it some love.
I love his song muchly, thank you for the most excellent breakdown
Thank you.
thank you! really enjoyable to play on the keyboard 🙏🏻
Nice! Shouout to Lyrics Born (on the album cover), and UC Davis and 90.3 FM KDVS!
This is super cool, thank you
Bob Wood - program director of the Chum Group here. Sorry I'm late.
Baaw-ba-wa-wa-wa-Bob *
Fantastic to see you walk through it. A wonderful choice!
That’s C/D sound is a classic D11 voicing from like late 70s/early 80s pop fusion. It’s everywhere. Root, b7, 9, 11. Ambiguous/pretty implied dominant double-suspension.
Let's goooo Endtroducing
Surprise chords are my fave 😮
Subscribed!
10:39 So beautiful!
The entire background wall - including herself - is aesthetically identical to the album cover of Plantasia - by Mort Garson.
White wall ✅
Plants ✅
Plant holder on the upper right side - same color as the hype sticker on the original pressing. Also, the placement of the hype sticker is most commonly located at the upper right corner of the cover.✅
The bronze/goldish holder/lamp thing at the upper left side - same color as the font used for a sentence of text on the album cover. The placement of that text - also upper left side of the album cover.✅
Her hair (as it appears in this video) appears very dark on her head. Then creates a gradient into the reddish color as it flows below her ears.
The plant vase in the center of the album cover - same color gradient as her hair - very dark to reddish.✅
If you took the Plantasia album cover and superimposed it over this video - you'll understand all of the above.
What on earth would make my mind even remotely think of this? 🤪
Simple. Old school DJ mentality. Same mentality DJ Shadow has when he envisions songs as he's listening for samples.
I'm from the same era as Josh. Also from Cali. Started DJing in 1985. Got my SP-1200 in 1988 - and MPC-60 in 1989.
First met Josh in 1991 through the music industry when he was brought on to work on the Lifer's Group project.
Anyone that was DJing and sampling in the 80s and 90s - has this same mentality of being able to envision sounds visually via album covers.
Also, constantly "thinking in record covers".
Example - when you're going about your day to day life - you'll see something random and think - "Oh, that looks like the so-and-so cover".
This is due to years and years of flipping through records as you're DJing - and, having your mental playlists remembered via record covers/labels.
Very cool video by the way. 👍
Go peep the cover...
www.discogs.com/release/530794-Mort-Garson-Mother-Earths-Plantasia/image/SW1hZ2U6MTk2Njg3MjU=
i love it that it's meredith monk dolmen music! you should definetely check her out!
If you're interested in the samples, check out this deconstruction of the song: th-cam.com/video/BIfyTM_Wt5k/w-d-xo.htmlsi=5vRDBd_RIZHlsmP1
(Maybe some already posted this here in the comments?)
Check out "This is Not America" by Pat Metheny Group. Gm, bass moves down to F, EbMaj7, then back up -- but there's an E natural that comes in going up to the chorus. It's not enough to be "the same", but I wonder if someone was playing around with the chords from that song and ended up w/ what's going on here? For sure when I first heard the DJ Shadow song it instantly brought This is Not America to mind. Love both.
Thanks!
Add 9ths? ALWAYS. Omg thank you 🙏
I noticed a flanger over the e-piano in this Song. 👀
When did you learn to play piano and where?
Yeah sounds like a flange effect with a bit of reverb and either slight echo or maybe track doubling slightly offset. Maybe both?
Came here to say this. Glad I scrolled down first.
Enjoy your analysis. Wondering if you'd attempt analyzing one of my favorite albums from around that time, The Seduction of Claude Debussey by the Art Of Noise(produced by Godley and Creme, I believe.) Made in 2000 to celebrate the life of the man who changed 20th century music. It blends Debussey's music with hip hop and jazz. Incredibly beautiful. They went out on a high note
You really are just so awesome!!
You broke this song down so elegantly, love this video :)
hey love you cover of DJ shadow, the people want more...
The sample used by DJ shadow came from Sekoilu Seestyy by Pekka Pohjola.
Thanks! How much would you charge me to identify chords in The Ballad of Renegade Nell by Nick Cave? It’s an okay song but I’m obsessed with the new show, and want to be able to do a version of my own, and no one’s posted chords yet. TYIA
Depending on how much time it takes, between nothing to not much. Email me? ixi@iximusic.com
best channel on YT
Thank you!!!!! Been some places with this album. On of my favorite albums of all time.
Does it make sense to think about the D chord as a quartal voicing?
OH YEAH!
I used to really dig this album, then one day I stopped listening to it, and then I more or less forgot about it. Good atmosphere and mood on this. There's things about it that I don't love anymore (the DJing it's self in some respects) but it's more or less still very cool. Frankly, it's a big ole' invitation to dig into some jazz (kinda like D&B).
I was introduced (aha) to this album back in the day because it was mentioned in the Radiohead wikipedia page as an influence during the Kid A era. Fantastic album!
I wore this album out. 😅 Thanks for another great breakdown!
Such a great album. Yeah most of these super creative DJs have great ears for combining samples, but slim to none on the theory…
Isnt the 4th chord just Cmaj with a D on the bass?
Hi Ixi, new to the channel here. I love the content and your voice!
music doesn’t have to be complicated does it.
This album is one of my favorites of all time. Its absolute genius, a complete one-off (quite a feat bearing in mind it’s made up of samples apart from drumming)
OMG DJ Shadow! Hi!
See also, Air-Moon Safari, Spiritualized-Ladies and….Portishead-Roads and It Could Be Sweet, and Avalanches oh and Jonathan Bree
Would love to hear you talk about bjorks ambient outro from her track family off of Vulnicura!
sowing the seeds of love
D11
Why do i hear "sowing rhe seeds of love"
If I remember correctly the first section if from a Tears For Fears song??
You probably should have credited the original artists. Pekka Pohjola - The Madness Subsides is the original piano part. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 56.
Don don Busch ta-Ka Don don Busch tahh Don don Bush dugga Ta'ka don Busch tak N N N N N N N NN N N NO NOW N N N N NOW APPROACHING MIDNITE!
Shadow uses samples as inspiration but then recreates them using live instruments himself, then represses them on vinyl. Which is why his music hits so different. Dudes a legit genius!
To avoid confusion / he certainly didn’t in this track.
@@twitchyboneselectronica2375 Yeah I got excited and ended up making more of a blanket statement than I meant to, wasn't sure if that applied to this or not tbh.
Same as Portishead to some extent or so I've read somewhere.
As many have said in the comments, the album this is from Endtroducing is a masterpiece.
If you don't have time to check the whole album, the first actual song after the intro which is called "Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt" is an incredibly powerful start to a phenomenal album that you would definitely appreciate.
As many said before, it was made from samples and was painstaking put together to produce an equisite puzzle from the different jigsaw pieces.
He pulled most of the records from the same store to make it and there is a humbling piece of him in the store from the Hip Hop documentary "Scratch"
he's a genius who is very humble.
th-cam.com/video/1gpKYnRdf0A/w-d-xo.html
Thanks!