Features

 

19 Mar 2010

 

 

Adam F
 
Released in 1995, Circles was Adam F's big break. It was hugely influential, prompting a shift towards a smooth and hypnotic style of drum & bass that's nowadays called 'liquid' (at the time, people used the controversial term 'intelligent' drum & bass, a moniker that was also bestowed on the work of LTJ Bukem).

Circles is at once smooth, refined and effortlessly funky. Its secret is the keyboard sample, which is taken from Westchester Lady by smooth jazz pioneer Bob James. The sound on James' record has a cinematic quality that perfectly suits the vibe on Circles – it's got a great groove but also has a broad harmonic scope, like the best film soundtracks. The keyboard sample also has a pleasing futuristic feel to it, especially when slightly slowed down and run through a delay processor, as happens on Adam F's tune. Listening to Circles today, some 15 years after it came out, it's amazing to think how progressive this track still sounds.
 
Bob James has been active since the 1960s. A consummate and experimental jazz musician, he has achieved mass appeal by taking inspiration from pop and film music, and presenting his music in an unapologetically populist way. Some consider the 'smooth jazz' genre he helped pioneer to be a watered-down version of the authentic or true jazz, but that's to ignore the skill and artistry in James' records and forget that he was ahead of his time in many ways, for instance toying with electronic tapes on the decidedly avant garde 1965 album Explosions.
 
Adam F was by no means the first to sample Bob James, hip hop artists had already sampled extensively from his albums. The intro to James's Take Me to the Mardi Gras must be one of the top 10 most-used breaks in hip hop, for instance, while the sublime Nautilus has been used by hip-hop royalty such as Eric B & Rakim, Run DMC and Ghostface Killah, to name just a few.

 

 

 

 


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