Skip to main content

Posts

About The New Beatmaker

Hi!  I'm Lee.  Welcome to my blog.  Here we talk music: news, reviews, interviews, tips, tutorials and more.  I'm also working on the upcoming podcast  Influenced  as a guest, writer and researcher alongside music aficionado Mark Williams and friends.  Watch this space! I have been a lover of music for as long as I can remember, an amateur lyricist for 25 years, a music writer for 15 years and a hobbyist musician and blogger for almost 10 years. My tastes range from jazz to house to hip hop and I love helping artists from all genres develop their sound. My music, videos, reviews and interviews have been featured in a variety of magazines and websites, including: B-Boy Tech Report Gimme That Beat Humanhuman Audio Skills Dream House Beats Where Did the Road Go Beat Tape Co-Op Push Power Promo Drum Magazine You can find my music on Bandcamp: Monkey Mind Sounds AKA LeeTNB And you can find me on Facebook: The New Beatmaker page Lee's personal page
Recent posts

Hip Hop in Lockdown: 'Six Feet' by The Dirty Ol' Men

REVIEW :  How the inherent ingenuity of hip hop thrived during a year of worldwide crises  In the first of what I intend to be a number of deep-dives into albums released in 2020, I am going to explore the project 'Six Feet' by hip hop collective The Dirty Ol’ Men, including the circumstances surrounding its creation. I am framing the project in the wider context of how the inherent ingenuity of hip hop - a music, art form and culture born through 'making something out of nothing’ - has found ways to overcome lockdown limitations during a worldwide crisis unlike any in our lifetime, in the form of the Covid pandemic, as well as widespread protests and counter protests against anti-black racism. Part One: From 'East Grand' to 'Six Feet'   Be the Master of your fate / and the Captain of your soul / before your heart turns cold / and your body grow old / in the grave, you gonna roll... -       F13ldz ‘Mirror’ ‘Six Feet’ was written, recorded, produced and mix

'Influenced' Podcast Episode 25: 2020 The Year in Review

PODCAST : The Soundtrack to a year unlike any in our lifetime   I am fortunate enough to be a guest on a 2020 round-up episode of 'Influenced'. The show was recorded on 1 January, hours after the music world was left reeling by news of the untimely passing of hip hop genius MF DOOM. We spend a little time reflecting on his legacy, as well his featuring him in a musical tribute in memoriam early on in the episode. Elsewhere I celebrate everything instant pop classics to underground gems from a year unlike any other. Whatever 2020 brought you, here's wishing you and yours a safe, sucessfull, happy and healthy 2021. https://www.instagram.com/influencedmusicpodcast/ Join me on Facebook More content coming to Youtube Soon

Mecca:83 Interview: UK Beatmaking Star and Label Head Talks Drums, Dilla and More

Mecca:83 AKA Rise is a name you're going to see on a lot of people's 'best of' lists, including ours.  His  'Sketchbook Pieces, Vol 1' , a collection of recent remixes and production work, serves both as a perfect introduction to the beatmaker and as a tasty appetizer for those fans hungry for another full-length.  He is part of the international quartet Alexis Davis , along with fellow producers Spinnerty and DJ Simon S and lyricist Replife.  He's also the man behind the Expansions Collective label, releasing music he describes as 'Future Vintage'.       An aficionado of A Tribe Called Quest and J Dilla, Mecca:83 has made his own lane by mixing jazz, hip hop and broken beat, creating a sound which is very personal and very beautiful.    The New Beat Maker had a chance to talk to the popular producer about, amongst other things, his mastery of drums, how Alexis Davis tracks come together, his favourite Dilla tracks and that perennial topic o

Boonie Mayfield Interview: Progressive Soul

Solomon Vaughn aka Boonie Mayfield has successfully navigated the new musical landscape of this "information age", gaining love and respect from fans, websites and fellow musicians around the world in the process . His beatmaking and songwriting skills make him one of the most exciting contemporary talents in music.  Last year, Boonie won many new fans with his mega-popular 'Boon Documented' series, a must-see music themed reality show. He also teaches music on his youtube channel and mpctutorials.com and has a nice line in signature drum kits and beats for lease.  His second album 'Boonie Mayfield Presents: Solomon Vaughn', out next month, is one of the most anticipated albums of 2013.    The New Beatmaker caught up with the man himself to talk about what to expect from the new album, how he gets that 'ol' school' feel, the work that went into 'Boon Documented' and why experimentation is so important to making music.        TNBM: It seemed

Objects In Orbit 'Panoramas'

REVIEW :  The New Beatmaker favourite changes his name, hones his craft on potential best album of 2020 Producer, Sound Engineer, Musician and Videographer Objects In Orbit has been a favourite of the site since 2013. Whilst there is not a single bad project in the catalogue of the artist formerly known as Evil Alex, he has evolved and improved almost constantly from one project to the next. He is a master of sonic suspense with many of his projects sounding perfectly at home in an art installation or art-house cinema. His trademark style mixes hip hop born sample-based techniques and 4/4 beat composition along with jazz influenced time signatures and experimentation. He often incorporates eerie, industrial stylings and at times dissonant tones.  Whilst predominantly instrumental, Objects In Orbit finely weaves into layers of musical samples either long stretches of dialogue, which make the listener feel as though they are eavesdropping on private conversation, or snip