Skip to main content

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

J Dilla’s Magnum Opus Continues to Inspire: BBoy Tech Report Guest Post




In memory of the late, great J Dilla, I had the honour of a guest post over at bboytechreport.com in which I explored his magnum opus, 'Donuts'.

The post was published on 10 Feb. in memory of J Dilla passing away on 10 Feb. 2006, three days after his 32nd Birthday and the release of the game-changing album.

Without giving too much of the post away here, my feature focuses on the following topics.
    • The context of 'Donuts'.
    • How J Dilla, a revolutionary producer in his own right, pays tribute to fellow iconic and innovative producers on 'Donuts'.  The producers being Pete Rock, Rza, and The Bomb Squad.
    • J Dilla's mastery of the vocal snippet throughout 'Donuts'.  How these snippets either explicity convey an emotion, or subtly add another, often haunting, layer to the track.
    • The paradox inherent in an audience consuming art from an artist exploring their imminent demise.
      The post was published on 10 Feb. in memory of J Dilla passing away on 10 Feb. 2006, three days after his 32nd Birthday and the release of the game-changing album. 

      Many thanks to Bboy Tech Report for giving me the platform.
      Rest in peace to James 'J Dilla' Yancey.

      To check out the full article, click here.
      For all guest posts, click here.
      For all J Dilla posts, click here.  Video:Adam Weissman

      Popular posts from this blog

      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
      MORE »

      The Theory For Our Revenge 'OBORO'

      REVIEW: Japanese multimedia art duo make a great first impression with their mix of industrial, trap and operatic pop The following is a paid for review and post, via humanhuman (see below).  It is always an honour and a pleasure to receive new music to check out and review; especially  when it's as enjoyable a listening experience as this first offering from The Theory For Our Revenge is. The Theory For Our Revenge are COLD FAITH and Jhas; a Japanese music production, fashion stylist and visual art duo The Theory For Our Revenge are COLD FAITH and Jhas; a Japanese music production, fashion stylist and visual art duo. Their debut single ,'OBORO', is a slice of experimental electro-trap / operatic-art-pop. Starting with an industrial sounding chugging and churning, the track moves into frosty, haunting melodies. It's in these opening bars that the only potential hiccup occurs. Around the 0:38 and 1:12 marks there's a jagged synth whistle which i
      MORE »

      Georgel ‘Colibrí’

      REVIEW: 'Colibrí' highlights Georgel’s potential as a superstar in the making It is always an honour and a pleasure to receive new music to check out and review; especially when it's as enjoyable a listening experience as Georgel’s ‘Colibri’. A slice of swaggering, sensual, big band pop, ‘Colibri’ is a superb offering from the singer songwriter.     ‘Colibrí’ immediately demands listener attention thanks to punchy horn stabs, satisfying drum fills and Georgel’s strong vocals.  Listener attention is maintained throughout due to the athletic and theatrical flair of both vocals and instrumentation. These theatrics never descend into ham or kitsch. The hook is slinky and sensual, adding an extra layer to an already super-enjoyable cut. The memorable arrangement and vocals, together with professional mixing and mastering mean the song would be as much at home in a big-budget Hollywood musical or Broadway show as it would be on your favourite music streaming servi
      MORE »