@@dbcanada Yeah they definitely tricked me if this transcription is correct. Sounded very much like 2 measures of 5 and a measure of 2 to me but that does line up with 4/4.
The instrument that is predominant in the intro is the Brazilian Berimbau. It's a single-string percussion instrument, a musical bow, originally from Africa, that is now commonly used in Brazil. Also, there's overdubbed drums parts in here, specifically, timbales, which sound great.
I just saw an interview with Henrik Linder (bass player) he said he learned bass because a girl he liked when he was 13 told him that bass was the sexiest instrument. I guess we should thank her.
Thanks for having a look at this song and giving us a thorough breakdown of the composition. I love how you point out all the little details and their function, as I don't always have enough theoretical knowledge myself to really understand how they impact the composition as a whole. It is very much appreciated! 💚 It's my absolute favourite of everything they've done so far, and I never get tired of it, despite having listened to it more times than I can count by now. I rarely get this enthralled by music that isn't of the classical variety (don't get me started on how many times I've listened to some of my favourite symphonies and concertos; that would make me sound like an absolute lunatic, hahaha) and it's so wonderful to get the same kind of thrill from a jazz fusion band. I'm thinking that it might have something to do with the fact that their music is so thoroughly composed and thought through down to the smallest details, a bit like classical music also is. I just cannot get enough of their music, and I've listened to them since they released their first videos 12 years ago. The rhythmic instrument is a berimbau, and my guess is (and it is just a guess) it's played by the guy who usually records percussion for them, Andreas Eksted. They never have the session musicians in their videos, so that's why you don't see it being played. They forgot to mention him in the credits on this one, and made up a whole story about it, in the credits of Next To You instead. Make sure you read the credits if you do that song, and when you do that, have in mind who they appointed "dietitian" in this video (Jabba the Hutt). They are SO silly! 😂 All the music is already recorded when they make the videos, and Jonah said, in an interview with Stratele Studions here on youtube, that he and Aron had to transcribe and learn their own improvised solos, to be able to play them back on camera for this video. That sounds like a rather daunting task already, and to top it off, apparently Aron didn't miss a beat when playing it with the recording. Sheesh! When they write songs, they never do it by jamming or something like that. They always write a super simple pop song first, and then go back and write the arrangement on top of that, thoroughly working through every bar (and as Aron said in a Swedish podcast "and then we just destroy everything" 😂). Everything, except the improvised solos, is really well thought trough and composed. In an interview in Bass Magazine, Henrik talked about writing and recording the Phoenix EP in great detail. This is what he says about the bass lines in that interview. The first question is a more general one, and the second specifically about this song. Very interesting approach. "How about composing your bass lines? As with Loopified, I got to record the bass last for the most part, so all of the drums and all of the chord changes were already down. From there I was able to craft my parts. Besides my normal way of building bass lines from the initial grooves or riffs, sometimes I’ll transcribe a fill by Aron and try to get the accents in my bass part, or I’ll transcribe something Jonah improvised and adapt it into the bass part. That’s why a lot of my parts are kind of weird for the instrument, because they’re not totally written by a bass player." "“Work Shit Out” has a killer fretless, finger-funk bass line and it’s the most musically adventurous track on the EP. That’s how we conceived it, as a song that would evolve into a long improvised section with keyboard and drums solos. It started with Aron’s octave-jumping MIDI bass line. I wanted to simplify it a bit and remove one of the beats, but Aron insisted on his version, so I had to figure out how to play it because it’s a little unorthodox on bass. From there, Aron and I wrote the verse and the chorus, coming up with the one-note melody concept for the chorus. Then Jonah and Aron added all the harmonies. For Jonah’s solo, I stick pretty much to the root notes so he stretch and change the harmonies above them. It was a lot of fun to play the song live on a few gigs before the pandemic because it took different directions each time." (Ooof, this ended up half a novel, but I absolutely LOVED this reaction and breakdown, and couldn't help myself. So sorry for the word spam. 😳)
Excellent novel, Lotta, so super interesting. More word spam from you any day 🤣 Yes, the way these guys write their pieces seems so intricate and complicated, -and then the results are just stunning! And that bassmagazine- interview is so informative 👍 Also Aron’s comment in that Swedish interview - hilarious! 🤪
the BASS was invented just so Henrik would play it! he is amazing, Jonah is a phenom in singing and playing keys and Aron has incredible timing, style and rhythm! they r all 3 the best at their craft! IMHO!!!
That pic of your face on the video cover! 🤣😂😅 Yes, Dirty Loops make your face fall off, especially when they’re working shit out… ;) Thanks so much for that vid. I loved both your reaction and your analysis, found it awesomely interesting! I think you nailed it when saying: they’re adding complexity on top of simplicity. I think it is fair to say that this is part of their standard recipe: to take a simple tune or hook (in this case largely a one-note melody, or in the case of their earlier LP Loopified a pop song) and then loopify it by adding complexity, -sometimes a lot! Their use of 13th and other rich and weird chords and harmonies is legendary. Jonah once said something to the effect that he’s ‘allergic’ to standard chord progressions ;) and yes, he studied jazz piano at some point. He’s also (besides every single other music genre they’ve listened to growing up) intensely influenced by classical music. Often his style of harmonic and melodic key/piano playing remind me a lot of the romantic piano literature (hence the Sonatina’ in the middle 😉). He’s also into composition, loves Bach, sang from a very early age in both his parents’ choirs, sought after as a music writer, interested in film music writing (you mentioned Hans Zimmer :) and so much more… Aron on drums is a beast. I’m not a drummer but sure am blown away by his clean and powerful playing. Also by how he drives the band, phrases his fills and how he builds his solo. Everything about his playing is stellar. He’s also heavily involved in Dirty Loops’ music and lyrics writing, as well as in the editing of all of their music videos. Henrik, what can you say? He’s a god on bass. To know when to come and add your goddamn beautiful sound of super funky runs and rhythms, and when to stay out of the way and just put down that groove for the others to shine and do their thing on top of: Henrik has got it all figured out. So do all three of them in the same way-. Btw, there is an interesting interview with Henrik on bass magazine.com/Songified, where he explains the processes behind this and all the other songs from this LP. From the moment he comes in with that fat, beautiful sound to quite a bit into the track, he’s basically playing the same riff or groove. His parts always are EPIC! The background percussive sounds you hear are coming from a berimbau, a Brazilian stringed rhythm instrument. It’s been said that DLoops use a lot of Latin or Brazilian rhythms in their arrangements. You spotted that ‘Siren’ sound, thanks for the explanation! I always heard it , found it unsettling to say the least 😉 but never had a name for it. Their way of building and releasing tension in their pieces is legendary. Again, I absolutely loved your heartfelt reaction and super interesting analysis 🙏 For more legendary Henrik Linder bass solos, listen to “World On Fire”, “Turbo”, “Follow The Light”, or really anything else Dirty Loops have ever put out. He’s a star on all of them and has a million ways to rip your head off. He and Jonah have independently collaborated with many other musicians, and Henrik’s collab with Matt Garstka on GEM, a track labeled progmetal, is just one mindblowing example of his skills and his diversity… So much good stuff ahead 🔥🔥🔥 Looking forward to more Dirty Loops amazingness! ☺️👍
Wow, you really nailed it with your comments! Great work on your part! You basically described the "loopifying" way of making their songs, with a very basic melody as the bases, and then they build all the complexities on top of it (now, I do not really know what I am talking about, but I say it anyhow, and I think I am right, others will inform us otherwise). You also described so well how they moved the music around, wonderful and fun to listen to your comments! For more bass, maybe check out Follow the light. There are other songs where Henrik might shine even more, but Follow the light is nice! It might amuse you to read the credits after their songs (not so much after the Wong collaboration songs, more on their own stuff). Thank you so much for this reaction! Come to think of it, if one just listened to your comments, one might state that "you should really be a teacher". :)
For future recommendations: 1) My favorite from this recent album is "Next to You," which is pretty genre fluid but ends up basically going full gospel. 2) "Hit Me" or one of their original covers like "Baby" or "Rolling in the Deep" 3) "It Hurts" from Loopified. Most underrated song imo, very much like "Breakdown." Might not get a lot of views, but at least listen to it on your own!!
Such a brilliant run through of the song and the different parts! I love your pedagogical approach and how you dissect certain segments of the song I've not even noticed before. This is definetly one of my favourites from their catalogue, it was the first one I heard, but I think its quite impossible to have *one* favourite. It changes over time. I've gotten through all that is released and I cant say that I dislike or is unimpressed by any single song. They seem to be really pouring everything they've got into every song..and they do have a jazz-fusion - love with a twist of pop and classical music in the mix. Perhaps check out one of the more "mainstream" (well, as far as they can be) compositions like Next to you or Follow the Light?
I enjoyed your take a great deal. Personally I'm a fan of first time reactions. I think part of that is the getting to share-albeit-vicariously in that initial experience. Great comments. As many times as I've heard this song you still pointed things out to me that I'd never noticed before. Much appreciated and happy to subscribe after that. Best wishes.
Just a quick note here. In an interview with another channel here on RU-vid, Jonah said that he wasn't sure if he was a good enough singer to do lead vocals. He also said that they, as a group, write their songs simple, play them once simply,.... then..... they Loopafie them! They also produce, arrange, record, and edit all of their songs, then, they are sent, completed, to Quincy Jones productions. I Love this band, soooo much !
@@ShawkaReacts He isn’t. He is just their manager. They produce everything themselves, together with Simon Petrén, and they’ve said in interviews that they don’t send Quincy Jones anything, not even demos, until they’re all done with a song, as Gary Graham said, video and all. In Sweden and the US the Phoenix EP was self-released as well; it was just in Japan it was released under a label (Universal).
Yeah that was a great 3 part series my friend Jeff Castanon did on the channel Stratele Studios. What a lucky guy that Jonah saw his video and contacted him. Dirty Loops are three of thr baddest musicians on the planet.
@@bobcieslinski yes and yes! Good to hear you commenting here as well, and yeah, those interviews with Jonah were real eye openers for me. Lucky Jeff, indeed! ☺️
@@bobcieslinski, I watch your channel too Bob. I love it. I'm beginning to think that once we've heard DL, thinking of our first reaction, we feel compelled to seek out other's first time reaction just to watch their face, and get a bit of reliving of our own "first time"...
Okay, you _need_ to check out Dirty Loops ft. Corey Wong: Ring of Saturn if you're a jazz-head. The Chick Corea vibes are for real, just an ultra-ultra-smooth lounge jazz vibe, featuring one of the most badass flute solos I've ever heard! The rest of their collab album is also great, with songs like Follow The Light, a radio-friendly instant classic, and a cover of Michael Jackson's Thriller that completely reimagines it rhythmically in a way that makes the original sound "wrong" somehow once you hear it swung so hard.
Thanks for a great reaction! Really like to see how much you enjoyed it 🙂 as well as your very interesting comments on the song! I have seen a lot of reactions and you commented on many things I never heard anyone do before.
It is a sampled loop of someone playing a Berimbau -- used in Brazillian percussion. It is like a longbow strung with a metal string that the player hits the metal string with a small stick, and it also has a shaker tied to the bottom of the instrument. Naná Vasconcelos is a legendary player and you can see it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w3mffS8H3Vc.html
There’s no meter changes in the section after the drum solo. It’s straight time. Just count it or use a metronome. In fact, the drum solo keeps the beat going. You can hear the sequenced instrument that starts the song. You should check out Turbo by Dirty Loops and Cory Wong.
Excellent reaction! It takes quite a few viewings to appreciate all the spectacular parts in this song. A special shout of appreciation should go to the 'invisible band member' Simon Petrén. He films and edits as well as playing supporting keys and even plays with them live now and then!
Dirty Loops... it`s the best of the best! I know them from the beginning in RU-vid and they all are excellently musically educated in Sweden. They are superb! It`s musical orgasm, to listen to them!
17:30 nope, that's still 4/4, and there is syncopation... I guess you could write it as 5/8 but again, you could write anything in any time signature ;)
Thank you, I like your reaction! You say you would like to hear some more interesting bass parts? Check out Dirty Loops World on fire. Wait patiently while listening and you won't be disappointed!
Just watched your video and loved it. Comments below. Then immediately stumbled onto an amazing video of four phenomenal European musicians just playing some wildly technical, high energy fusion. My second reaction (after getting my jaw off my chest) was to think, I would love to hear the Music Teacher react to this amazing piece of musical magic. Think about it, this is high energy featuring the Hungarian Nightmare Gergo Borlai on drums. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nFuICvoaTHM.html
I appreciate reactions, but it makes me cringe to hear a music teacher include "analysis" that either makes no sense, is just plain wrong ("sonatina?" "mandolin?" "7/8?" "5/8?"), and includes no mention of harmony(!) at all. I know it was your first listen, but please either analyze correctly or stick with gut reactions rather than throwing out musical terms and guesses.
I definitely talked about the thickness of the harmonies and specifically alluded to 13th chords as opposed to more traditional 9ths. Appreciate your feedback though. Everyone has different preferences.
