Influences: Morris Mobley

I wouldn’t play guitar if it wasn’t for Grant Green. I started
out as a bass player, but when I heard Grant, that was it. Each and
every day I felt like trying to imitate him until one day I finally
caved in and bought a semi-hollow guitar. He is #1 to me as he fuses
extra deep, real blues feelings with the coolest, most laid back
bebop attitude. He’s the most recorded cat on Blue Note, that’s
saying something.
This tune is a hard bop rendition of a classic TV Crime show
called “Naked City”, even colder than Peter Gun, adding to the vibe
of an already very ‘film noir’ record. Edgar, the boss of Arcane, is
also totally on that film noir vibe, and it’s so nice to be exactly
on the same page.

If there is any perfection in the world, it has to be those
Michael J. Powell-produced Anita Baker records from the mid to late
‘80s. Anita’s voice is proof God exists, and on her best record,
‘Rapture’, the musicians are nothing but legends. This has Ricky
Lawson on drums (who would later play with Miles Davis), the almighty
Nathan East on bass, Greg Philinganes on keys… Some people don’t
get it and think it’s over the top, but to me it’s pure soul.
I love how the production is actually pretty minimalist for the
genre and era. It’s just a band playing a great arrangement, there is
no overdubs or extra sonic gizmos that you can’t replicate live. I
tried to do my arrangements so they would work the same way. When I
play live, my friends Giuliano on keys and Yvan on drums add a little
flavor to what I recorded, but it’s basically just going through a
solid arrangement with the right feeling.

Also known as the ‘heaviest hitting 808 ever recorded’, this
track and whole album was another key piece in the production design
for me. Their whole record is done on a Roland TR-808 drum machine
and Oberheim synths. That was the inspiration for me to use a very
similar setup and fully embrace making soul music that had that
street-level electronic funk edge.
I love the vibe of the record as well, it’s very sensual yet
nostalgic at the same time, something I try to convey as well.

Probably the finest and most popular Japanese jazz-fusion unit,
what sets them apart is crucial attention to every detail and very
well written hooks and songs. Instead of having a couple chords and
riffs to jam on for 5 minutes like most bands in that genre (which I
like too), Casiopea’s joints are written exactly like great R&B
songs. Issei Noro, the leader and guitarist, is an enormous influence
on my style, both in writing and instrumentally. I got the idea of
using an Octaver pedal on my guitar from him, because I felt the
usual Wes Montgomery octaves style was too cliche? and played-out.
On the sonic department, I got lucky enough to find on a
japanese site a dump of the cartridges of Minoru Mukaiya’s Yamaha DX7
presets ! That was a blessing as I love the DX7 but it’s very hard to
program from scratch, so now I could tweak his sounds just like I
wanted.

More 808 goodness. There was great stuff in the early ‘90s when
it comes to soul music, it wasn’t all fluffy New Jack Swing at all.
This track hits deep and I love the whole gospel vibe of it, the
churchy ‘talk music’ piano intro, the vocal stylings and emotion of
it.
Just like the Kleeer track, it’s a great example of making soul
that still will rattle the boomers in the car and keep up with the
strongest rap joints on the low-end department. Just put it loud and
see how that synthesizer bassline makes you feel.

What can I say that hasn’t been said about Steely Dan ? Of
course, their production style is even more perfect than the Anita
Baker stuff. On Gaucho, that was them going as far as they could on
that overly stylish ‘fake jazz’ – as Donald Fagen would say – tip.
Most of the tracks are very R&B, but in a very cold, sophisticated
New York business-suit way.
Part of the reason why is, half of the album actually used the
first realistic-sounding drum machine, nicknamed Wendel, including
this track. It’s ground breaking on that respect. Also, the great
Steve Kahn is on guitar on this track, and he’s another massive
influence when it comes to fusing blues and bebop.
Lyrically, ‘My Rival’ is a cleverly-written, cynical take
on a typical film-noir scenario. Very ‘Arcane’ again, dare I say.

‘The Heavy Bottom and The Pretty Top’: That was the formula of
Jam & Lewis. I basically ripped them off of many production ideas on
the ‘Movin’ On’ LP. The way everything is locked together is amazing
on their classic records. It’s so lush, yet so funky at the same
time, and the songwriting is the best out there.
I love that track in particular for its very bluesy, late-night
vibes, but still g’d up. Pure class. Talkin’ about class, Alexander
and Jam & Lewis’s style was a definite inspiration when it come to
how I would present myself. The whole corporate, suit & tie, super
duper sharp dressed thing –- that comes from them.

Chicago House is a big influence on that project, but y’all
probably know about Larry Heard already.
This is one of my favorite tracks. It’s super funky and swings
very hard. The keys on it are very hip, and it’s got that nocturnal,
sensual and mysterious vibe I’m all about.
Even tho it’s obviously a DJ, floor-orientated track, I think
it’s vital to fuse all the R&B derived influences to keep the idiom
fresh and interesting. Back in the day, I used to play guitar on top
of deep-house DJ sets, and I think that opened my mind to new ideas.

I’ve always had a thing for Southern rap in general and Houston
rap in particular. My favorite blues players are Texans, and I felt
you can still feel that vibe on many modern rap records, especially
on the Z-Ro ones where he sings. It’s just modern blues to me. The
arrangement is excellent, and that hook hits you right there. Some of
the influences of this page are R&B taking cues from street rap, and
this is the reverse process.
The meaning of this song is something I sometimes relate to as
well, that loneliness you can find in hard times that actually makes
you stronger, I’ve definitely been there.

I’m waiting for the snobs to raise their eyebrows on this one,
but I know my friends who don’t think soul has to sound like nothing
else but pre-80’s Motown love it. I didn’t even knew who he was
before I heard his latest album, wich was pretty decent, but this
song is an another level.
When I first got his record, I think I played that very track on loop for the whole afternoon and reverse-engineered it in my head. It’s really one of the best crafted R&B joints I’ve heard, and I think it’s great to have that level of songwriting and arrangement by a superstar on a major label today, it goes to show there is still an audience of millions of people of all age who love real-deal sophisticated R&B music.