“Down By The Sally Gardens” is a traditional Irish folk song based on a poem by W.B Yeats, performed here by the duo TinWhistler. “We’re PJ and JJ, two brothers from the Mediterranean island of Mallorca,” they say in the description of their group on YouTube. “We mostly play traditional Irish music but also other kinds of “Celtic music”: Scottish, Breton, Galician, Asturian… Mostly on Irish tin whistles/low whistles (PJ) and guitar (JJ).” You can learn more and order their album on their Bandcamp page. Key change at 2:12.
Tag: 2020s
Graham Rorie | Babiche
“Orcadian fiddle and mandolin player Graham Rorie is an award-winning folk musician based in Glasgow,” his site reports. “A finalist in the 2021 BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year and graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Traditional Music Degree, Graham has been making a name for himself as a performer, composer, session musician and producer.”
The bio continues: “While still in the early stages of his career, Graham has gained a wealth of performance experience appearing at festivals including Glasgow’s Celtic Connections, Celtic Colours (Canada), Festival Interceltique de Lorient (France) and Celtica Valle D’Aosta (Italy).” The piece “Babiche” is part of “a new suite of music composed by Rorie to tell the story of Orcadians who traveled to Northern Canada between 1600 and 1900 to work for The Hudson’s Bay Company. Orcadians, according to the history website Orkneyjar, are “the indigenous inhabitants of the Orkney islands of Scotland. Historically, they are descended from the Picts, Norse, and Scots.”
Starting in E major, a middle section in an inversion-heavy C# major (2:14) returns triumphantly to the main melody and original key at 2:54. Many thanks to our champion contributor JB for submitting this tune!
Scary Pockets | Man in the Mirror
Scary Pockets is a collaborative team consisting of Jack Conte and Ryan Lerman, in collaboration with the self-described “rotating roster of the best session musicians in the LA area.” Conte and Lerman are accomplished musicians in their own right, and as Scary Pockets, they put an irresistible, funky twist on everything from modern pop tunes to older classics. Their own knack for finding the groove merges with the talent and soul of a rotating musical team to produce tunes which, though cover arrangements, take on a life and energy of their own.
Today’s tune is Scary Pockets’ arrangement of Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard’s “Man in the Mirror,” made famous by Michael Jackson in 1988. In addition to Conte and Lerman, this tune features the soulful vocals of Rozzi Crane, the inimitable style and talent of MonoNeon on the bass, and the transcendent drum rhythms of Tamir Barzilay. While the original tune certainly wasn’t lacking in the groove category, Conte and Lerman’s arrangement condenses Jackson’s orchestral style into a compact, pulsing funk which compels the listener to dance from beginning to end. The tune begins in G Major, and — similarly to Jackson’s rendition – modulates up a half step as the tune reaches its most climactic energy (at the 2:41 mark).
If this is your first introduction to the Pockets’ music, I recommend listening to this tune around noon, so that you allow yourself enough time. I arguably did not: I discovered it just after dinner time, and found myself still bopping to the Scary Pockets discography on Youtube at an hour that most decent people reserve for sleeping. Hope you enjoy, and embrace the groove.
Berklee Valencia Summit Sessions | Um Dia Mais
A group of students and faculty at Berklee College of Music’s campus in Valencia Spain collaborated on composing, arranging, recording, and engineering the track “Um Dia Mais” (One More Day).
According to the Youtube video posting, “‘Um Dia Mais’ is a song that combines experiential vignettes from different perspectives on the meaning of ‘a new morning.’ It is a song about hope, opportunity to start over, appreciating your surroundings, and seizing your day. The song was composed, recorded, and mixed during a three-day workshop, Summit Sessions: Ready, Set, Record!, which included a songwriting session led by Berklee faculty Viktorija Pilatovic; a production session led by artist, producer, and composer Magda Giannikou; and a recording session led by Giannikou and engineered by recording and mix engineer/audio technician Pablo Schuller.“
Featuring a 4/4 feel rooted in jazz fusion and infused with Brazilian flourishes, the tune begins in C minor but shifts to E minor for the chorus (1:00) before returning to C minor for the second verse (1:19). 1:56 brings a second chorus in E minor, continuing the pattern. An extended bridge begins at 2:34, initially in E minor but shifting to Bb minor at 2:53. At 3:11, we’ve returned to the E minor chorus, but at 3:30, we dive into an outro: a new 5/8 time signature serves as a compelling backdrop for a brief but wide-ranging keyboard solo; the vocal line, centered largely around one note, hovers and darts like a hummingbird.
Andrew Ripp | Jericho
“Jericho” was released in August 2020 by Andrew Ripp, an American singer-songwriter specializing in contemporary Christian music. “The story of Jericho has always been super inspiring to me, which is why I wanted to turn it into a song,” Ripp said. “The part that really draws me in is when God says to Joshua, ‘See, I have given you the city.’ It wasn’t the marching around the walls of Jericho that made them fall, it was the moment Joshua believed God over his circumstance that the city became his. Marching was just an exercise in faith and obedience.”
The track debuted at #32 on the Billboard Hot Christian chart, and eventually broke into the top ten. Key change at 2:38.
säje | I Can’t Help It
säje is a Grammy-nominated, jazz-inflected “vocal supergroup,” according to its website. “Born out of close friendship and incredibly deep admiration, these world-renowned artists, composers, and arrangers have come together to explore, create, and celebrate the music that moves them. As individuals, each artist has crafted their own notable solo career, and now are delighted to bring their collective voices to this union, traversing a vast array of compelling original material, beloved jazz standards, and contemporary re-imaginings (Alina Engibaryan, YEBBA, Johnny Cash, etc)”. säje received their first Grammy nomination in 2020, for their first composition “Desert Song” in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. “The union of säje is rooted in the tradition of joy, curiosity, lush harmony, heart-felt expression, and profound sisterhood.”
The quartet’s cover of “Can’t Help It” was released in 2020. The track was originally intended for Stevie Wonder’s monumental Songs in the Key of Life (1976). It was co-written by Wonder and Susaye Greene, a singer and songwriter who was the final member to join The Supremes after Mary Wilson’s departure. Although Greene was a background singer for Wonder on Songs, the tune didn’t make it onto the album; it was instead featured on Michael Jackson’s 1979 album Off the Wall, Jackson’s first release with Quincy Jones as producer.
Unlike the original, with its textbook smooth funk feel aimed at the pop charts, säje‘s cover is full of unexpected percussion kicks, bass line flourishes, and the unpredictable magnetism of tightly clustered vocal lines. Sean Jones‘ trumpet solo further testifies to the ensemble’s jazz-centered pedigree. Forbes’ recent profile quotes säje member Johnaye Kendrick: “’We’re taught, as you’re coming up [as an artist], It’s a male-dominated field, you have to be one of the boys, and know how to hang, and what to say, and all of that … I didn’t think to immerse myself and surround myself with women … It’s amazing to be surrounded by powerful women with endless ideas and the desire to uplift; it has changed our lives.’”
The tune begins in Ab major, travels through a transition starting at 2:53, then dives downward to Gb major in a glissando-led modulation at 3:15, delivered as easily as a sigh. At 3:39, we’ve reverted to the original key. All is wrapped in the most polished of 2020-style socially distanced video packaging, leaving us waiting for the energy of a synchronous performance from this extraordinary ensemble, new in so many ways.
BTS (방탄소년단) | Dynamite
1960s British blues artists such as Peter Green, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, etc. took a quintessentially American style of music and mirrored it back across the pond with a new twist. In the 21st century, the US boy band pop formula which peaked in the late 90s and early 2000s is alive and well: it’s now served to us from the deep inside the corporate fortresses of South Korean K-Pop.
K-Pop royalty BTS (also known as Bangtan Boys) has won a nearly universal planetary fanbase. Perhaps fueled by the novelty of its English lyrics, the video for the August 2020 single “Dynamite” has amassed a staggering 1.26 billion views on YouTube, certainly a record for any tune we’ve featured to date! Vox reports: “In 2018, they became the first South Korean band in history to debut an album at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, as well as the first to have a single land at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.” They have collaborated with the likes of the Chainsmokers, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, and Halsey.
K-Pop is big business, and BTS is at the apex of the genre’s multiple groups (both male and female). SBS News reports that in 2019, BTS was worth more than $4.65 billion US dollars to South Korea’s economy each year, or 0.3% percent of the country’s GDP.
The modulation is at 3:04.
Sarah Niemietz | All Your Love
Sarah Niemietz is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter with a varied career in music, film, and musical theatre. Though young and at first glance unassuming, Niemietz possesses an extraordinarily rich and soulful voice, with which she explores a wide range of musical genres. While her upbeat funk tunes generate extraordinary energy, her slower acoustic pieces can be just as evocative as well. She has displayed her powerful voice, clever lyrics, and on-stage charisma through several albums and collaborations with a wide variety of artists. According to her IMDB biography, her work with Youtube powerhouse Postmodern Jukebox included two European tours and several extraordinarily popular videos. She has also collaborated with Scary Pockets, a Youtube channel which specializes in unique arrangements of well-known tunes.
Meanwhile, her most recent album is a live collaboration with songwriter W.G. Snuffy Walden. One of the tunes from that album is “All Your Love,” which begins in E major. However, at the 2:10 mark, Niemietz modulates up a whole step to F# major and brings us back to her steady groove to finish out the tune. Hope you enjoy!
Brett Domino Trio | The Pub
The Brett Domino Trio is a British comedy music duo consisting of Rob J. Madin and Steven Peavis. Madin (a comedian with many alter-egos, including the eponymous Brett Domino) and Peavis create their unique style by blending meme humor and awkward comedy with driving pop, disco, and funk beats. From the name of the band (which has no third member) to small Easter eggs interspersed in many of their music videos, Madin and Peavis keep their music light-hearted.
However, the theory and rhythm is often more complex than one would expect from songs which nit-pick marathon runners for being too healthy, or are written entirely with snippets from fly-fishing magazines … to pick just two of the many wonderfully quirky songs produced by the Trio. Madin is a talented musician and writer, proficient in several instruments. These skills ensure that the band’s tunes – whose accompanying videos regularly feature the Trio awkwardly dancing – somehow still achieve maximum groove. The Brett Domino Trio have a loving online community which has co-created two entirely virtual collaborative tunes with the band: the fans submitted recordings of themselves playing their instruments, which Madin and Peavis then edited into a cohesive song.
The Trio’s most recent release, “The Pub,” feels like an introvert’s view of post-pandemic socialization. Over a solid funk/disco groove, Madin excitedly anticipates the prospect of sitting in a pub, with or without friends. The song begins in G major, then modulates to C major at the end of the bridge at the 2:06 mark. Hope you enjoy!
Taylor Swift | betty
Taylor Swift’s graceful storytelling talents continue to baffle industry professionals and average listeners alike. Swift has remained at the forefront of commercial music since the release of her first pop-country album in 2006. Her ability to keep the world on its toes with a constantly shifting image and musical style proves that Swift has branding prowess.
Before Covid-19 overtook the world with its devilish tendencies, Taylor Swift’s chordal structures and harmonic content persisted in fitting nicely into the “basic pop chord progressions” box. Before 2020, Swift had only two songs in her catalogue featuring key changes (“Love Story” and “Getaway Car”). As the Covid pandemic unfolded, Swift had no choice but to postpone and eventually cancel the oh-so-anticipated LoverFest, a Boston-based concert event where she’d planned to perform alongside some of today’s biggest pop music icons. Upon the cancellation of the event, Swift’s social media presence dwindled and the hype began to fade … until July 24th, 2020, when Swift’s longest album ever, folklore, was suddenly available for streaming. Months later, Swift announced that yes, another surprise album would be available for streaming only hours after its release was announced. Swift considered this album, evermore, the “sister album” to folklore.
Both folklore and evermore feature poetic writing which flows through the biographies of an array of characters and contrasts with Swift’s previously autobiographical content. The aesthetic is one of storytelling and encompasses the namesakes of the album, creating a flow of thoughts and ideas which all somehow fit together like puzzle pieces in a world of diverging characters and shifting perspectives. The new sister albums explore music theory to a depth which was simply never present in Swift’s previous releases. New chord structures, modal interchange, and modulations flow throughout the albums. Evermore even features two songs in 5/4 (“tolerate it” and “closure”)!
One piece which has caught the attention of many old-time Taylor lovers is folklore track “betty.” The song’s story is told from the perspective of a teenage boy, James, as he struggles with his feelings for Betty, whom he deeply hurt. The song’s musicality is phenomenal in many ways, including a bass line which walks down the C major scale and a progression featuring a bittersweet C/B chord in the verse. We find a beautifully executed whole step key change at 4:05 which leads listeners into the final chorus with a release of passion as James finally decides to “show up at [Betty’s] party” and ask for her forgiveness. The song’s storytelling, form, and modulation are reminiscent of Swift’s “Love Story,” which also uses a key change in the final chorus to create a burst of hope and happiness as the story shifts in climax towards positive resolution.
“betty” is nostalgic for lovers of Taylor Swift’s early pop-country writing and brings something those long-time Swifties love into an album full of stories. The song is calculated, raw, and rich with musical elements to analyze. With well-treated guitar samples and a beautiful use of panning, the track is polished and sophisticated while remaining spritely and zestful. Take a listen for yourself …
Maya Wagner is a singer/songwriter and music producer currently studying at Berklee College of Music. Maya is passionate about sharing her experiences with mental illness and her LGBTQ identity through her music. She blogs about all things music production on her website and has established a broad web presence as an artist, performer, and producer.
Maya is MotD’s first intern. Watch this space for her continuing contributions!
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