EL MAHBOOB

expressing black mood

  • Dream Scream

    I am sitting at the top of a climbing apparatus like the ones in junior school gymnasiums, except it is “adult” size, putting me two stories above the floor without a crash mat. Beside me are two school crushes whom I haven’t seen in real or dream life or thought about since early adolescence. We are talking and they are making it seem as though I have been neglecting them all these decades or something like that. They are wearing flowing clothing, carefree and seemingly oblivious to our location . . .

    I am on a campus, it is the present but the atmosphere in the college I’m in is decidedly 70s. People are engaged in reckless partying and wildly indulgent artistic endeavours with generous overlap between the two. I have combed out my afro to larger than life dimensions. It feels silky . . .

    I am in a corporate meeting of entertainment executives and they are listening to my responses to mass sci-fi culture, as if I were an expert. Somehow this develops into me being chosen for a low orbit space mission. The feeling of being chosen for something apparently important is exhilarating . . .

    I go for a long walk at night through the forests surrounding the campus and encounter shadowy beings who seem friendly and are trying to speak or sing to me through the trees. They are ethereal, and engaging in some kind of ritual dance, a quiet celebration . . .

    I am sitting in a chair in my home with my back to the floor (like an astronaut in launch position), interacting with online friends about creative items we are posting. One of us – we don’t know – has presented some audio or graphic art that analysis has revealed to be of extraterrestrial origin or design (of course) . . .

    I am so engrossed in this that I don’t notice two intruders have entered the room and are going through my equipment, taking technology. I want to confront them but it’s not clear whether I’m still on my back but I cannot move . . .

    I begin to shout at them. They continue taking things and appear to be moving to subdue me. I shout “Help!” with a rasp in my voice. The shout wakes me, my wife, and our baby daughter (real life here). Luckily it is 6:30 a.m. The night is over and it’s exactly when we predicted the baby would wake anyway. Still.

    Yeah, stuff is a little intense right now. Great and less so, overall intense. This dream seems a little run of the mill for me, except for the ending. Afterward, I had the desire to be held. Thing is, I’m not a hungry baby just waking up. Journalling seemed in order.

  • Steve Reich Keys, a Mixtape, Vol. 2

    (Update: a Mixcloud Premium account is now required to stream this mix.)

    Steve Reich has often described the role of keys and chord cycles in his compositions. This retrospective treats Reich’s oeuvre as a meta-cycle of chords, using harmonic mixing to match tracks whose endpoints share a common key or subset of pitches.

    Vol. 2 focuses on Reich’s earlier, longer pieces, and includes most of his major works not appearing in Vol. 1, with several being reprised. Vols. 1 and 2 are linked harmonically by the dyad F#-B, heard at the end of Proverb and the beginning of the second movement of Electric Counterpoint. Also, the dyad E-A at the end of Four Organs is found in the first chord of the third movement of Mallet Quartet. Thus, both volumes may be heard back-to-back as a 5 1/2 hour cycle.

    Vol. 2 features several dominant-tonic transitions, a natural result given that Reich’s pieces often end on the dominant chord.

    No alteration of the pitch of the original tracks was made.

    Tracklist & Artists
    (keys and/or harmonies at endpoints)

    0:00:00-0:03:01
    Electric Counterpoint, II. Slow (1987)
    Pat Metheny
    (F#-B dyad, A Lydian or B11/A in C# minor)

    0:02:55-0:09:02
    The Four Sections, IV. Full orchestra (♩ = 180) (1987)
    The London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
    (A Lydian or B11/A in C# minor; C# dominant, C#-F# dyad in F# major)

    0:09:02-0:18:48
    Drumming, Part IV (1970-71)
    Ictus, Synergy Vocals
    (C#-F# dyad in G# Dorian or C# dominant)

    0:18:45-0:21:13
    Sextet, III. (1984)
    Steve Reich and Musicians with members of Nexus and the Manhattan Marimba Quartet
    (C# altered dominant)

    0:21:10-0:30:31
    Three Tales: Dolly, VI. Robots/Cyborgs/Immortality (1998-2002)
    The Steve Reich Ensemble, Synergy Vocals, Bradley Lubman
    (C# altered dominant; Gsus7 in C minor)

    0:30:07-0:36:42
    Three Movements, I. ♩ = c. 176-184 (1986)
    Chorus sine nomine, Tonkünstler-Orchester, Kristjan Järvi
    (E altered dominant, includes Gsus7; Csus7 in A-flat)

    0:36:38-0:52:04
    Music for a Large Ensemble (1978)
    Steve Reich and Musicians
    (F minor; A-flat major)

    0:52:02-1:07:13
    Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973)
    Alarm Will Sound
    (F minor; A-flat dominant in D-flat)

    1:07:12-1:24:32
    Eight Lines (Octet) (1979/1983)
    Bang on a Can/Bradley Lubman
    (C# Dorian; A-flat dominant in D-flat)

    1:24:32-1:40:54
    Six Marimbas Counterpoint (1973/1986)
    Kuniko Kato
    (D-flat; B-flat Aeolian)

    1:40:54-1:46:56
    Dance Patterns (2002)
    James Preiss, Thad Wheeler, Frank Cassara, Garry Kvistad, Edmund Niemann, Nurit Tilles
    (B-flat dominant; C minor)

    1:46:53-1:58:20
    Cello Counterpoint (2003)
    Maya Beiser
    (G Phrygian dominant, C minor)

    1:58:21-2:19:55
    Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards (1979)
    San Francisco Symphony, Edo de Waart
    (C minor, C Dorian)

    2:19:55-2:24:35
    The Cave, Act 3: New York City/Austin (April-May 1992), III. Who Is Hagar? (1990-93)
    The Steve Reich Ensemble, Paul Hillier
    (F dominant in G minor; D minor)

    2:24:35-2:31:03
    Tehillim, Part IV (1981)
    Steve Reich and Musicians, George Manahan
    (C dominant in D minor, A dominant in D)

    2:30:42-2:38:28
    It’s Gonna Rain, Part I (1965)
    Steve Reich
    (D major)

    2:38:15-2:58:40
    Piano Phase (1967)
    Double Edge
    (B minor; Esus7)

    2:58:37-3:14:23
    Four Organs (1970)
    Bang on a Can
    (E dominant; E-A dyad)

    Compiled and mixed April 2013

    Creative Consultant: Ashil Mistry

    As it is intended for the study and analysis of the music of Steve Reich, this post falls under fair use. The copyrights for these recordings are owned by record companies Chandos, Cyprès, Denon, ECM, Linn, Nonesuch, Sweetspot and UMG. The copyrights for the music are owned by Boosey & Hawkes and Universal Edition. Please contact me directly regarding any copyright claim.

    If you enjoy this music, please purchase the original recordings.

  • Best of 2011/2012

    The past 24 months have been full of wonderful blessings and have witnessed the happiest period of my life so far. Alhamdulillah, for all that has been given.

    It thus seems fitting to me, in doing a best of list, to look at the last two years as a whole. Here’s what has brought (re)new(ed)ness to the personal soundtrack, in no particular order (other than stream of consciousness)…

    Returnings: Music of Ann Southam – Eve Egoyan, piano (Centrediscs, 2011)

    Glass Houses Revisited – music of Ann Southam; Christina Petrowska Quilico, piano (Centrediscs, 2011)

    Soundings for a New Piano – music of Ann Southam; R. Andrew Lee, piano (Irritable Hedgehog, 2011)

    Jürg Frey: Piano Music – R. Andrew Lee, piano (Irritable Hedgehog, 2012)

    The Northern Shore – music of Barbara Monk Feldman; Sabat/Clarke and Aki Takahashi (Mode, 2012)

    Undercurrents: CONTACT Performs the Music of Jordan Nobles – CONTACT Contemporary Music (Redshift, 2011)

    Until the Quiet Comes – Flying Lotus (Warp, 2012)

    Seeds – Georgia Anne Muldrow (Someothaship CONNECT, 2012)

    Radio Music Society – Esperanza Spalding (Heads Up International, 2012)

    Black Radio – Robert Glasper Experiment (Blue Note, 2012)

    Brand New Wayo: Funk, Fast Times & Nigerian Boogie Madness 1979-1983 – Various Artists (Comb & Razor, 2011)

    Music of Vladimir Martynov – Kronos Quartet (Nonesuch, 2012)

    WTC 9/11, Mallet Quartet, Dance Patterns – music of Steve Reich; Kronos Quartet, Sō Percussion, Steve Reich & Musicians (Nonesuch, 2011)

    Symphony No. 9 – music of Philip Glass; Bruckner Orchester Linz, Dennis Russell Davies, conductor (Orange Mountain, 2012)

    Seeing is Believing – music of Nico Muhly, William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons; Thomas Gould, violin; Aurora Orchestra, Nicholas Collon, conductor (Decca, 2011)

    Adam’s Lament – music of Arvo Pärt; Latvian Radio Choir, Vox Clamantis, Sinfonietta Riga, Tõnu Kaljuste, conductor (ECM, 2012)

    Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima / Popcorn Superhet Receiver / Polymorphia / 48 Responses to Polymorphia – music of Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood; AUKSO Orchestra, Krzysztof Penderecki and Marek Moś, conductors (Nonesuch, 2012)

    Son of Chamber Symphony / String Quartet – music of John Adams; International Contemporary Ensemble, John Adams, conductor and St. Lawrence String Quartet (Nonesuch, 2011)

    January edits:

    Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons – Daniel Hope, violin; Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin, André de Ridder, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon, 2012)

    Pour une âme souveraine – a Dedication to Nina Simone – Meshell Ndegeocello (naïve, 2012)

    Pink – Four Tet (Text, 2012)

    Happy New Year to all the readers and followers of El Mahboob, and all my best to you for 2013.

  • Dream Decade

    Tuesday, September 11, 1991

    (Journal entry)

    My late grandfather was actually Igor Stravinsky with a changed identity. He did not die in 1971 but continued on in a secret life. When he did eventually pass away in 1986 (as my grandfather did in real life), I was shocked to learn his true identity and was angry at my mother and grandmother for keeping it from me. I was disappointed that I had missed out on a great musical legacy but felt that it somehow explained my influences and habits as a composer.

  • Cage Centenary

    August 12, 1992

    (Journal entry. Transcription by Nehal El-Hadi, September 4, 2012)

    John Cage died today at 79. I have somehow been expecting this news, as if it were confirmation that a certain era of progressiveness or revolution was truly now over. Cage, more than any other single figure in the arts, was one to bring about change in Western culture. And I wonder what effect his passing will have on art and music, if there is one to be felt.

    He was a person who was mysterious to me, and I knew only some of his music and writings, but what I felt for him was something approaching worship. His ideas on music and life were some of the most profound I have yet encountered. I am sure that it will be many more years before I can really appreciate or understand the person or at least his ideas.

    The music, however, has always communicated to me almost instantaneously. I am affected not merely on a cerebral or spiritual level, but on a highly instinctualized one. His prepared piano pieces give a feeling which is new and alien and perfectly “logical” at the same time. His reaffirmation of rhythm was so much more thorough and fundamental than either Stravinsky’s or Bartók’s. Through the innovation of prepared piano (even if it wasn’t his) and his writing for unique grouping of percussion, he reasserted the primitive in our music. This was long before rock ‘n’ roll or minimalism or new age; these genres owe a lot to him even if it has never been acknowledged.

    His willingness to accept the total sound spectrum, including noise, as full of musical potential – not just tempered pitches and orchestral timbres – put Cage (along with Varése and Ives) at the forefront of musical innovation in this century. This was his gift to us: the whole world of sound.

    The man who gave us “Music of Changes” realized there was inner music in outer silence, and inspired a whole community of performers to explore it. He legitimized his non-conformity.

    I find it interesting that he eschewed conventional temporal and harmonic structures early on, and spent the rest of his life rediscovering the role of time in music, and later, the context of non-music.

    I can think of no better goal than searching for the same answers that he was through his music – to learn about this world through art (not to exploit art for shallow ends). When we are confronted with silence in the not-too-distant future, after the media maelstrom, we will find Cage waiting, listening.

  • Si La Sol

    BR Gros Cap Aug 1970

    Give the summer some.

    MaseQua Myers & Jami Ayinde | Black Land of the Nile (ft. Chico Freeman)
    Brenda Russell | It’s Something
    Aretha Franklin | It Only Happens (When I Look at You)
    The Voices of East Harlem | Can You Feel It
    Billy Paul | Am I Black Enough for You?
    Minnie Riperton | Wouldn’t Matter Where You Are
    Tower of Power | Can’t You See (You Doin’ Me Wrong)
    The Love Unlimited Orchestra | Satin Soul
    Trouble Funk | Trouble Funk Express
    Tangoterje | Can’t Help It
    Flying Lotus | Do the Astral Plane
    Shaun Escoffery | Days Like This (Spinna & Ticklah Mix)
    Airto | Toque de cuíca
    Level 42 | Last Chance
    George Duke | Brazilian Love Affair
    James Mason | Free
    Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’77 | Zanzibar
    Roy Ayers | Our Time Is Coming
    Andy Bey | Tune Up

    Mixed by Ibrahim El Mahboob, August 2012

    Si La Sol

    This is a sequel to the mixtape Re Mi Do. Solfège syllables are once again used for the title, here suggesting a reference to the sun and summertime. This mix is more about a sustained flow of grooves and less about the mood shifts of the earlier mix. I expand on the idea of harmonic mixing, with some songs introducing a change of key as kind of meta chord progression, though this may be incidental to selecting the right beat to transition with. This provides contrast with the moments when keys match exactly between songs.

    I want to acknowledge some friends, DJs, creators, etc. who have informed and inspired my listening:

    General Eclectic
    Petri Glad
    Kevin Laverty
    Stuart Li
    Paul E. Lopes
    Jason Palma
    Koray Özel
    Anousheh Showleh
    Son of S.O.U.L.
    Sophistiphunk
    Daniel Viljoen
    Victor Undergroundvibe

    All recordings are the intellectual property of the artists.

    (This mix was originally posted to Podomatic.)

  • Li’l Minimalist

    (written in March 2010)

    One sunny late winter evening, I pick up Queen Peace after work. Nattily attired and chipper, she skips just ahead and then whirls around to ask, “Do you want to see my favourite dance?”

    Of course, I answer. Her skip turns into a side to side stride, her arms swinging wide, as she sings an amalgam of various nursery rhymes, laughing herself off balance and half-crashing into some bushes. Then, she stands up straight and walks by my side. Quietly thoughtful for a moment, she looks up and says, “Daddy, I’m actually very interested in Steve Reich.”

    This is a three year-old, who, every few days when I see her, seems to have advanced to a complete new level of understanding and expression of her world. And level of memory – it was a while ago I told her I had tickets to the Cool Drummings concert in Toronto, featuring the composer and his music.

    “Can I go to the concert with you?”

    It will be past your bedtime honey, and it might be a little loud for you. But we can listen to a Steve Reich concert when we get home if you like.

    Later, I put on the Reich at the Roxy album.

    “It’s skipping.”

    “It sounds like soldiers.” Break in music from pulsing rhythm to pillars of sounds and shift of tempo; return to steady rhythm. We count together, dividing the bar by three, then four. This loses most adults. The bass drum and bass end of the piano pound out accents. “More soldiers,” she says. “Marching. March! March!” I begin to worry she’ll confuse this Reich with a more infamous one when her schooling begins.

    I leave the room briefly. A fast movement begins. “Daddy, daddy, she calls out, “It’s playing very fast now! I call him Steve Rush!”

    Voices. “Oh, I like opera.” Steve Reich doesn’t. “Does he like goblins and faeries in his opera?”

    The music stops on a dime. “It’s over, I think.” [Applause.] “The concert ended. Daddy, it was good. I like Steve Reich.”

  • Re Mi Do

    Summer encounters.

    Syreeta  |  I Love Every Little Thing About You
    Mulatu Astatke  |  Mulatu
    Omar  |  Music (What I Live For)
    Lewis Taylor  |  Lucky
    The RH Factor  |  Poetry ft. Q-Tip, Erykah Badu
    DJ Mitsu The Beats  |  Right Here ft. Dwele
    Chaka Khan  |  Love Has Fallen on Me
    Georgia Anne Muldrow  |  Blackman
    Aloe Blacc  |  Find Your Way
    Sly & The Family Stone  |  Sylvester
    Marvin Gaye  |  What’s Going On (Rhythm & Strings Mix)
    John Williams  |  Theme from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”
    Maze feat. Frankie Beverly  |  Feel That You’re Feelin’ (Live in New Orleans)
    Dorothy Ashby  |  Wax and Wane
    Esperanza Spalding  |  Sunlight
    Koop  |  Whenever There Is You
    Don Blackman  |  Holding You, Loving You
    Four Tet  |  Angel Echoes
    Jazzanova  |  Little Bird ft. Jose James
    Kool & The Gang  |  Summer Madness (Live at the Rainbow Theatre)

    Mixed by Ibrahim El Mahboob, June 2012
    Dedicated to Queen Peace and Nina

    Re Mi Do
    ‧ an affirmation to my first born
    ‧ the first three notes of the musical signal from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind
    ‧ three key signature areas (re for D/D-flat, mi for E major/minor, and do for C) where songs in the mix are grouped together. I’ve used the technique of harmonic mixing/selecting to unite or contrast songs.

    The copyrights for these recordings are the intellectual property of the artists, though the corporations take the credit and the money. I own nothing. Support music.

    (This mix was originally posted to Podomatic.)

  • Steve Reich Keys, a Mixtape, Vol. 1

    (Update: a Mixcloud Premium account is now required to stream this mix.)

    The idea for this mixtape came to me about a year ago, after an exchange with an online friend. Steve Reich has often described the role of keys and chord cycles in his compositions. This retrospective treats Reich’s oeuvre as a meta-cycle of chords, by pitch matching one track to another where their endpoints share a common harmony (an application of the DJ technique of harmonic mixing).

    Sometimes the shared harmony is present only for a few seconds, long enough to make a link. Sometimes the keys match; sometimes only a subset of pitches does. Occasionally, the voicing matches exactly, or the pairing otherwise exposes the uncanny in Reich’s rigour.

    There’s no intentional comment or structure in the selection of pieces, which are usually single movements from a larger work.

    No software alteration of the pitch of the original tracks was used. The pitch matching relates to the key signatures as written, performed and recorded.

    Tracklist & Artists
    (harmonies and/or keys at start & end points)
    Timings factor in crossfades where applicable

    0:00:00-0:04:37
    Mallet Quartet, III. Fast (2009)
    So Percussion
    (G Lydian or A11/G in D; A11 leading to Dsus2)

    0:04:37-0:08:53
    Music for 18 Musicians, Section I (1974-76)
    Steve Reich and Musicians
    (Dsus2 in D)

    0:08:53-0:13:02
    You Are (Variations), II. Shiviti Hashem L’Negdi (I Place the Eternal Before Me) (2004)
    Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon
    (A11/G in D)

    0:13:02-0:15:17
    The Cave, Act 1: West Jerusalem (May-June 1989), III. Genesis XII (1990-93)
    The Steve Reich Ensemble, Paul Hillier
    (G Mixolydian; A Lydian or B13/A)

    0:15:17-0:17:46
    The Four Sections, II. Percussion (1987)
    The London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
    (A Lydian or B13/A)

    0:17:41-0:20:53
    2×5, II. Slow (2008)
    Bang on a Can
    (A Lydian or B11/A; F Phrygian dominant in key of B-flat minor)

    0:20:37-0:28:06
    Different Trains, II. Europe-During The War (1988)
    The London Steve Reich Ensemble, Kevin Griffiths
    (F Phrygian; Gmin11/D)

    0:27:25-0:29:59
    Three Tales: Hindenburg, III. A Very Impressive Thing to See (1998-2002)
    The Steve Reich Ensemble, Synergy Vocals, Bradley Lubman
    (D dominant in G minor)

    0:29:52-0:33:15
    Triple Quartet, III. (1999)
    Kronos Quartet
    (D dominant in G minor; E minor)

    0:33:16-0:37:41
    Nagoya Marimbas (1994)
    Bob Becker, James Preiss
    (E minor; Esus7)

    0:37:33-0:40:16
    New York Counterpoint, II. Slow (1985)
    Evan Ziporyn
    (B Dorian or E11)

    0:40:17-0:45:03
    City Life, III. “It’s Been a Honeymoon – Can’t Take No Mo’” (1995)
    The Steve Reich Ensemble, Bradley Lubman
    (B Dorian or E11; D dominant in G)

    0:45:04-0:55:06
    Daniel Variations, IV. I sure hope Gabriel likes my music, when the day is done (2006)
    Los Angeles Master Chorale, Grant Gershon
    (E minor; D dominant in G)

    0:55:04-0:59:34
    WTC 9/11, III. WTC (2010)
    Kronos Quartet
    (Dsus leading to G dominant; D-flat sharp 11 in F minor)

    0:59:34-1:06:25
    Variations for Vibes, Pianos & Strings, II. Slow (2005)
    London Sinfonietta, Alan Pierson
    (D-flat sharp 11 or E-flat 11/D-flat in A-flat major; C11/B-flat in F)

    1:06:25-1:11:29
    Duet (1994)
    The Smith Quartet
    (C11/B-flat; F major)

    1:11:25-1:16:11
    The Desert Music, First Movement – Fast (1984)
    Steve Reich and Musicians with members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Michael Tilson Thomas
    (F Mixolydian; D Dorian minor)

    1:16:06-1:24:45
    Vermont Counterpoint (1982)
    Ransom Wilson
    (D minor leading to G Dorian minor; Asus7 in D)

    1:24:45-1:31:33
    Double Sextet, III. Fast (2007)
    eighth blackbird
    (A11/E; A11, A-D dyad)

    1:31:34-1:44:09
    Piano Counterpoint (2011), from Six Pianos (1973)
    Vincent Corver
    (D major; B minor)

    1:43:34-1:56:23
    Come Out (1966)
    Steve Reich
    (B minor, approximately a quarter tone sharp)

    1:55:44-1:57:59
    Proverb (1995)
    Theatre of Voices with members of The Steve Reich Ensemble, Paul Hillier
    (B minor)

    Compiled and mixed April 2012

    Creative Consultant: Ashil Mistry

    There is a version of this mix available which includes the complete track of Proverb. Send me a private message.

    As part of the ongoing study and critical appreciation of the music of Steve Reich, this post falls under fair use. The copyrights for these recordings are owned by record companies ECM, EMI, Nonesuch, and Signum Classics, and not by me.

    If you enjoy this music, please purchase the original recordings.

  • Superscription

    “Sequence, symmetry & simplicity” — my composer’s motto, 1996. 15 years later, inspiration strikes and the same schemes still sparkle.