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<\/p>\nThis feature appeared previously in SPIN Magazine.<\/i><\/p>\n
Some artists combine genres as a stylistic challenge, motivated by curiosity: Can it even be done?<\/i> But when Adrian Younge blends musical forms it comes from a much more authentic place, one born of deep study and understanding of those genres.<\/p>\n
His latest release, the psychedelic soul opus Something About April III,<\/i> is the culmination of \u2014 or at least the latest stop on \u2014 his fascinating musical odyssey.<\/p>\n
Younge believes that as hip hop developed, its most skilled artists quickly achieved mastery of lyrics and arrangements. That yielded music that was \u201ccool and interesting and different,\u201d he says. \u201cHip hop sampled everything, pulled inspiration from everywhere to make something brand new.\u201d But he suggests that hip hop never quite mastered music\u2019s compositional side. \u201cThere\u2019s always been a limitation, because hip hop has been so much based on samples.\u201d Even with the cinematic, storytelling expertise of many hip hop artists, the genre could only be taken so far.<\/p>\n
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In his early years as a DJ and beat maker, Younge\u2019s primary tool was an Akai MPC2000 sampler\/sequencer workstation. Younge spent a lot of time immersed in listening sessions, scouring everything from Italian horror film soundtracks to classic funk, looking for irresistible sounds to sample. He says that in the process, he realized, \u201cMy beats aren\u2019t as great as these records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Younge sought a way to build on \u2014 rather than plunder \u2014 the music that inspired him. \u201cWhat I wanted to do, even before I even started playing instruments, was to continue the conversations of those records,\u201d he says. \u201cI would hear something by Ennio Morricone and say, \u2018I need to study this music \u2013 the composition, the arrangement \u2013 so that I can try to create something [of my own].\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Younge believed his vision required real instruments rather than samples. So the autodidact set about teaching himself to play all of those instruments himself. His first project along those lines was the Black Dynamite<\/i> film soundtrack, released in 2009. Inspired by \u201870s blaxploitation flicks, the album showcased Younge playing guitar, bass, flute, organs, electric pianos, synthesizers, vibraphone, cello and saxophone. But he was just getting started. \u201cI was still just doing a soundtrack,\u201d he explains, \u201cdoing something that coincided with a movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2011, Younge released Something About April<\/i>. A fully-realized soundtrack for a film that didn\u2019t exist, the album was Younge creating his own world. The album \u201crepresented my DJ crate,\u201d he says. A look through Younge\u2019s crate would find albums by Morricone, Portishead, Stereolab, Isaac Hayes, Wu-Tang Clan, and Curtis Mayfield. \u201cAnd they\u2019d all be in the same DJ set, because all of that music makes sense to me,\u201d he explains. Something About April<\/i> was Younge\u2019s original creative expression of that wide-screen sensibility.<\/p>\n
What happened next is ironic. \u201cEveryone started sampling it,\u201d Younge says with a smile. Jay-Z sampled \u201cSirens\u201d on his own Magna Carta Holy Grail<\/i> track \u201cPicasso Baby.\u201d The hip hop giant also sampled another Something About April<\/i> track, \u201cReverie,\u201d for his own \u201cHeaven.\u201d Other artists who sampled parts of Younge\u2019s landmark album include Common, PHryme, Bilal and Talib Kweli.<\/p>\n
While members of his band Venice Dawn played on the record, Younge says that \u201cabout 90% of the instrumentation\u201d is him. Going forward, he continued to build upon his skills of writing, recording, engineering (in his all-analog Linear Labs studio) and musicianship. Younge returned to Something About April<\/i> in 2016, crafting a second album of mind-movie music.<\/p>\n
Between 2012 and 2023, he would be responsible \u2014 in whole or as a collaborator \u2014 for more than 50 albums. Co-leading The Midnight Hour with A Tribe Called Quest\u2019s Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Younge toured to wide acclaim; in 2020 the duo launched their Jazz is Dead project, working with jazz legends like Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, and Lonnie Liston Smith. Younge also created a concept album featuring Ghostface Killah (12 Reasons to Die<\/i>) and scored music for Marvel\u2019s Luke Cage<\/i>. At present he has a dozen more albums completed but unreleased.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went from not knowing anything about music per se<\/i> to learning how to read [music] and write for orchestra,\u201d he says. For the final installment of his Something About April<\/i> trilogy, Younge doubled down on his method of constant learning. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to play upright bass,\u201d he says. \u201cSo I took some lessons.\u201d That\u2019s him on the bass fiddle all over Something About April III<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The third part of Younge\u2019s SAA<\/i> trilogy showcases Younge\u2019s love for Brazilian music. In recent years he\u2019s spent a lot of time in the South American nation, absorbing the culture and meeting many of the country\u2019s musical icons. \u201cI wanted to give something back,\u201d he explains, \u201cbecause Brazil has given the world so much musically. \u201cWith me digging so much into Brazilian psych records, I thought, \u2018What would it be like to create a record that sounded like it came out in \u201871 or \u201872?\u2019\u201d With that in mind, Younge learned Portuguese (he now considers himself \u201csemi-fluent\u201d) and wrote all of the new album\u2019s lyrics in the language. All of the vocal tracks were recorded in S\u00e3o Paulo with Brazilian singers.<\/p>\n
Younge toured in support of the album in March and early April, leading a 10-piece orchestra. In mid-April he performed the entire trilogy in his hometown of Los Angeles, this time with a greatly expanded ensemble. A free outdoor concert in conjunction with Lincoln Center performance was announced for June 17, with additional dates to follow. \u201cI say this humbly: I\u2019ve never heard something like this before, ever,\u201d he says. Emphasizing that he isn\u2019t claiming Something About April III<\/i> is necessarily better than everything else, Younge says that he\u2019s breaking new ground by mixing his \u201cquasi hip hop\u201d sound with Brazilian textures. He likens the music to Ennio Morricone plus psychedelic soul plus \u201cPink Floyd with a 35-piece orchestra.\u201d<\/p>\n
The music of Adrian Younge has it both ways: sophisticated and street-level. \u201cI like people to view my music as the highest of hi-fi, and the lowest of lo-fi,\u201d he says. \u201cI love both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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