3 Producers Performing Beats Live
Appreciating beat reconstructions by Nothing_Neue, RJD2, and STLNDRMS.
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There’s something powerful about listening to music on its own merits without a visual aid. However, visuals provide a powerful companion to the music we listen to, whether it’s compelling album art, stickers and promotional merch, or press photos. Building an image of an artist or group and their aesthetic is often part of the process of immersing yourself in their work.
In recent years, I’ve come to appreciate the ability we have as modern listeners to watch producers create/recreate beats from scratch or perform them live. Here are a few of my favorites below.
“See the light” by STLNDRMS - I started following STLNDRMS’ work eight or nine years ago and I’ve always been impressed by the way he intimately shares his creative process. If you check his YouTube channel, you’ll find countless videos of him passing along information and knowledge, playing his tracks out live, or inviting friends over to perform live beat sets.
One of my favorite videos of him performing live is this rendition of “See the light,” a gorgeous selection from his 2017 release Veggie tacos. I love this track and seeing him play it out live brings it to another level. The vocal sampling here is absolutely stunning and this song remains a standard of his ever-growing catalog.
“Dust” by Nothing_Neue - In 2018 I got a chance to see Nothing_Neue teardown Nightworks in Boston. Nightworks was an amazing producer showcase that sadly stopped running after COVID. The energy he put into his set was phenomenal and contagious. Nothing_Neue was really cool too, we had a chance to chop it up after his set and I’ve been following his work ever since. I love his YouTube channel, where you can find excellent beat sets like this one (check around the 3-minute mark for a killer D’Angelo flip).
Another highlight of the channel are the Mandled Mondays videos he posted for a while. They consisted of live, in-studio performances of songs from various releases. A personal favorite of mine is the beautifully hauting “Dust” from his 2018 record Foreign+familiar. I love the way he selectively incorporates effects and filters into his live work to underscore especially poignant moments in the music.
“Someone’s Second Kiss” by RJD2 - RJD2’s 2002 debut Deadringer is an incredibly impressive insturmental effort. It earned critical acclaim and certainly set a high bar for his sophomore record. Though 2004’s Since We Last Spoke was generally well-received, I always thought it would have gotten even more attention if it haden’t been preceded by Deadringer. I find that cuts like “Making Days Longer” (a cover of Labi Siffre’s “Bless the Telephone”) have aged incredibly well and sound just as strong if not stronger than they did at their time of release 21 years ago.
“Someone’s Second Kiss” is a song it took me a bit longer to full appreciate. However, after years of repeated listens, I eventually fell in love with the track. RJ really packs a broad spectrum of emtions into the music through the use of electronic piano stabs, synths, and a vocal sample that sticks with you long after the song’s conclusion. In 2014 he gave a brief but detailed breakdown of how he put the song together that’s well worth your time.