In this blog I will be looking at Moor Mother’s production and describing the work that I did influenced by her techniques.
Moor Mother is a producer who experiments with fusion of genres, unique lyrics with deep messages behind them, exploration of sound effects and moving rhythms. I took inspiration from her track “ALL THE MONEY” that features Alya Al-Sultani (ANTI- Records, 2024). I think that this piece shows the diversity behind Moor Mother’s music, which is why I thought that it was perfect to look at for creating a track on my own that would reflect a sound similar to her work.
I started with laying out an electronic kick drum pattern, for which I have used the Drum Synth insert in Logic Pro X. I didn’t see a necessity for a drum pattern that would include anything more than a kick drum as I was just looking for building a foundation of the track. I have then proceeded to record a piano part in D minor to add a sense of tension to the overall mood of the track. I went for a repeating piano melody that only consisted of 3 chords, and then layered it with out of beat, almost ‘accidental’ chords and notes. I have then inserted a recording from the Howard Zinn speech. I have put it on a separate track as a continuous spoken word vocal part, as well as then used it on another track, putting it through Logic’s Quick Sampler in Optimized format and the Slice mode. The Slice mode allowed me to cut out separate sounds and words from the speech and lay them out as notes on the keyboard. I then triggered these sliced up vocals in between the original version of the speech to create one more layer that acted as both a texture complexity booster and a beat for the song.
To add more clarity to the sound I have EQ’d the piano part and the speech recording. I have also added some distortion to the vocal, as it is a common feature on Moor Mother’s tracks. Moor Mother is known for her politically and historically evoking lyrics, and I think that distortion conveys how triggering and important the messages behind her lyrics are, and brings closed attention to them from the listener.
This kind of production is essential for artists who create their music around important worldwide issues, and who are trying to raise awareness of the world’s population about them. It helps to bring the main focus of the listener to the words that they are hearing, and think about them closely, instead of ignoring the lyrics and focusing on a catchy melody or beat.
ANTI- Records (2024) Moor Mother – ‘ALL THE MONEY’ (feat. Alya Al-Sultani). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK3NHEgJIUM
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