Guitarist muso question : the Nile Rodgers sound

That video is great. Someone who's been around as long as he has and done as much as he has could easily be a total dick, but he always comes over as just the nicest guy on the planet.

This section from his first blog post really gets me:

It was foggy - just before dawn. The song that popped into my head was “Let’s Dance”, and I started walking. At 1.3 miles I reached my local diner. I went in for a cup of coffee.

“We Are Family" was playing and the whole staff was singing along. I said, “Wow, that’s my song!” And they looked at me like I was nuts. I’ve known everyone in this eatery for about twenty years - but none of them knew I co-wrote it. My eyes welled up with tears. Crazy. I know that people generally don't know what songs composers write - but this was "We Are Family", written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers, both residents of this town. For some reason, I felt really hurt. Tears were now flowing...

Cancer is horrifying. It makes you think a lot. My ex-partner passed away and most people don’t realize many songs they sing along with every day he did. Maybe, I was just afraid of dying and feeling sorry for myself - cancer also makes you do that. But my sadness was real. Cancer is a humiliating disease and I wanted to feel dignified about something. I wiped the tears from my eyes and told the diner's staff that I wrote the song they were singing. I finished my coffee, smiled, hugged everybody and waved goodbye.

My morning walks now have a dual-purpose. Do everything in my power to heal and try to put cancer behind me - and share the "Good Times" and happy memories of a lost songwriting partner to anyone who’ll listen. We did fun music meant to lift the spirit - and I'm proud of it.

After I left the diner I sang "We Are Family" to myself, three times - in its entirety... all the way back home.

love that video, damn

VegemiteGrrrl otm. And yeah, that exact passage got to me too.

I wonder about his personal wealth. If he spent wisely he must be as rich as a czar.

Yeah. You'd hope that over time he'd be pretty smart about financials but you just never know.

The photos he's put up on his Facebook page are fun...him and Grace Jones at Studio 54, backstage with Rick James, old Chic Organization pics, even old family photos. Love how open he is with his fans.

i know that nile rodgers didn't play on "off the wall", but i think of him every time i listen to it (so much pristine studio guitar funk).

Was just learning some Sister Sledge and Diana with my guitar teacher. He told me Nile Rodgers used to practice banjo a lot, and ever since he mentioned that banjo's really become apparent in the playing. He also pointed out a lot of these alternating notes on the high E string that don't technically alter the chord (even though they change the way they sound), plus the aforementioned rhythmic muting.

Everybody who said 16th notes is technically correct, but what seperates the post-punk buskers from real funkateers is the latter use SWUNG 16th notes, alternated with straight 16ths. If you can swing 8th notes its the same idea, just applied to 16ths; or think of it as those swung 8ths played twice as fast. Niles plays pretty fast on some tracks, so it took me a while to work up to that speed while keeping it swung.

Also, don't play whole bar chords, bass notes and all. I think that video above mentions it, but playin g around with the different parts of a chord, muting some strings etc. is a grat way to make your grooves more interesting.

Then get an old Fender Twin or Valve, and go for a clean, dry, pure tone, like 3 (treble), 4 (mid), bass fairly high. Add a little compression and you should be close.

the nile rodgers giggin tips clip above is pretty much the greatest thing ever posted on the internet.

Generally I think people underestimate how much of the funkiness comes from the technique itself as opposed to the guitar/amp/effect combo.

this is true no matter what style (or instrument) you're playing.

technique >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> instrument/amp/effect combo.

For sure. It's vital that you stick to the top three or four high strings, too, like he says, and avoid playing the whole chords. Otherwise you come off sounding like this oddly aggressive jazzbo.

^^^hmmm, that's interesting; this has always been my instinctive playing style (highly rhythmic focus on the D through high E strings and only throw in the low E and A strings for accent and color). This must be why I suck at rawk!

I feel like a softer plectrum would be advisable for a Nile-esque sound-- thoughts?

If you really want to get serious, don't just learn Niles stuff. Learn everything he learned growing up, like Curtis Mayfield, George Van Eps, all of Hendrix's work etc.

I'm quite a hypocrite when it comes to this though.

Pierre Menard's Nile Rodgers by Jorge Luis Borges

http://nilerodgers.com/blog/planet-c-blog-roll/284-walking-on-planet-c-bittersweet

The dude's cancer free right? Awesome news.

Glad that he's recovering!

Memoir artwork now available:

http://www.nilerodgers.com/blog/planet-c-blog-roll/443-walking-on-planet-c-le-freak-cest-chic

is there ever likely to be a vol 2 of 'Nile Rodgers presents The Chic Organization: Boxset Vol. 1'?

i guess all the killer stuff is on the first, but can imagine vol 2 having all their 80s production hits

dave haslam is set to interview nile in manchester in november but apparently his cancer has returned so this might not happen now.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/mr-rodgerss-neighborhood/#more-175357

Wow, and that's just the intro.

yeah, if the rest of the book is that good it'll be well worth picking up

fascinating

the nile rodgers giggin tips clip above is pretty much the greatest thing ever posted on the internet

Totally. I just found it by accident and am in awe.

I'm sold.

http://pitchfork.com/news/45348-daft-punk-in-talks-with-nile-rodgers-for-new-album/

so did anyone read his book?

Yup. It's great.

Three and a half hours of Nile Rodgers on guitar, production, and generally being awesome.

http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/nile-rodgers--turn-the-other-chic
http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/nile-rodgers--turn-the-other-chic-2

Wow, this is amazing. Thanks for posting that.

^^

^ This was great. The audience and presenter seem incredibly bored though.

http://www.timeout.com/london/tv-and-radio-guide/nile-rodgers-the-hitmaker

I guess this is new and Nile-specific?

frequently ponder that Nile almost died 18 months ago but instead lived, played tons and tons of great shows all over the world and made an album with daft punk

great feature/interview on Nile's strat:

http://www.fender.com/news/a-tribute-to-nile-rodgers/

that's such a great story

http://youtu.be/anU_S8lfHNo

Holy shit that guitar would be cool to buy, but the fact that it's a Custom Shop special, and I think limited to 100 models, means it'll be $$$.

that is a great story/article

Nile looks back, and fwd (working on the lost Chic tapes for inst). Also: great pix, incl.recent guest stars.
http://nilerodgers.com/blogs/planet-c-in-english/3012-there-is-life-after-death

I work in a record shop and somebody came in the other day looking for Nigel Chicman

did he find him?

Is Nigel Chicman related to Roger Zappman?

Ph nice---and see release info at end of this:

WARNER BROS. RECORDS SIGNS RENOWNED COMPOSER, PRODUCER, GUITARIST NILE RODGERS AND HIS MULTI-PLATINUM SELLING BAND CHIC TO GLOBAL RECORDING CONTRACT

WBR ALSO ENTERS DEAL WITH RODGERS' AND MICHAEL OSTIN'S

LAND OF THE GOOD GROOVE LABEL

February 2, 2015 - Burbank, CA - Warner Bros. Records (WBR) announced today that it has signed a global recording contract with Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger, guitarist Nile Rodgers and his multi-platinum selling band CHIC. In addition, WBR has entered into a deal with Land of The Good Groove, the label formed by Rodgers and veteran music executive Michael Ostin. WBR will handle all distribution and label services for artists signed by Rodgers and Ostin, who will act as the imprint's creative supervisors.

"Nile Rodgers' influence on the course of modern music cannot be overstated," said Cameron Strang, Warner Bros. Records Chairman & CEO. "For the past four decades, his visionary work as a songwriter, producer, bandleader, and musician has reverberated across genres and generations. From groundbreaking guitarwork, to an uncanny hitmaking instinct, to shaping the sound of countless artists, he has created a phenomenal musical legacy. Nile has never stopped moving forward, so I am thrilled to welcome him into the WBR family as he begins a dynamic new chapter of his extraordinary career. And I'm doubly thrilled that Michael Ostin will be returning to the WBR fold as Nile's label partner."

"My relationship with Warner and Michael formerly started with 'Like A Virgin.' The album is Double-Diamond, just like our friendship is," noted Nile Rodgers.

"Nile and I have had a long rich history as creative collaborators and close friends," said Michael Ostin. "To be partnering with him during this exciting chapter of his career and to be back in Burbank at Warner Brothers, a building that served as my second home since childhood, is an unimaginable dream come true."

Rodgers has remained culturally relevant throughout his 40-year-career by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. The co-founder of CHIC, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping pop hits like "Le Freak" and "I Want Your Love," sparked the advent of hip-hop with "Good Times," and gave Sister Sledge the smash "We Are Family." His work in the CHIC Organization and his productions for artists like David Bowie and Madonna have sold over 200 million albums and 50 million singles worldwide, while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Disclosure, and Sam Smith reflect the vanguard of contemporary music. Fueling four decades of pop anthems with more than 200 production credits to his name, the scope of Rodgers' peerless influence is undeniable. Rodgers reflected on his extraordinary life and career in his 2011 self-penned autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny, which Rolling Stone chose as one of its "23 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time."

Rodgers' signing with WBR represents a sort of homecoming for the icon and innovator. He released the album CHIC-ism on Warner Bros. Records in 1992 after reforming the group with Bernard Edwards. It is also a return for Michael Ostin, who, from 1988 to 1996, served as WBR's Senior Vice President, overseeing the day-to-day U.S. operations of the creative department as well as creative coordination of the careers of such artists as Madonna, Prince, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Van Halen, B-52s, Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Seal.

On February 3rd, "Le Freak" will be inducted into the 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame andRodgers will receive the President's Merit Award during the Recording Academy's 8th Annual Grammy Week Celebration for the Producers & Engineers Wing of NARAS. He'll also appear on the new PBT series Speakeasy for a 60-minute interview with Valerie Simpson. Rodgers is currently finalizing the first new CHIC album in nearly 25 years, with the first single scheduled to drop on March 20th, followed by the album in June.

Nile on new album
http://nilerodgers.com/blogs/planet-c-in-english/3047-it-s-about-time

http://nilerodgers.com/images/stories/wopc-578_02.jpg

So who plays on this? Love Nile, but not sure what he's done as a writer, as opposed to producer/session dude, in eons.

that snippet sounds wonderful but i'm trying not to get my hopes up

sounds better than the daft punk record

He said on Twitter that he finally got his hands on unissued Chic masters from waay back, an album's-worth maybe, and has been tweaking that material, maybe recording w current Chic too (and def. something with Nona Hendryx). He's been cagey about it. We shall see.

this sounds great, can't wait to hear the vocal version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blkk3rrRXiE

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/fashion/mens-style/nile-rodgers-still-chic-after-all-these-years.html

He is helping to score Hugh Jackman’s new one-man show, and it’s going to be “insane.” Coachella called him and booked Chic to perform at the festival for the first time next spring, right around the time he is due to hit 64

...
Last month, Mr. Rodgers was on deadline to deliver tracks to Mr. Jackman, to Mr. Urban and to Stargate, the Norwegian producers behind many of Rihanna’s and Katy Perry’s hits.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/may/18/nile-rodgers-my-greatest-mistake

The single biggest mistake of my entire life was not taking Miles Davis seriously when he said: "Write me a motherfucking 'Good Times'". We had done an Issy Miyake photoshoot together and become friends, but I still couldn't believe that he would ask me to help him make a hit record. This is a great man who changed my life – and he wanted me to help change his. The same thing happened when I first met David Bowie and he wanted a hit record: I thought he was joking.

oh my god

o_O

CHIC
@CHICorg

RT nilerodgers "Thrilled to announce that as part of the BBC’s Glastonbury Experience weekend (June 25th-29th), you’ll be able to watch the nilerodgers & CHICorg 2017 set on the Pyramid stage on BBCFOUR and BBCiPlayer. More details about the weekend … " To follow, I hope.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eat0pe0XsAAewNw?format=jpg&name=medium

We Are Family played on a wah pedal. I played it this way so folks can hear the voice leading and substitutions. The G11 I play as a D-9 at times pic.twitter.com/RA67DduGP5

— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) June 20, 2020

This was a surprise to me!

Attending the #funeral of a Panther’s baby. I’m the skinny 16 year-old brother on the right. Sub-section leader of Lower Manhattan Section, Harlem Branch. We were so filled with love. pic.twitter.com/qyewOg59PI

— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) June 4, 2021

love him even more now

So great

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRERgcQe-fQ

I had so much joy in the past 15m and that’s only halfway TY

I kind of remember reading that he never used an amp on records- just DI. Sounds like a lot of compression going in. I've gotten similar sounds with my strat and DI to an actual mic pre/ comp channel strip (as opposed to a pedal).

Delays such as the rhythm guitar on Let's Dance were a Bob Clearmountain thing, more than a Nile thing, if I had to guess.

About 4:00 in this fascinating video, Niles explains the reason for using the delay like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlDCPCwVNUw

In college, I sang with the keyboard player who busts out the impromptu Soul Glo solo

lmao that guy was so good!!!

Dang that Tiny Desk concert is ridiculous - thanks for posting

Haha yes, that guy was totally the highlight