Synthwork in Chaka Khans "Feel for you" and "Aint Nobody"

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

something i always wanted to know about 2 songs by chaka khan.

First is "ain't nobody" i know a LINN Drum machine was used to create the drum rhythm but which keyboard brands were used.

Second is "Feel for you"

Was the song created on a "Workstation" or with real people playing real insturments and synths.

― startrekman600, Monday, 26 April 2004 01:24 (twenty-two years ago)

> real people playing real insturments and synths.

I'm glad you asked that question, Bob. Not many people realise that while the, uh, insturments were real, the people were all synthetic. Ms Khan herself was grown in a pod in Fayetteville by the CIA in 1968.

― Palomino (Palomino), Monday, 26 April 2004 11:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I have the album with 'Feel For You' on it but can't find it. Didn't the Scritti Politti guys (Gamson/Maher ??) do the basic tracks for that song? My guess is that maybe a Fairlight or Synclavier were used for the drums and bass (seem to remember it has a very fast bass line). Those were the commonly-used high end systems of the day. But it was also routine in those days to overdub other parts manually over the top onto whatever multi track was being used. Sequencing was in its infancy (midi was only just coming in and a lot of the best synths eg JP8 or Prophet couldn't be routinely hooked up) so the top session musicians got to where they were by being super tight and accurate in their playing (no quantize options like today).

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:05 (twenty-two years ago)

IIRC, the tracks referred to predate the modern workstation-type synthi/kbd. If the people from scritti had anything to do w/it, then quite possibly it will have synclavier on it, I had some old magazine like e&mm where they were interviewad, raving about the sound of the synclavier. Oberheim synthesisers (eg OBX-a, OB-8) were a commonly used piece in bigger budget dance rekkids around this time (again, IIRC) - they had this big, brassy sound which was regarded as being the shit.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, alright then. Given the era and the locale, the sessioneers would have had most if not all of the following polysynths to hand: the Oberheim OB-8 and OB-X/a, the SCI Prophet-5, the Roland Jupiter-8, the Moog Memorymoog, the Yamaha CS-80 and the Rhodes Chroma. The warm, weighty timbres used on I Feel For You are certainly particularly suggestive of Oberheim gear, but in the absence of studio notes or the testimony of someone who was present, it's pointless to speculate on who played what with which.
It's really not true to say that "sequencing was in its infancy" in 1983; Roland's MC-8, with an Intel CPU, a 5,300-note capacity and eight CV outputs, went into production in 1977. It could be hooked up to most instruments of the era (including the Prophet-5 and the Jupiter-8) and in skilled hands could be used to generate remarkably complex arrangements (viz YMO's Solid State Survivor and the Human League's Dare).
By 1983 the Fairlight CMI's famous Page R sequencing facilities were well advanced too, but given that there's nary a sampled orchestra hit to be heard on the record, I doubt very much that it or the Synclavier were used during the recording sessions.

― Palomino (Palomino), Monday, 26 April 2004 17:11 (twenty-two years ago)

It's really not true to say that "sequencing was in its infancy" in 1983

I still stand by what I said. Full-on sequencing then still tended to be used more by those with an avowedly electronic agenda (eg the people you named). There were a lot of established soul/r&b musicians who were more distrustful of it. And as I say those kinds of people had the playing ability to do crisp things by hand. But that particular LP was fairly cutting edge in taking electronic/sampling techniques into mainstream r&b.

but given that there's nary a sampled orchestra hit to be heard on the record, I doubt very much that it or the Synclavier were used during the recording sessions.

I do agree it's pointless speculating on EXACTLY what equipment was used but 'I Feel For You' has a lot of sampling going on (bits of rap retriggered..spinbacks and stabs IIRC) so Fairlight/Synclavier would seem a fair assumption.

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 17:45 (twenty-two years ago)

don't know who produced what, though I think John Robie did My Love is Alive which, in typical Robie fashion, kicks ass.

Mic Murphy - Vocals (bckgr)
Paul Pesco - Guitar
James Newton-Howard - Synthesizer, Keyboards
Rob Mounsey - Synthesizer
David Foster - Synthesizer, Keyboards
Michael Sembello - Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals (bckgr)
Robbie Buchanan - Synthesizer, Keyboards, Programming
Chaka Khan - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
Bill-Dog Dooley - Mixing
Nathan East - Bass
Steve Ferrone - Drums
David Frank - Synthesizer, Keyboards, Programming
Reggie Griffin - Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
Dann Huff - Guitar
Steve Lukather - Guitar
Tony Maiden - Guitar (Rhythm)
Arif Mardin - Producer
Joe Mardin - Drums
Grandmaster Melle Mel - Rap
Alec Milstein - Vocals (bckgr)
John Robie - Synthesizer, Keyboards, Programming
John "J.R." Robinson - Drums
Marcus Ryle - Programming
Philippe Saisse - Synthesizer, Arranger, Keyboards, Programming
Cruz Baca Sembello - Vocals (bckgr)
Danny Sembello - Synthesizer, Keyboards
Craig Siegel - Programming
Hamish Stuart - Vocals (bckgr)
Stevie Wonder - Harmonica
Mark Stevens - Vocals (bckgr)
Keith Barnhart - Synthesizer, Keyboards
Vadim Zilbershtein - GuitarHawk - Bass

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:05 (twenty-two years ago)

David Frank and Mic Murphy are The System. It might have been them who did parts of 'I Feel For You'. They came into my mind when I tried to remember the bass line. No Gamson/Maher there. I was getting confused because Arif Mardin produced Scritti and those two did work with Chaka later on.

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:11 (twenty-two years ago)

'those two' - Gamson/Maher

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:12 (twenty-two years ago)

are you as big a fan of David Gamson's Sugar Sugar 12" on Rough Trade as I am? I play it every time I DJ.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Unfortunately I don't know it.

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Gamson did that and a funky track called No Turn On Red that appeared on an NME comp tape, then a Beggers comp LP called Sex, Sweat and Blood, the new Danceability, and 1 more track I think, before moving to NYC and joining up with Green. He also produced some of the Roger Troutman tracks, including the one sampled by EPMD for Crossover.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:53 (twenty-two years ago)

> 'I Feel For You' has a lot of sampling going on (bits of rap retriggered..spinbacks and stabs IIRC)

Back before samplers were in common use, such effects were still possible; they were created by splicing audio tape with razors.
The eight-bit, low-bandwidth sampling available in the early eighties was distinctively lo-fi, and you don't hear this type of audio degradation in the famous stutter-edit rap intro.

― Palomino (Palomino), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

My Love is Alive has some incredible displays of tape edit awesomeness.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Back before samplers were in common use, such effects were still possible; they were created by splicing audio tape with razors.

I'm aware of that. Now you come to mention it I think I remember a specific reference in the sleeve credits to the 'editing' of that track so..

But I wish I had the LP to hand because I'm not just referring to the intro stuttering. I still believe there are some things occurring WITHIN the track (ie not the whole track being spliced). You also exaggerate the supposed poor quality of sampling available at the time. Certainly by 1984 I think both the Synclavier and Fairlight offered pretty usable quality, at least for stabs and 'hip hop' type effects. People also used to do stuff by freezing things into AMS delays and retriggering them. The quality on that was definitely pretty top notch.

I must try and dig out the track and see if I'm misremembering some of the sounds on it.

― David (David), Monday, 26 April 2004 21:13 (twenty-two years ago)

three weeks pass...

Revive.

Saw a 'Best Of The Tube' last night, (The Tube was a British Music programme that ran throughout most of the eighties) Chaka was on, performing I Feel For You, the keyboard player used a DX7 for the faux-harmonica lead part and a Prophet-5 for the warmer backing chords. Just thought someone might like to know...

― mzui, Sunday, 23 May 2004 04:48 (twenty-two years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.