I was listening to this lecture a while back, and what struck me was how ?uestlove mentioned that he wanted to incorporate J Dilla in the upcoming album The Roots were releasing at the time, which was “Game Theory”. He was alive then, but ?uestlove mentioned later in the lecture that Dilla wasn’t in the best condition health-wise.
Red Bull Music Academy Lecture: ?uestlove (Seattle 2005)
RBMA: »One of the big elements of Bomb Squad was the layering of samples. Are you using samples like that?«
?uestlove: »Nah, right now it’s just not cost-efficient for us to use samples like that. I’m sure they will utilize it. I know that we’re, now more than ever, we’re going to try and incorporate also Jay Dilla on this record, try to get a lot of production work out of him, because I think it’s a travesty that people don’t know the extent and the range of his work. So, if there is any sampling involved, it will be probably in the work that he contribute to either where we recreate the samples or take the two together, or that type of thing.«
It was kind of crazy hearing him talk about Dilla in the present, with the hope to collaborate with him on their album in the future. Eventually The Roots released “Game Theory” (August 29, 2006) Incorporating Dilla, but in the form of two tribute tracks, the intro, “Dilltastic Vol Won(derful)” and the outro, below. I guess you can see it as the two book ends of “Game Theory” in relation to J Dilla.
Zach Saginaw aka Shigeto has just released Lineage on Ghostly International which I am really excited about. Upon first listen, you can tell that Lineage is an introspective album. The type of album you put on and get absolutely immersed into. What I like most about Shigeto’s work is that it’s so deeply personal and has a lot to do with his family. One of the most exciting things about this album is picking out the different sounds on each track. The listener is left hanging on his wind chime effects and drifting to his jazzy notes. (Like on “Huron River Drive.”) Like all Ghostly releases, the album art is stunning. Designed by resident visual artist, Michael Cina, Shigeto’s cover features photos of his great grandfather and the house he lived in in Hiroshima, Japan. Being a designer, I really appreciate how well connected the cover is to the content of the album. It immediately sets the tone. Do yourself a favor and pick up the album