It’s another Positive Vibes session. A chance for an artist to reveal their secret soul weapons and share tracks that guarantee to inspire a smile, no matter how rubbish their day is…
This week we’re chatting to Ram’s latest addition Chords. Like last week’s Positive Vibes contestant LoKo, the young producer really doesn’t need any cheering up. He’s quite clearly buzzing.
And why not? He’s just completed his architecture degree, he’s free to write beats all day long, he’s signed to one of the biggest labels in bass music and he’s just served up two gorgeous workouts. One of which has caused a fair few pronunciation errors in D&B Land…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90htamSDtrk
“Haha,” laughs Chords, or Chris as he’s known to his family. “It’s pronounced ‘ah-mig-da-la’, a lot of people have asked me how to pronounce it! It’s part of the brain that deals with emotions and sensory functions. I’ve always thought it was a cool word. My brother’s a doctor and I remember it from one of his books when he was studying.”
In case you’re wondering, it’s not the same brother who gave Chords his artist name and introduced him to D&B in the first place (as we revealed last time we spoke to Chords). It is, however, a great name for a track. Especially when you’re chatting about tunes that really strike a happy emotion in you. Naturally, Chords has his own theory on PV selections…
“A positive vibe is definitely the memory vibe,” explains Chords. “But also, it’s how it makes you feel. Like if it stays with you for a while; or if it’s a highlight from the night you’ve heard it. That’s what makes a positive vibe for me. I’m really interested in details in melody. Sometimes in D&B it can be forgotten about when people are busy focusing on drums and the production. If you articulate the melody in a particular way then it can have a major effect on the track and the people hearing it.”
Well that explains why both Amygdala and its lead release track Biting Point have had such an effect on us, then. Here’s Biting Point, then read on for Chords three all-time favourite positive vibe tunes…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RtSGBq4Gw
Chords: Positive Vibes
Un-Cut – Midnight
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9guUiW7K6JE
Classic! I love this. The vocal has a very strange melody that floats in and out of key but it’s so emotive and uplifting. I listen to it all the time. I’ve been listening to it since I was really young, since I first had a tape deck and my brother gave me tape packs.
Voyager – Daft Punk
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqZgd6-xQl8
Another massive classic. It’s quite understated and very subtle. Again, the melody is incredible. This never fails to put me in a good mood. I love the new album, too. Perhaps a little controversial, as there seems to be some strong opinions on it, but I love the way they’ve approached it and done things the old school recording way. It’s real, you can hear it’s a whole story and not just a collection of tunes all put together.
Culprate – McFunk
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lws2no_ELyw
I love this! It’s so funky! I love funky sounding tunes but this is another level. It has a certain touch to the melody. And when that darker side of the hook comes in it just makes me grin in a major way. This really is a very clever production. It’s great!
Biting Point / Amygdala is out now on Ram Records.
Listen and download.
