Witches Wu by Unc D

"Witches Wu merges the splice-edit production of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew with the UK jazz of Kamaal Williams, aka Henry Wu. The track's post-structural form is the result of splicing multiple unquantized sessions into one song, finished off with heavy use of synth, bass and electronic drum overdubs. While more and more nu jazz artists lean towards uber-quantized productions, Witches Wu pulls from that good energy of pre-digital recorded improvisation, without losing touch with modern sounds."

Unc D wrote this tune in the summer of 2020, in an effort to make compositions which made for efficient execution by the band. In other words, just after production started for the three 'ipad singles' which would later receive international acclaim and playlist placement on Spotify's 'Jazztronica,' (BLDNTHNDR, SLMTHCKNS, Firstness of Thirdness), Unc was concerned with adding more songs into the canon which were easily playable not only by the band's regular members, but also by anyone of the rotating guest-star status members of the creative circle. For those who do not know, much of the music made by Unc D is done on-the-fly, rehearsal time on songs rarely exceed three takes, and the pragmatic nature of Unc's operation means that sometimes easily translatable tunes work out best in live situations.

The inclusion of the various 'session takes' of this track were included here in the release in order to show the process involved in making this 'splice-edit' jazz single. Attentive listener's may be able to pick out familiar moments in these different session takes, but for those who are not terribly invested, I'll lay it out for you:

The song's signature synth bass intro was played by Thin Thicket in 'trio session II,' although the final version of the song features tape machine modulations which alter the pitch and time of the splice sample. Following the intro, an 16 bar loop from 'sextet session' was used as an anticipatory moment before bringing back the session splice which started the song out, 'trio session take II.' The tight groove and synth exploration of this part of the song is an ode to the influence of Pink Floyd, particularly the front-and-center synth work of Richard Wright and its role as a counterbalance to guitar solos for the band. The guitar solo in Witches Wu is taken from the 'sextet session take I,' performed by the illustrious Youngstown guitar legend Nicholas Frank (who had no idea that his solo during a rehearsal would be the pinnacle moment of this final version of the song). Following the guitar solo, the song's chaotic outro is taken from 'trio session take II,' as Unc D, Thin Thicket and Gino West deconstruct the jam into a percussive frenzy. Those with attentive ears may be able to pick up the editing work of Unc D in this outro moment, as the decreased volume in anticipation to the song's explosive final chord was done in post-production, as the band in 'trio session take II' did not naturally decrescendo.

I INVENTED MUMBLE JAZZ and generally mix instrumental improvisation and electronic beat making.

@uncdmumblejazz

@mumblejazzcore

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