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Head to Head with Chops As master of beat science and steady rhymes for the critically acclaimed Mountain Brothers, Chops has been making a name for himself with his consistently solid production skills. Though his jazz infused organic funk arrangements echo the soul sounds of yesteryear from Detroit and his native Philadelphia, Chops employs some of the most cutting edge production tools in his studio along side his vintage pianos, guitars, and drums... including the Lounge Lizard EP-1.
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1) How did you get your start making music ? Trombone lessons in 6th grade. But I really got interested in high school. My theory teacher had a Casio CZ-101, a friend had a Boss DR-110, and another friend had the Casio SK-1. I borrowed them, and got hooked. From then I'd take different classes in school, guitar lessons, piano, read Electronic Musician, etc. and just try to learn as much as I possibly could. In college, I got together with 2 of my boys who were into hip-hop also, and we just started recording stuff for fun. We formed the Mountain Brothers, signed to a major after playing demos for people, went the indie route shortly after, and we've been doing pretty good since. Nowadays I've been working with the group, plus working on solo material, crews around Philly, and doing freelance beats for different artists. 2) Philly has got such a rich history of music, what do you feel sets the Mountain Brothers apart from the crop? One thing that I think sets Philly artists apart in general, is musicality. There's a certain level of sophistication to the music of, for example Gamble and Huff that was unlike other music out. Not to say better or worse, but definitely different. And I think that continues today with people like the Roots, Jill Scott, Jazzy Jeff, etc. Being based here, you get influenced by what comes out of the city, and I'd like to think some of our idols' music has rubbed off on us. But I dig music from a lot of different places, and try not to be restricted to one feel. 3) What sort of tools do you use in the studio? I recently overhauled my whole setup, going from samplers, synths, keyboards, a Soundcraft Ghost, and ADATs - to 2 PC's and a controller. I use Cubase on one computer for making beats, and Paris on the other one for tracking and mixing. It's crazy what you can do with computers these days. With VSTi's you can have access to sounds that would take rooms full of equipment. And I really dig Paris, it has a classic kind of sound unlike any other digital recorder I've ever heard. Also I have turntables, guitars, basses, and mess around with drums a little. 4) Have you ever played live on stage with gear ? Would you consider busting out a laptop and a MIDI controller and playing everything on the fly ? So far with the group, we mainly perform off vinyl with DJ Roli Rho, from a crew called 5th Platoon. I'd like to experiment with instruments and stuff but a lot of the time I'm rhyming, and I'm not sure I have the coordination to do all that at once! My beat computer is a lunchbox though, so it's pretty portable. They really only just started having fast laptops and good laptop soundcards, and that was after I built my box. 5) You've owned a real Rhodes for a number of years from what I understand, as someone who knows these instruments inside and out, what's your feeling on the Lounge Lizard ? I like VST instruments because they're perfect for the way I work. But more than that, I really dig Lounge Lizard's warmth, it's full and beefy. That sets it apart from other VSTi's. The growl and bark you get from adjusting pickups, etc. on a real Rhodes, you can get with this thing, except instead of taking me all afternoon with a screwdriver, it takes a few minutes with the mouse. I have a Fender Stage 73 and a Wurlitzer 200A, and I own and use some of the other electric piano VSTi's that are out, but this is the one that could fool me, if you know what I mean. I spent some time trying to duplicate my Stage 73's tone, and I'm getting pretty close. You might see a slightly out of tune Rhodes on eBay soon. I'll even throw in the black keys for free! 6) I gotta say that the Mountain Brothers tracks I've had the pleasure of listening to show a real maturity musically , seeming almost more closely related to classic stuff Curtis Mayfield and Roy Ayers than the simpler basslines and rhythms you hear in alot of top 40 tracks these days. What things do you focus the mostly strongly when you start working on a new track ? With hip-hop the drums are key, and bassline probably next, but the type of "golden age" hip-hop I grew up loving, drew from the music of artists like the guys you mentioned, jazz and funk stuff with classic instruments like the Rhodes. Generally people did that with sampled loops but I'd rather be able to create my own stuff. Personally I like music from the late '60s to mid '70s... that's my favorite vibe. That was a time when creativity and originality was important, even to chart-topping music. You always have the kind of bubblegum pop, but listening now, it seems like back then more artists and labels were willing to take risks and make beautiful art. 7) As well as the above mentioned heavyweights, who else would you say has been the most influential on your production style ? I like a whole lot of music but I really dig Isaac Hayes and basically all of Stax's stuff, the Meters, Bob James, James Brown, and classic people like that, plus hip-hop producers like Premier, Dre, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Lord Finesse, Diamond. Quincy Jones is an example of somebody who is crazy versatile, has longevity, and does all kinds of music, from film scoring to pop songs, incredibly well. I'd like to be like that one day. 8) I've read that you guys have played with alot of the industry's finest, Jeru the Damaja for one, if you could play with anybody though, who would it be ? We got the chance to open for A Tribe Called Quest a couple times, and for us that was a real big thing. They really went out and defined their own style, and influenced a lot of people that came out after. Although he's passed away, I think it would have been cool to be able to play with Curtis Mayfield. He has some real nice big arrangements, sick grooves, and had messages in his music even when he was talking about say, the life of a drug dealer. From his music, it seems like he was a real cool positive dude. 9) Finally, what's coming up for you guys ? We just finished the Mountain Brothers 2nd LP, and we're in talks with some labels about putting that out soon. Also, I do production for various other artists. I recently signed with a new label out of Los Angeles, Vocab Records, to do my own producer project... I'm especially excited about this album because I always loved records that producers like Marley Marl or Pete Rock put together, that really let them show their skills behind the boards. So now's my chance! I'm working with a lot of established artists that I'm a fan of, plus I get to help showcase some of the new talent that's here in Philly. Check out the site vocabrecords.com for more info... also my site magnificentbutcher.com is being built, if you dig the sound example check in and see what's in the works! Check out Chops puttting the Lounge Lizard to the test! http://www.moutainbrothers.com
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