Soaking in music - Donald Fagan's Trans-Island Skyway

One of my greatest pleasures in life is simply listening to music – particularly complex layered, music. It’s still got to be funky and have a great groove mind, but listening to how the different instruments and parts interact is truly a wonderful thing. Understanding the anatomy of a particular piece of music helps me understand it more, and, hopefully, recreate the simple complexity in my own playing or music.

One of my favorites is Donald Fagan’s 'solo' release, “Kamakiriad”. The opening track, Trans-Island Skyway, is not only bizarrely futuristic in its lyrics, but so thick in instrumental parts that picking them apart is audio dissection. The rest of this article gives you an example of what I mean. The track reaches a fiull 6 mintues, 29 seconds, so this is a long post!

Click the post title to continue reading...It might help you to have a listen to the track, which you can get to, at least in part, from Amazon. Follow the links.

Some brief background. Our narrator picks up his new car - a Kamakiri - with all the mod cons - hydroponic garden included! The song relates his trip to his home city along the Trans-Island Skyway.
The track starts with the first guitar part (of at least 3 or 4, I think), drums, and way in the distance some keyboards. The guitar plays a line that comes back throughout the whole track. It’s kind of like the heart beat of the tune, or perhaps, more appropriately, the Kamakiri’s idling engine. Add finger snaps, and move the keys more upfront. Then kick into the groove by adding bass and a second guitar part, a second synth part (with sparse, block chords), and then a third guitar, kind of soloing. Cue first verse, with lead vocals only:

I was born yesterday when they brought my Kamakiri
When they handed me the keys
It's a steam-power 10, the frame is out of Glasgow
The tech is Balinese
It's not a freeway bullet or a bug with monster wheels
It's a total biosphere
(well) The farm in the back is hydroponic
Good, fresh things every day of the year
Good, fresh things every day of the year

For the pre-chorus, add a harmony vocal part, a third synth, and half way through (“all set to samba”), some horns (brass – trumpets etc). The very end adds more harmonies (higher male). This section actually builds up the intensity, before a slight release for the actual chorus.

With all screens and functions
In sync lock with Tripstar
This cool rolling bubble
Is all set to samba
This route could be trouble
(This route could be trouble)

When the first chorus comes along, you’d think it was as dense as a hard wood, but everything is so neatly knit together, perfectly in order, it’s truly beautiful. For the chorus, the initial horn part drops out, and then we get a different part, that eventually overlays the original. The heartbeat is still there, only up an octave. We’re on our way.

(Chorus)
Steamin' up
That Trans-Island Skyway
Tryin' to make that final deadline
And if the lanes are clear
We're gonna drive a little harder
We'll be deep in the Zone by cryin' time

Then a full band STOP, which eases gracefully back into the groove. It’s magical – like a moment’s brief consideration, before just rolling along with the same. Drums, bass, second synth part, all three guitars, weaving in, out and around each other in a beautiful audio tapestry. Vox is back down to the lead. The verse just rolls along in the groove, not unlike the hours wiled away on road trips.

Say, there's a wreck on the side of the road
Lots of blood and broken glass
The kid who was driving I know from somewhere
Some kids just drive too fast
Wait just a minute there's a beautiful survivor
With dancer's legs and laughing eyes
C'mon snake-hips, it's all over now
Strap in tight cause it's a long sweet ride

Things start to heart up again for the second pre-chorus. From the outset the second male harmony part is added. At “Breath in…” we get the horns back, and new female backing vox. The narrator’s pickup is joining in – echoing his instructions to her.

Relax - put some sounds on
I'll brew up some decaf
C'mon kick off those heels ma'am
Now breathe in and sigh out
Let's get with the program
(Let's talk about the good times)

(Chorus)

Out of the second chorus we get an eight bar break in which nothing much seems to happen. But if you listen closely there’s lots of percussion in the background, in odd places: rhythm sticks, bells, wood blocks, temple blocks, and cymbals just before the lead vox comes in again.

The third verse is so full of texture, it can be hard to wade through. Firstly, listen out for the splash cymbal just after “sprangle”. (Incidentally, isn’t that a wonderfully descriptive word for a city’s suburbs!) Also listen for the solo sax line just before “Is that my father”. As far I can hear, its possibly the only solo horn in the whole 6 minutes!

We reach the sprangle just at dawn
These little streets I used to know
Is that my father mowin' the lawn
(C'mon daddy get in let's go)

At first thought, the second half of this verse is a bit of a cop out – just the same line repeated 7 times. (Note that – seven times. What the?) The drums kick it off with an oddly placed snare hit, which drives the groove forward, pumping it up. Immediately the horns come in with close harmonies, playing in and around a dense chordal mass of voices. There’s still a semi-soloing guitar or two, and funky odd keys. But the really hidden shine here is the added percussion. Listen out for bells, wood blocks, chimes, and other cymbals (which could just be the drummer joining in the fun).

From the story standpoint, maybe they’re having a hard time convincing daddy to join them.

C'mon daddy get in let's go
C'mon daddy get in let's go
C'mon daddy get in let's go
C'mon daddy get in let's go

For second “half” the convincing of daddy becomes more intense, with our female passenger adding her voice, and second guitar part. Listen for the odd bell here and there, cutting through the dense chords and voices, and soloing guitars.

C'mon daddy get in let's go
C'mon daddy get in let's go
C'mon daddy get in let's go

The last verse brings us back down to basics, for a while. Initially we’re down to lead vox (doubled with himself, which is interesting – perhaps daddy did get in and go), and rhythm section (bass, drums, one guitar and keys). There is more intensity here, though, mostly through increased volume, but also from the noodling keys. Again, half way through (Tidepools) the female vox, an extra guitar, and some horns just can’t help adding their voices.

We float into Five Zoos
Past the motels and drive-thrus
That noon sun is blinding
Cause the tidepools are boiling
And below the plates are grinding
(Let's talk about the good times, honey)

And then the most unexpected figure of the whole tune – a bar break of drums and keys (or possibly a processed guitar). It’s one of those moments where people look at each other with a confused face, saying “what the heck just happened?”

(Chorus, repeat)

Back into the chorus, and back down to the lead vox (single this time) and rhythm section. Log slow chords on the horns get added in. The chorus is then repeated, starting out by adding a more prominent soloing guitar, then more voices and brining the horns more prominent. The complexity layers start building up.

(outro)

The final 16 bars just ride the groove. Like the end of a long journey, where you know you’re close, and just need to keep going that little bit longer to get there. Listen for the nice drum off beats at the end of the first four bars. Curiously, there are not female vox here – it’s only our driver guy singing, ‘quiet time’.

The last figure to listen for is final stop – it’s kind of hard to miss, as it ends the song. It just, well, stops, like the engines been turned off. There’s no real ending, as such. Like the 1 bar break before the final two choruses, it’s another unexpected, ‘what just happened?’ moment.

Well, there you have it. I'm glad you got this far, if you did. I hope you got something out if, though. The rest of the tracks on Kamaririad look at different adventures our narrator takes, and the diffenent places and people he finds there. A lot the tracks are similarly dense in their construction, but all are beautifully put together. It's an album I doubt I'll ever tire of, and possibly will never stop finding new and interesting details in.

Blessings,
pk