Lady Marmalade - Labelle - Music Production Analysis Polymath Producer Podcast

S2E2 - Lady Marmalade - Labelle - Music Production Analysis



Instrument List: 

-Lead vocals + background vocals

-RMI electra piano (main counter)
Left panned slightly, mid to high range, mostly chords off beat and counter motif

-Percussion-

Cowbell (panned right straight beat)

Congos (panned left beat underneath faster pace with fills)

-Drums-

Kick, snare, crash, closed hats, open hat, ride/ cymbals, toms

-Hammond organ-

Left panned more than the RMI but similar range.

-Bass guitar-

Middle, main motif, sustained motifs during the builds, running bass in the builds, bass slides.

-Guitar-

Right panned, fills and motif doubling octave higher

-Piano-

Right panned, off beat hits, straight hits, and fills

-Alto sax x 2, tenor sax, baritone sax- slightly left panned

Used as fills as well as crescendo pad swells builds for the pre chorus build

Solo section

-Trumpet, trombone- panned left slightly more than saxes

Used mainly as counter motifs in the chorus

As well as crescendo holds

Key Notes:
1- The track starts on the offbeat before the 1.

2- Core rhythmic highlighters:
in the piano, emphasising the off beats of the bass line, in a mid level during the intro.
-in the electric piano, emphasising the off beats with the bass line, plus with a top line counter motif to the vocal in the second half of phrases which emphasises the rhythm while bass is missing.

3- Bass line creates a vacuum because it does the riff, then stops leaving just the drum beat into the open hat. Less kicks on the vacuum too.

4- Counter rhythms micro-

More off beat style core rhythm, so the counter rhythms in this are more straight. (Cowbell)

5- Different rhythms macro-

Follows core rhythm, but on pre chorus builds, ends of the chorus punchline space, plus the ends of chorus turnaround.

(Turnaround/ pre chorus combination happens during the solo, repurposing those rhythms to build suspense.)