Lady Marmalade - Labelle - Music Production Analysis
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.)