Ticklah vs. Axelrod
Encyclopedia
Ticklah vs. Axelrod is the third full-length solo album
released September 2007 on Easy Star Records by musician, producer, engineer & DJ, Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah
of New York City. The album features guest vocals by reggae
stars Mickey General and Rob Symeonn, Tamar-kali (of the documentary film Afro-Punk
), Mayra Vega (vocalist on Antibalas'
"Che Che Colé") and Vinia Mojica
(best known for her work with De La Soul
and A Tribe Called Quest
). This album features instrumental contributions from members of Antibalas
, Easy Star All-Stars
and Dub Is A Weapon as well as fellow New York dub
musician/producer Victor Rice
. Ticklah vs. Axelrod was recorded and engineered at Don't Trip Studios
in Brooklyn, NY.
effects and experimentation employing heavy reverb
, delay and effects (especially on the instrumentals "Two Face" and "Descent") however, Ticklah also approaches each song composition, paying close attention to each individual component of reggae music to craft each song: rhythm
, melody
, harmonies
, arrangement
and sound
. There are also unique dub twists found within the album; The melody on “Answer Me” was inspired by a simple piano piece by the innovative 20th century Russian composer Vladimir Rebikov
. A ska
twist can be heard in the latin track, "Mi Sonsito," as well as a reggae
interpretation of another Eddie Palmieri
latin classic "Si Hecho Palante."
releases from this album
. The first single released in 2008 of “Rescue Me” (featuring the vocals of Mikey General) has an unreleased, non-album
dub
version of the song on the B-side
, called “Rockers Salvation.” The second single released in 2009 is a limited edition pressing of "Pork Eater" (featuring Easy Star vocalist Rob Symeonn) with an instrumental version on the B-side
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
released September 2007 on Easy Star Records by musician, producer, engineer & DJ, Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah
Victor Axelrod
Victor Axelrod aka Ticklah is a Brooklyn native and independent music producer and artist, who has been a continual and integral part of the NYC music scene for over a decade. As an artist he is a founding member of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, and the Easy Star...
of New York City. The album features guest vocals by reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
stars Mickey General and Rob Symeonn, Tamar-kali (of the documentary film Afro-Punk
Afro-Punk (film)
Afro-Punk: The Rock is a 66-minute documentary film directed by James Spooner, exploring race identity within the punk scene across America and abroad. The film focuses on the lives of four people dedicated to the punk rock lifestyle, interspersed with interviews from scores of black punk rockers...
), Mayra Vega (vocalist on Antibalas'
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Antibalas is a Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra...
"Che Che Colé") and Vinia Mojica
Vinia Mojica
Vinia Mojica is a singer from Queens, New York, best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists....
(best known for her work with De La Soul
De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
and A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest
A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...
). This album features instrumental contributions from members of Antibalas
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
Antibalas is a Brooklyn-based afrobeat band that is modeled after Fela Kuti's Africa 70 band and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra...
, Easy Star All-Stars
Easy Star All-Stars
Originally formed as a studio band for the label's earliest recordings, Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective with a rotating roster of musicians and singers founded by the co-founders of New York City-based Easy Star Records in 1997...
and Dub Is A Weapon as well as fellow New York dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
musician/producer Victor Rice
Victor Rice
Victor Rice is a musician and producer from New York City. He is most noted for his work within the third wave ska genre of the 1990s through the early 2000s, as both a bassist and as a producer....
. Ticklah vs. Axelrod was recorded and engineered at Don't Trip Studios
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
in Brooklyn, NY.
Song Composition
Ticklah has created his own kind of dub record with Ticklah vs. Axelrod. The dub production is obvious in its heavy use of dubDub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
effects and experimentation employing heavy reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
, delay and effects (especially on the instrumentals "Two Face" and "Descent") however, Ticklah also approaches each song composition, paying close attention to each individual component of reggae music to craft each song: rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
, melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and sound
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...
. There are also unique dub twists found within the album; The melody on “Answer Me” was inspired by a simple piano piece by the innovative 20th century Russian composer Vladimir Rebikov
Vladimir Rebikov
Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov was a late romantic 20th century Russian composer and pianist.-Biography:Rebikov began studying the piano with his mother. His sisters also were pianists. He graduated from the Moscow University faculty of philology. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory with N....
. A ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
twist can be heard in the latin track, "Mi Sonsito," as well as a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
interpretation of another Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri
Eddie Palmieri , is a Grammy Award winning Puerto Rican pianist, bandleader and musician, best known for combining jazz piano and instrumental solos with Latin rhythms.-Early years:...
latin classic "Si Hecho Palante."
Track listing
- Two Face
- Want Not (featuring Tamar-Kali)
- Scratch To Win
- Mi Sonsito (featuring Mayra Vega)
- Rescue Me (featuring Mikey General)
- Pork Eater (featuring Rob Symeonn)
- Nature Loving Dub
- Descent
- Si Hecho Palante (featuring Mayra Vega)
- Answer Me
- Queen Dub (featuring Rob Symeonn)
- Deception (featuring Vinia MojicaVinia MojicaVinia Mojica is a singer from Queens, New York, best known for her collaborations with the Native Tongues collective and other hip hop artists....
) - Nine Years
Vinyl Releases
There have been two 7" single vinylGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
releases from this album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
. The first single released in 2008 of “Rescue Me” (featuring the vocals of Mikey General) has an unreleased, non-album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
version of the song on the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, called “Rockers Salvation.” The second single released in 2009 is a limited edition pressing of "Pork Eater" (featuring Easy Star vocalist Rob Symeonn) with an instrumental version on the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
.