N R A E L Y A L P H C E T E C A F K N I L
N O I T P I R C S N A R T
N O“Giorgio By Moroder” by Daft Punk I T P I R C S N A R T
68
James Genus’ Complete Bass Line BY CHRIS JISI
|
PHOTOGRAPH BY ADRIANA MATEO
DAFT PUNK’S BACKWARD-LOOKING, BACKWARD-LOOKING, FORWARD-LEANI NG
James, who plucked with his two fingers throughalbum Random Access Memories picked up five 2014 GRAMMY Awards, out, “ere was a sense of building our parts as we went along, so we started more simply and develin the process shattering all kinds of conventions about songwriting and producing, and man-meets-machine. While Nathan East, who appears on oped from there, giving them different approaches more than half of the album’s tracks, rode his percolating part on “Get and increased intensity. I tried to channel the era and the vibe we were honoring, while attempting to Lucky” all the way to the top of the charts and a GRAMMY performance with the French dance duo, New York York-based -based session ace James Genus add a fresh spin and my own style.” At C, the narration stops and a sequenced keyboard loop takes the made his own significant six-track contribution. e Saturday Night Live bassist’ss boldest track is the nine-minute “Giorgio by Moroder.” He laughs, bassist’ lead. Genus plays a similar figure sans the octaves for the first 16 bars before returning to octaves “Nowadays, you don’t think most of your part is going to be used; artists find the four or eight bars they like and pretty much run with that. While for the next 32 measures (where strings enter). At letter D the strings recede, the loop continues, and we were recording ‘Giorgio,’ I remember thinking, ey’re not gonna use all of this on a pop dance song—especially the back end, where we took Caswell begins soloing on Rhodes. James responds with rhythmic variations and the use of the 7th of it pretty far out. I was shocked when I heard it all on there!” Keyboardist Chris Caswell, who had worked with Daft Punk in the the Am and Em chords, ultimately adding 10ths in the climb from the past, recommended Genus and drummer Omar Hakim i INFO (as well as Nathan East and dr ummer J.R. Robinson, for Dm chord, culminating in the harmonic chord in the last two measures. an East Coast/West Coast flavor), and in May 2012 the three set up at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angee keyboard loop ceases at letter • Hear “Giorgio E, and Caswell’s jazzy Rhodes solo— les, with Daft Punk behind the b oard. James—on headby Moroder.” • Herwig Scheck for which Genus switches to thumbphones—sent his signature Fodera 5-string (strung with performs his month-old La Bella roundwounds) direct. and-palm-mute—settles into a samba transcription of feel, and ends with a cool fill over the Regarding the song’s structure, Genus offers, “ey “Giorgio.” Em chord. “We may have done this gave us the general vibe they wanted, and the changes to a • Follow James section over, after they liked it from 16-bar phrase. ey had us jam on it for about ten minutes, T C Genus on Twitter. to a click, and then they put together the song using varthe original jam; I remember doing a E bassplayer.com/ N few passes of Chris’s solo.” Letter F is ious 16-bar sections from the jam.” e track begins with N august2014 O autobiographical narration by legendary producer Giora breakdown and orchestral passage, C as Moroder’s narration returns. is gio Moroder, as the band, mixed lower, plays through the changes. At letters A letters A and and B, the narration continues with gives way in sharp contrast, at G, to a portion of the jam where, with the the band now front-and-center in the mix. James plays an octave-style pattern that was either developed while keyboard loop and strings returning, Omar Hakim lets loose and James jamming or presented as a basic shape by the duo. Says
bassplayer.com bassplayer.c om / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
follows in spirit. Of note is his steady-16ths start (“I was thinking, Rock out”); his use of the open E to bounce off, in bars 168–169; and whooping slides in 172 and 173. With the strings out at letter H, Hakim stretches even fur ther. Genus reacts by leaving more space at the end of measures, in bars 184–195, before unleashing another audacious Em fill. e Daft duo drops out everything except James and Omar at I, spotlighting their like-minded feels (the pair have played together since the early ’90s), as well as James’ ability to
riff or take an upper-neck journey without ever losing the groove. At letter J the keyboard loop becomes the timekeeper, as Hakim plays solo fills, with disco-era drum “woops ” added to his sound by the duo, after the fact. Genus again responds accordingly, leaving space while creating interest. Finally, L brings everything back in, plus Paul Jackson Jr.’s guitar solo, for a full-on fi nish. Genus sites “Motherboard” as his other favorite contribution to the album. “I came up with this four-bar muted phrase that they had the guitar
“Giorgio By Moroder” by Daft Punk
player copy, and then I played variations of it.” As fo r “Mo roder,” h e adv ises, “e key is to be in the moment; be aware of the groove and the tonality of the changes, and maintaining them, and make music out of it from there. Feel-wise, I tried to be right in the middle—but especially toward the end, we’re pushing it. It has a forward motion, so drive the track.” He adds, “It’s a dance tune. Daft Punk was dancing in the booth while we cut it; that’s a good focal point to keep in mind.” BP
Transcription by Chris Jisi & Herwig Scheck
Med. dance = 114
Intro
A
Am
Em
(Bass plays sparsely over Letter A changes)
7 7 5
7
7
7 7 5
5
7 7 5
7
7
7 7 5
(5)
7
6
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69
N R A E L Y A L P
21
H C E T E C A F
Am
Em
7 7
7
7 7
5
26
G
7
7 7 3
5
3
1
1
F
5 5 3
3 3
7 7 5
Em
5 5
7
7
5
Em
G
3 3 1
5 5 0 1
B
2
3
Am
C
(Bass continues in similar style)
7 7
7
7
7
7 7
7
9
7
5
60
5
5 5
5
5
5 5
5 5
5
5
5 5
5 5
F
5 5
5
5
Em
5 70
5 5
5 5
5
5 5
5
1 1
1 1
G
1 1
5
1 1
Am
7
5 5
5 5
5
G
F
5
5
7 7
7
5 5
bassplayer.com / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
7
5 5
8
3 3
3 3
3 3
3
3
Em
3 3
7 7
3 3
5 5
5 5
5 5
5
5 5
5 5
Am
7 7 5
5 5
Dm
Em
7 7
5 5
Am
Em
5 5 65
(0)
Em
55
5
70
7
5
Dm
3
31
7 7
5
K N I L
N O I T P I R C S N A R T
7
F
7
7
7 7
7
7 7 3
5 5
7
Em
75
7
7
F
7 7
7 7
5
6
7
7
3
7 7 0
3
79
0
3
7
1 1
5
5 5
G
Dm
Em
F
9 5 5
3
3 2
5 5
5 5
5
6
7
G
9 9
7
7
7
8 8
8 8
8
9
10
10 10
3 3
84
Em
Am
D
(Bass continues in similar style) 7
7 7
5
6
7 7 7
7
7
7
7
5 5
5
3 5
3
5
5
104
Em
3 5
5
7 7 7 5 7
7
5
5
5
Am
5 7 5 5
108
5
5
7 5
7
7
7
5 7
7
7
7
7
5 7
5
7
7
7 5
7
5 5 3 5
Em
F
G
9 9 9 7
112
5
7 7 5 7
7
Dm
7
5 7
7
Em
7 5 5
12
9 7 7
7
8 8
8
8 7 8
F
10
5
7
7
9
7
14 8
9
8 7
Em
12
10 8
5 7
G
10 7
5
8
16
5 5
17
10 0
118 E
Am
Em
7 7 5
5 7
5
7
7
7
Am
7
9
7
7 5
5
5
7
9 9 7
7 7
7
7
7 7
7
5
bassplayer.com / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
71
N R A E L Y A L P
Em
123
H C E T
7 7 5
E C A F K N I L
N O I T P I R C S N A R T
128
5 5 5
5
7
8
9
8 9
7
7
5
Dm
F
99
Em
9
8
F
9 10 7
8
8
8
9
10
G
5
3
3
5 5
3
5
1
3
4
7
7
5
133
7
7
8
6
F
7
9 7
5 7
4
G
Breakdown (bass plays like Letter C)
5
7
5
(9) 6 6 6 6
7
8 8 8 8 8 8
8
7 9
5
3 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5
7
5 6 7 7
7
7 7 7 7 7
5
8 7 5 0 3 0
Am
H
2 2 2
0
0
5 0
4 0
5
4 5
0
0 2 0 2
0
0
2 0 2
0
2
2 0 0 0 3
5
7 7
5
G
8 7 5 0 3 0
0
0 0
5
12 9 7 7 7
Dm
3 3
3
3 3
3
bassplayer.com / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
0
0
0
0
3
7
6 7 7
S
12
(12) 1
Em
5
5
F
S
7 7
5 7
5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Em
171
3
9
H
7
H
7
1
Am
Em
2 0 2
175
8 8
5
Em
(10)
168
72
9 (9)
7
G
(5)
5
(5)
(5)
7
1 1
1 1 1 1 1
8
F
7
5
( 7)
4
( 7) 5 7
5
7
5 7 3 0
1
1 1
3
3
3 3 3 3
G
179
Em
(play sextuplets in right hand while sliding)
3 182 H
3
3
3
5
5
5
5 (5) (5) (5) 5
5
7
7
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5
5
5 5
5 5
5
F
1
5 5
3 5
1
1 1 1
5 5 5
5
5
5
7 5
5
7 5
1
(1)(1)(1)(1) 1
3 3 3 3
3 3 3
1 1
(3)
5
5
7
5
5
7 5
5
7
5
7 7 5
5
5
5
3 5
(5)
5 7
Em
5
3 3 3
2 2
5
3 3 3
3
3
2 2 2
2 0
2 0
(3)(3)(3)(3)
3 0
Em
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 3
7 7 5
Dm
S
(12)
H
(12)
7
5 (3)
5
Am
5
(2)
7
7
5 8
G
3
I
(14)
7
5 5 5 5 5 5 8
G
F
194
(7)
Em
5 5
190
7
Em
Am
186
202
7
Am
5 5
198
7
7
7 7 7 7 7
9
7
H
9 7 7 9
7
H
9
7
9 (7) (7) (7)(5)(5)(7)
5 5 5
Em
5 5
5 5
5 5
5 5 5 5
5
5 5 5
5 5
5 5
5
3
5
Am
5 5
5 5
5 5 5 5
5
5 5 5
5 5
5 5
3
5
Em
H
S
H
9 3 5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5
5 5 5 5 5 5
7
7
5 5
8
5
7 5 5 5 5
5 5
5 7
H
5
7
7 7 5 5
(7)
7
7
H
(5)(7) (5)(7) (5)
bassplayer.com / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
73
N R A E L Y A L P
F
G
H C E T E C A F
Dm
Em
206
H
H
0 3
1 1 1
3 3
3 3
5
5 5
7
(1)(1)(1) 3
F
H
H
5 (7) 3 5 3
G
5
5 3
5 5 3
3
1
(3)
1
1 1
H
3 5 5
7
7
(7)
7
H
5 (7) 5 7 5 3
Em
210
K N I L
N O I T P I R C S N A R T
S
(3)
S
15 0
1 1
S
0 (12) 3
(5) 5
5 5 (5)
7 7 7 7 7
Am 214
7 7
7 7
9 (7) (9) (9)
7
(4)
5 5 5
7
5
5 5
6
7
5 5 3
Em
J
S
S
7 5
7 3
5
(7)
7 (5) 0 3
5
7 3
5
7
7 (7)
7
(7)
7 7
4 7 4
5 5
(7)
5 5 5
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.COM
N R A E L
Y A L P
218
Am
H C E T
Em
S
S
7 3
E C A F
222
S
(7)
5 5
7 3
7
5 5
F
5
7 7 5 5 3
9
7 7
12
(7)
7
5
(7)
7
12
5 5 5 5
G
Dm
K N I L
N O I T P I R C S N A R T
3
3 3
1 1 1 1 225
3 3 1 1
5 1 1
F
Em
5
3 3 3 3
3
3
G
3
3
4
5 5 5 5
3
5
5
3
5
Am
Em
K
(Bass continues in similar style) S
2 2 2
2 2
2 0
17
15
17 19
17 12
12 5
0 0 0
E S A C W O H S S S A B 76
bassplayer.com / a u g u s t 2 0 1 4
S
5 0
12
0
3
5
