Soul Reborn: An Appropriation of the Motown Aesthetic

Abstract

In the highly lucrative and cutthroat business of popular music, the goal of record companies is largely to produce star singers and publish hit records. Formed in 1959, Berry Gordy’s Tamla Motown dominated the pop and R&B charts throughout the 1960s with its assembly line style of music production, which resulted in a distinctive sound that was shared by all of the label’s artists. However, much of the fame and prosperity has gone to only a select few involved in the production process. Furthermore, until the release of Standing In the Shadows of Motown (Justman, 2002), much was unknown of the involvement and influence of the individuals who made up the house band—a collection of instrumentalists known as the Funk Brothers. Inspired by this documentary, I proposed a research project that would focus on analysing the role of the house band in R&B record production. Central to this research was forming an ensemble of Brisbane musicians for the purpose of writing, recording, and producing an album of Motown-inspired original tracks—an album entitled: Soul Sundays. It was my intention to use this album production as a case study to analyse the ensemble dynamic within my proposed band. More specifically I investigated whether or not it was possible to recreate the ensemble dynamic/relationship of The Funk Brothers and how that interpersonal interaction affects the production of a new album of recorded tracks. As well as performing the role as band drummer, I also executed the responsibilities of lead producer and audio engineer. Between 2014 and 2017, I oversaw the tracking of the initial rhythm section beds and the subsequent refinement stages. Following on from the research of Bennett (2012) and Williams (2015), I investigated my “technostalgia” with a series of vintage instrument and recording gear experiments in order to better understand the sonic textures that made up the famed “Motown sound.” Furthermore, I investigated what positive or negative benefits vintage gear brought to a modern album production. Drawing guidance from Bartleet and Ellis (2009), I utilized an ethnographic approach to my research combining a creative journal of the production process as well as insights from my collaborators. Ultimately, my rationale for this research was to better appreciate the house band concept, better understand how to appropriate various aspects of the Motown aesthetic in a modern R&B production, and develop additional production skills in order to evolve from a drummer in to an “artist.”