Deconstructing UNKLE - Bloodstain ft. Alice Temple

[@Yttiwgnihtemos]

Bloodstain is a perfect song 10/10

[@magonball-z]

That pitched down guitar has such an Alice and Chains feel - I love it.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I really does.

[@alex_harnar_618]

(4:51) Hearing those drums chopped up without the rest of the track is something I did not know I needed before. 👌🏻🔥🔥🔥

[@PeteNice29]

The drumming is brilliant.

[@LonnieLawless]

That song has done so much on my emotions.

[@Gilgamesh2555]

I only just realized it's used in IGORS theme as well.

[@lordhonksworth7701]

This blows my mind! I've always loved the song (just hits me in the gut) and the album is one of my favourites, but never never once turned my mind to how it was put together

[@rwcky]

i feel like this song is under the radar nowadays, happy to see someone breathe some life into this and show it appreciation. song is a hit and deconstruction is great!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Thanks Rocky! I would even argue that the album doesn't really get the recognition that it deserves these days. Too many really great tracks to ignore.

[@slowface7479]

one of my favourite tracks from uncle, cannot say how much i love this deconstruction video. the vibe you get whit the drum and guitar put thgeter makes me feel so dreamy surreal. Thank you so much

[@TonySZL]

Great video! Bloodstain was the standout cut for me when I first bought Psyence Fiction in '98 on a whim unknown and unheard. The thing that blows my mind is when it's put into the context of the time that they pulled this album off, It's mind bending to think of how to do it without the advanced technology we have nowadays. We're talking no internet (actual crate digging), older MPCs, turntables, and maybe Pro Tools 2...on a GOOD day! They were truly mad scientists, and geniuses!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Couldn't agree more, Tony. It always blows me away, just how much effort went into creating this music with the tools they were using. Intentionally placing boundaries on creativity can be a good thing sometimes. Maybe these limitations helped Shadow, and the other great sampling producers of the day, create these amazing pieces of art.

[@PeteNice29]

@@KarlBoltzmann Making things too easy musically forces a laziness that simply couldn't have happened back then. This is a brilliant album that makes me wonder how I wasn't aware of it back in the day. I would have been all over it.

[@orchidcut]

Love this track! So glad to see someone break it down! Great video

[@zweij]

Thank you so much! This was entartaining and informative. I miss 90s trip hop (I was born in 95 so I had no chance to listen to it back then :( )

[@dmitrydagaev2750]

great work!

[@peteypete1984]

Omg the Tom Macdonald riff is brutal

[@churbumgirl]

yes.

[@JonSmith-fc2mm]

How on earth do you find all the obscure sources for the samples? Color me impressed as hell. Love the song BTW - always wondered how it was put together.

[@KowankoMusic]

I've only recently started listening to Psyence Fiction and was looking all over the internet trying to figure out what that guitar sample was. Thank you! Great job deconstructing/reconstructing this moody gem!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

It really is a fantastic guitar riff and an equally great track that Shadow pieced together.

[@salzstreuer8065]

Once again brilliant video, can't get enough of them...

[@BrysontheeTV]

Damn bro. You've earned my sub

[@jamesreid8840]

Watched this one mate love both concepts long version and shorter deconstruction you still smashing it mate and get enough across. Keep up the good work Karl 👍

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I appreciate that James, thanks!

[@iamsneddon]

Great stuff, my fave DJ Shadow track so was hoping you would cover eventually.

[@Bourbon_user101]

So good 👍🏻

[@toma8283]

Same drum break was used in Igors theme by Tyler the creator

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Also used by Caribou, although I believe that Shadow was the first to find it and sample it. It's an underrated break.

[@PinkFlagStudio]

very nice!

[@RodrecasDavis]

hell yeah

[@cliffsnyder3620]

Another great video! I wasn't sure what was going on with the thumbnail until the Tom MacDonald sample showed up... They really don't make album covers like that anymore.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That album cover was too good not to reuse somehow

[@redsagan7188]

Need more information on Tom Mac Donald …. !

[@Deftonedd4]

This is such an awesome video man 💪🏿keep it up

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Thank you!

[@AlexCox-c2m]

Just the beat digging yknow? This stuff is just crazy cool ,but the insight of lavelle/shadow is mondblowing .hope they work together again ..the 1st album really is timeless modern classic

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I wish they could have collaborated on more, but I think the time has come and gone unfortunately. It truly is one of the best albums.

[@JohnNumber1]

I’m assuming that intro is a mix you’ve made? Is that somewhere I could listen cause it sounds great👍.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Thank you! I haven't uploaded that particular one, but I have posted a few of the other Shadow mashups I've made over here. soundcloud.com/user-524898025/sets/dj-shadow-mashups-and-re-imaginations

[@josesantiago959]

@@KarlBoltzmannplease upload itttt, sound amazing!!

[@worldofmuu]

Favorite track on the album so this was pretty cool

[@worldofmuu]

Also interesting to compare the workflow in ableton against what was mostly likely done with an mpc60.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Great point! I think about that every time I make one of these. It would have been so time consuming to put these tracks together on the mpc. They're amazing tools to create with but doing things like restructuring the song would have taken days of work and backtracking where these days it would take just seconds.

[@bristolzoo845]

very cool intro, keep going!

[@SteveTomSawyer]

YOOOOOOO

[@refraktr6223]

Really good breakdown ! There is a background sound that is playing during the first verse when its just the drums and the bass playing at 0:51. Do you know what it could be ?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Great question. I wasn't able to get any information on that background sound. It might be a sample, or it could be a keyboard patch that was played. It's similar in vibe to some of the other sci-fi sounds that run throughout Psyence Fiction so maybe there is a connection there, but it hasn't been found yet.

[@refraktr6223]

@@KarlBoltzmann it could be a sci-fi sample because i cant identify any type of synthesis that would be associated with this sound . Thanks for the tip !

[@KarlBoltzmann]

My ears could be deceiving me, but I hear similarities between that sound and the harmonic overtones that you can get with an FM synthesizer, which is why I thought it might be a patch from a keyboard. Given the sampled nature of the rest of the track though, I think you're probably right.

great video

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Thank you

[@ilcapitanoalexandr8698]

This was a brilliant accident. Thank you for your work, it is much appreciated. I don't know if I get sad to know that they actually sampled and didn't really created or if I get happy for the brilliance of the income.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

The truth is that, to some degree, almost every composition is a kind of happy little accident. One amazing thing about sampling, even sampling your own compositions, is that you never know how two samples will sound, or how they'll interact. It's one of the best feelings in the world when you mash two ideas together and they create something that sounds amazing and like nothing you've ever heard before.

[@peteypete1984]

💪🥋🧙‍♂️🔮⚡️✌️

[@ProblemForSolution]

The bass in the track might be from that Tom Mcdonald song, probably just a big low end EQ Boost. Btw I don't really understand how unkle or dj shadow are not more well known. This track and unreal are trip hop masterpieces, they nailed the atmosphere.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I agree with your second point! I wonder sometimes what young people would think of this music from the perspective of their modern musical landscape. As for the Bass, I can't say with absolute certainty, but am pretty sure that it is not a boosted bass from the guitar. Shadow added little sci-fi samples and FX all over the place on this album as a way to build on the overall theme. I am pretty sure that the bass is either a keyboard played, or another sci-fi sample that will forever be unknown.