Joris Hoogsteder - Snarky Puppy

Joris Hoogsteder MUS 524 May 17th, 2016 Aesthetics in Pop Music: Snarky Puppy Pop music is often neglected in academic research in the area of music. If pop music is discussed, it is often in a social context rather than a musical context. Is it the simplicity of pop music? Or is it the negative image it has acquired due to the commercialization of this music? Some theorists claim that in (pop) music nowadays the artist, or image, is far more important than the music, making the music disposable and a by-product. To some degree, this is agreeable, but to say that all pop music is inferior to contemporary art music is rather shallow. Although, it remains that a lot of pop music is driven by economic interests rather than artistic ambitions. This has to change. There is no problem with making money with music, but the attitude in how this is achieved should change; music should always come in the first place. Snarky Puppy is one of the bands these days that is actually trying to make a change in the music scene; they make music that is accessible, yet addresses multiple musical layers. They educate their audience and involve them in their shows, strive to make their concept only about the actual music rather than their image or fame, and collaborate with known and unknown artists to bring new art to world. By doing so, they have gained popularity and have even won two Grammy awards.   This paper will look at the artistic values of pop music and Snarky Puppy's place in it, by discussing their aesthetics of creating music “for the booty and the brains.” Their concept will be analyzed by placing it in the context of five aspects an artwork should address to make it great art. In order to make a change in the world of pop music, they have to change the worldview of music; in order to theorize about this, Jacques Attali's theory about different stages in music and Ken Wilber's theory about transcending to a new worldview are related to Snarky Puppy's

concept and impact on the world. Lastly, it is briefly discussed how the band's movement may have opened up possibilities for bands such as Hiatus Kaiyote to be appreciated and understood by the general audience, and how there are able to continue this effort; Snarky Puppy has started a movement to make today's music about the actual music again.  

Snarky Puppy The band, or the collective, Snarky Puppy, with its many members, has a diverse musical background. Founded by Michael League in 2004, the band now counts 30 rotating musicians that all bring their ideas to the music of the band. The collective was formed at the University of North Texas, where Michael League put together a group of musicians that were all musically diverse, although a majority of the group has a rich background in Gospel music. In order to place this band in a context, a short introduction of the main non-rotating members is most necessary. The band mainly plays instrumental music. Michael League, the bassist and primary composer, studied Jazz at the University of Texas before he moved to Dallas to study with Bernard Wright, who has played for Miles Davis and Chaka Khan. Robert “Sput” Searight, the primary drummer, was also born and raised in Texas, as he grew up and developed his musicianship in churches. Alongside Snarky Puppy, Searight frequently plays for artists like Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake, P Diddy, Timbaland, and is considered “one of the most influential drummers in modern music.”1

                                                                                                                1

Drummerworld, “Robert ‘Sput’ Searight.” Drummerworld, accessed May 15, 2016, http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Robert_Sput_Searight.html

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Bill Laurance, the primary pianist of the group, has a different story. Laurance is a classical trained pianist, bringing another influence to the musical color pallet of Snarky Puppy. Next to playing piano in this collective, he writes music for film and TV. 2 Nate Werth is the band’s percussionist. After having studied in Texas, as he studied “Indian, African, and Latin American traditions extensively abroad. Werth brings a unique sound palette to every musical environment.” Werth and Searight recently formed the duo-project “Ghost-note,” in which they “capture their seamless rhythmical connection, delicately crafted over the years at Snarky Puppy.” Cory Henry, keyboardist, is one of the few members not to have an academic training in music. Nevertheless, he is considered one of the most talented players of the collective. As he started playing piano and organ at the age of 2, and having a debut show at the famous Apollo theatre at the age of 6. Although fully trained in the church and Gospel scene, Henry has a very diverse musical background, as he toured with artists including Yolanda Adams, Stanley Brown, Israel Houghton, P. Diddy, Kirk Franklin, Kenny Garrett, Boyz II Men, Michael McDonald, Bruce Springsteen, and the Roots. The main horn section of Snarky Puppy consists of Mike Maher (trumpet), Jay Jennings (trumpet), and Chris Bullock (Tenor Saxophone). All three musicians studied at the University of Texas when the band was created, but have diverse backgrounds, as their credits include playing for acts including Aretha Franklin, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The O'Jays, Jimmy Buffet, James Taylor, Jon Bon Jovi, and Billy Joel. These members are the non-rotating members on a tour. The rest of the collective is equally important, but is always in flux depending on availability. One might ask himself: What kind of music is the outcome of such a large group of which the members have such diverse                                                                                                                 2

Bill Laurence, “About Bill Laurence,” Bill Laurence, accessed May 16, 2016, http://www.billlaurance.com/#/about

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backgrounds and histories of playing? That question is hard to answer, especially since the compositions are not just the efforts of one man writing parts. No, the writing process of the group is very interesting; in an interview with Pure Grain Audio, Michael League revealed that the result of a song is a synergy of the primary composer’s work, and the influence of every individual in the band: The writer composes the stuff on their own, brings it in and as a band, we start to play through it and individually, slowly over the rehearsal, everybody makes suggestions or makes changes on their own and we try different things until it feels right. So even though there’s only one person writing it, the whole band produces it, so to speak, just so that each person contributes their own unique thing to each song. And it becomes a part of the song. Even when we get other players to play, they play like that one player did. So that way it’s not just like everybody’s replaceable. People are very irreplaceable.3 As mentioned before, because of each person’s contribution, Snarky Puppy is hard to place in one genre, as their compositions differ greatly from each other. Although, they do have a certain unity in their sound; every Snarky Puppy song is very rhythmically driven. Whether there is a laidback hip-hop inspired groove played by the entire rhythm section, or a polyrhythmic counterpoint emerging between the drummer(s) and the percussionists, Snarky Puppy’s music is instantly recognizable by its defined focus on rhythm. Next to already having at least 30 members in the collective, Snarky Puppy frequently collaborates with diverse artists to create live-albums. These collaborations range in genre as well; from performing funk songs with Lalah Hathaway (for which they won a Grammy) to creating orchestral works with the Metropole Orchestra, Snarky Puppy brings their aesthetics to every genre. The secret and effectiveness of these collaborations with an already large collective lies within their strong open mindset, and their important vision in which the art is far more important than the ego:                                                                                                                 3

Carmen Monoxide, “Interview with Snarky Puppy bassist, guitarist, composer, and arranger Michael League,” PureGrainAudio, June 20, 2012, accessed May 10, 2016, http://puregrainaudio.com/interviews/interview-withsnarky-puppy-bassist-guitarist-composer-and-arranger-michael-league

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[…] Nobody likes to deal with divas in this band! There are so many people in this band; if there were a diva in the band they would not last very long, because there are just too many people for egos. When we invite an artist to work with us, we try to keep it the exact same way: zero ego. And also, we are a creative band, so we want to work with artists who are interested in pushing themselves in creative directions, not in commercial directions, financial directions or fashionable directions. These are important things.4 This mentality, or mindset, of completely neglecting the ego and commercial values, and providing the world with the art of their music as their very first priority, is an important recurring characteristic of this band; a rare quality in today’s world of pop music. Another aspect that proves Snarky Puppy’s selflessness nature is their concern for education. Even on their busiest schedules, one of their most important missions is to contribute to education, as they “work with groups like ROAM (Roots Of American Music) in inner city Cleveland and the Music Lab at Jefferson Center in Roanoke, as well as giving clinics at hundreds of colleges, high schools, and middle schools worldwide. The band has made a strong commitment to spreading their love of music and general positivity to a young generation looking for something real to be inspired by.”5 Why is this band important? They want to make a change. Although many members of the band have studied jazz, they are not “jazz purists.” Their mission is to create great music, regardless of what genre: “We definitely got some negative feedback from lots of jazz purists early on, because we play loud –not all the time, but when it gets loud, it gets loud– and use instruments that weren’t necessarily in fashion, like Moogs and analog synthesizers.”6 Even because purists (conservatives) may have a negative view on this music, Snarky Puppy, with                                                                                                                 4

Mahaut D., “When Texas Brings Groove to Poland – Interview with Michael League from Snarky Puppy,” Red Tapes, November 16, 2014, accessed May 17, 2016, http://redtapes.net/en/2014/11/16/texas-poland-interviewmichael-league-snarky-puppy/ 5 LA Phil, “About Snarky Puppy,” LA Phil, Accessed May 14, 2016, http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/snarky-puppy 6

Michael Roberts, “Something Snarky This Way Comes,” Jazziz 32, no. 9 (1 October 2015): 32.

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their new approach to music, can be considered a new movement in music. If we look at strong new movement in the history of (pop) music, we see that there is always a very vocal conservative group of people who will not acknowledge this new movement, and a (often younger generation) growing group of people will acknowledge and follow this movement. This is exactly what is happening in this case. Snarky Puppy is the “hub of a new movement in (pop) music.” In this movement, bands try to break the boundaries of conventional pop music between genres, instrumentation, and experiment with time signatures, but keep a strong emphasis on groove and interesting rhythms. Bands that could be considered part of this movement that Snarky Puppy started are Hiatus Kaiyote, Everything Everything, and The Robert Glasper Experiment. Pop Music and Artistic Values What is “Pop music”? Pop music is hard to define, as its meaning is as subjective as someone’s taste in music. Of course, “Pop” is short for popular, which would mean that any music that is appreciated by a large amount of people would be considered pop music. While that may be partially true, it also raises more questions (“How many people have to appreciate the music before it’s considered popular?” “Who decides this number of people?”). Pop music is more than just “popular;” it has everything to do with its place in society and its artistic value, but also the intent of the creation of this music, as a signification portion of pop music could be considered “an economic product invested with ideological significance by many of its consumers.”7 Because of this commercialization, Pop music has acquired a negative image in the artistic and academic world. For instance, the Oxford Dictionary of Music and Musicians, widely recognized as the standard encyclopedia for music, describes Pop music as the following:                                                                                                                 7

Roy Shuker, Popular Music: The Key Concepts, (New York: Routledge, 2002), xii.

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A term used widely in everyday discourse, generally to refer to types of music that are considered to be of lower value and complexity than art music, and to be readily accessible to large numbers of musically uneducated listeners rather than to an élite. It is, however, one of the most difficult terms to define precisely. This is partly because its meaning (and that of equivalent words in other languages) has shifted historically and often varies in different cultures; partly because its boundaries are hazy, with individual pieces or genres moving into or out of the category, or being located either inside or outside it by different observers; and partly because the broader historical usages of the word ‘popular’ have given it a semantic richness that resists reduction.8 Though the Oxford Dictionary of Music’s description is not fully wrong, to state that “Pop music is music that is considered to be of lower value and complexity than art music, and to be readily accessible to large numbers of musically uneducated listeners rather than to an élite” brings two problems to the table; what does “lower value” means? Every piece of music should be seen in its proper context, and thus, to generalize and say pop music is of “lower value” than art music is a rather improvident statement, though it perfectly captures the image of pop music in the academic world. The second problem of Oxford’s statement is its comparison with art music in general; again, everything is relative and should be viewed within a context. There are countless examples of pop music that are more complex than certain “art works,” and it just depends on the context in which the piece is placed. In Oxford’s description, it could almost be determined that pop music by definition can not be art, or “art music.” Pop music can have the same artistic value as any work that is considered “art music;” it depends on the work itself. If we consider that Pop music potentially can have artistic value, we should determine a set of requirements that makes a piece a great work of art. First of all, the artistic value of an artwork has a lot to do with the intention of the artist/creator. Pop music is often seen as commercial music that is created only to create wealth and profit. Though, there are many                                                                                                                 8

Richard Middleton, "Popular music." Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed May 17, 2016, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/43179.

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instances where the music became popular and profitable without the intention of the artist; for instance, during the 1990s, the grunge band Nirvana became popular without frontman Kurt Cobain even wanting to become famous. Cobain just wanted to create music as an art, and became popular. This doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the very reason Nirvana’s music should be considered art, but Cobain’s non-commercial intentions make his work more considerable than e.g. the 90s boyband such as Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, and other acts that were solely created by producers to make profit. Second, in order to be able to have an idea of the artistic value of a piece of music, one should explore the depth of a piece. Art speaks to a human on a personal level, and therefore differentiates itself from science, craftsmanship, or economy. Thus, in this context, depth would mean that the piece is not one-dimensional, and addresses multiple aspects of a human being. A human is, of course, not just made out of flesh and blood. That (the flesh and blood) is merely one dimension. For the purpose of this paper, we will take in account four aspects a work of art should address.9 The first aspect an artwork can address is the physical aspect. This covers all the aspects that have any correlation with the physical aspect: a musical composition might address the physical attractiveness of the opposite gender, or a person feels the need to move his/her body to a song. These are all just examples of how a work of art can address the physical. The second aspect is the sensational aspect. One might find an artwork pleasant to look at, or unpleasant, or have a neutral feeling about it. Therefore, an artwork must be substantial in a sense in order to be able to be perceived by one.                                                                                                                 9

These aspects are loosely based on the Buddhist Five Aggregates, or Skandhas; Buddhists compared the human personality to a “heap” or aggregate of parts, in none of which resides a full ”self.” These parts combined make a human complete. (Diane Morgan, Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2010.)

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The third is the emotional aspect. An artwork can speak to your emotions. It can make one feel angry, happy, euphoric, and even depressed. In pop music, but also in opera, theatre, and film, this aspect can be addressed through story telling, text, and acting. In instrumental music, this aspect is not excluded; instrumental music speaks to the emotion due to the association the listener has to the timbre, rhythm, and tempo of the music. It must be noted, that one’s emotional reaction to an artwork fully depends on this person’s background and context; a person with a conservative Non-western background will have a very different emotional reaction than one born and raised in a Western world. Next to the emotional aspect, there is the intellectual aspect; the artwork requires a certain level of intellect, or knowledge, in order to be understood and appreciated. Many complex compositions and artworks suffer from only addressing the intellectual aspect of a human being. Therefore, it is debatable whether these compositions really have more “value” than a pop song. The fifth and last aspect is the wholeness. The sum of the four other aspects makes this fifth aspect, and transcends an artwork to a higher level. This may sound vague, but think of it as all aspects working together for a greater good. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In music, we can relate to this as the many different aspects are working together to make a work one great whole composition. Granted that a great work of art should address multiple of these aspects, it may be harder to judge on first sight; these multiple aspects may change over time, as we, as human beings, start to perceive them differently. For instance, a great work of art may address different aspects, depending on the person who experiences it; a theater play will address the emotional and the physical aspects when viewed a younger, inexperienced person, as he will be impressed by the

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decorated set and the intense story. Although, when the person grows older and becomes more educated, the same exact play will now address the intellectual aspect, as he will understand and appreciate the depth and the multiple layers in the story. It takes experience to recognize a great work of art. If we apply this “formula” to the current pop music, it becomes very clear which artists produce “good” art, and which do not. People might argue bands signed to independent music labels are more likely to produce good art, rather than artists signed to one of the major labels; this is most likely true, as independent labels seem to trust their artists more in experimenting in new ways, and trying out new ideas, where major labels have a tendency to take a conservative approach and produce the music they are sure they can sell. RopeADope, the independent label working with Snarky Puppy, has the exact worldview a label should have for artists to make great art; their mission statement perfectly lines up with Snarky Puppy’s, a statement that will be very important to the future of pop music: A label, a brand, a moving force with a life of its own that is larger than life. Founded at the close of the last century, Ropeadope has taken the path never traveled, always following the music where it wants to go. From historically significant records with celebrity names to completely unknown artists, Ropeadope has crossed boundaries and defied music business logic to create a truly unique company that continues to release great records. Ropeadope is a story of inclusion. We view the world as a place of one, where music is a unifying force connecting all of us. We accept that musicians know their art better than businessmen do. We know that this concept, this thing called Ropeadope, is larger than any of us. And so we follow wherever Ropeadope may lead.10 So why is Snarky Puppy’s music art, and pop music at the same time? Their tagline/slogan already reveals how they strive to address multiple aspects of an artwork. Though in stated in populist vocabulary, Snarky Puppy makes “Music for the Brain and Booty.” Where                                                                                                                 10

Ropeadope, “What is Ropeadope?” Ropeadope records, accessed May 11, 2016. http://www.ropeadope.com/about_us/

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nowadays, a lot of music addresses either the "brain" (the intellectual aspect) or the "booty" (the physical), Snarky Puppy creates music that addresses both aspects. But, what is the intellectual aspect in their music? The intellectual aspect is the tasteful way in which the music is complex, but still smooth. The music is always a fusion of jazz harmonies, mixed with gospel, and strong Western-classical influences, but also drawing inspirations from non-Western cultures; a lot of their songs feature non-western traditions, including African polyrhythms, Indian gamelans, and emphases on Middle-eastern instruments. These fusions often result in works that have multiple layers of complexity, but still remain accessible and understandable for the lay audience. The "booty," or physical aspect, is the exact reason why Snarky Puppy's music is accessible to the lay audience; groove. Even the most complex, cleverly arranged sections are often accompanied by a steady, hip hop-inspired groove, with a very strong emphasis on the backbeat. This element makes every song danceable and interesting for both the trained and the untrained ear. If we take these aspects and the aspirations to make great music with all the material that this world, and all its different cultures and musical traditions, has given us, Snarky Puppy definitely could be seen as an important factor in today's world of pop music. Especially when comparing this band and their vision to the current top charts, ruled by songs with titles such as "One Dance," "I Took a Pill in Ibiza," and "Fast Car,"11 it becomes clear that the current pop world mostly addresses the physical aspect. Therefore, this new movement of pop music where bands educate their audience with great art, and new aspects of music is most important for the development of a great society.

                                                                                                                11

Official Charts, “Official Singles Chart Top 100,” Official Charts, accessed May 13, 2016, http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/

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A New Movement, A New Worldview The main movement not mired in the past is an underground one that is spreading through the ceaseless activities of the members of one band – Snarky Puppy, the everfluid ensemble that won a Grammy in 2014, but still remains an entity operating away from (and often against) the mainstream.12 Jacques Attali theorized about how music reflects society. Attali’s main point is that music is both a mirror and a prophecy to society and economy; in simple words, music directly reflects the state of which society finds itself in. Therefore, this has everything to do with economy, but also religion’s importance, as a lot of music throughout history was written purely for religious purposes. Thus, Attali divides music in different societal stages: Sacrificing (music was written for religious and secular purposes), Representing (music became lucrative, and was "represented" on a stage in a concert hall), Repeating (the stage we are supposedly in now, A huge shift in musical representation occurred when recording became possible. Whereas the act of recording a performance was first meant as a way to preserve the music, it fully replaced the importance of the “representation;” everybody could now have an exact replica of what was performed, for a fraction of the cost of a concert. Attali calls this stage –based on mass production and the desire to create the “perfect” recording– “Repetition” as all live performances merely become an attempt to replicate what already recorded. According to Attali, “Repetition” goes hand in hand with modern Capitalism. Music becomes disposable, and starts to merely become background noise. In this era, the artist becomes more important than the music he creates. The value of the music is measured in how much it has sold, instead of aesthetics. Therefore, music starts to sound the same, as artists (especially the “big” artists, signed at billion-dollar record labels) write music to please the crowd and sell a lot of records,                                                                                                                 12

Jeff Miers, “Permanent Waves: How Snarky Puppy Became the Hub of a New Movement in Music.” The Buffalo News, March 31, 2016, accessed May 5, 2016, http://buffalo.com/2016/03/30/news/music/permanent-waves-howsnarky-puppy-became-the-hub-of-a-new-movement-in-music/

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rather than expressing themselves and creating actual art. In music, there is a big division between two kinds of music. The first is “Mass Music,” which does not create anything new, and recycles what has been done before. This falls under the same category as the “billion-dollar pop music,” as it is merely to please the crowd and make money. Secondly, there is “Learned Music,” which is the exact opposite, as this music becomes most abstract and tries to cross all boundaries. Due to its cloudiness and incomprehensiveness, it is considered elitist by the general crowd. Considering that Attali’s theory is fairly accurate to the current state of music, there is an argument to be made that pop music bands such as Snarky Puppy will be making a new movement in music, and therefore, hopefully progressing music to the next “stage;” where in the current stage of “repeating,” the artist is more important than the music, we see a gradual shift where the emphasis returns to the music. One example of this, is the way the music is marketed; instead of fully produced recordings and flashy, controversial music videos, all the music is now recorded in one live session, one take, with a live audience, and no overdubs. The aesthetic in this is that the actual performance counts again; this live session will never be “perfect,” but the imperfection is embraced. Therefore, we are –in a sense– going back to the “representation” stage: the stage performance is not anymore a “mere attempt to replicate what already recorded,” but actually becomes a different, new performance every time. Audiences do no come to a show just to be entertained, but to hear different interpretations of the songs, as every show is different. Also, the audience becomes involved in the performance. In all of Snarky Puppy’s album recordings, the audience is seated in between all the players, making the performances more personal and intimate. Before and after the recordings, the band “teaches” the audience by explaining their creative process, by breaking down the grooves and motives to show how their

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compositions work. Not only does this involvement increase the personal engagement for the attendee, it also heavily supports the addressing of all the five aspects formerly mentioned: •

Physical – The audience is literally sitting next to the players, removing the “barrier” that occurs when a band plays on a raised podium. Also, the fact that all album recordings are fully live and recorded without overdubs, contributes to the physical aspect of the art as all the “action” is happening in real-time.

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Sensational – By sitting next to the players, the music is perceived in different way, a way that is far more immersive and has more impact. This aspect is not subjective in this sense, though it can have a positive and a negative side to it; since an audience member is so involved in the music, there is no “escape” if the sensation becomes too much for this person, although, one could argue that this person would know what he is getting himself into.

•

Emotional – The audience becomes more emotionally attached to the performance and the music, as they are being involved to the creation of the art. They were there when it was performed. They were part of the artwork. The “live” situation of the recordings plays a role in this emotional aspect as well, as things can go either very well, but also very wrongly; either way, the manner in which this live situation unfolds itself will have an impact on the emotional aspect.

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Intellectual – By organizing clinics and educating their audience about the way their music is constructed, Snarky Puppy heavily addresses the intellectual aspect. The audience (even if given audience exists of people without musical training) will understand and appreciate the music better, and they will have learned something that might lead to sudden revelations when listening to other music.

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•

Wholeness – All these aspects together make the experience, the whole, greater than the sum of its parts. From the physical aspect, up to the intellectual aspect, the concept of Snarky Puppy’s approach to making complex, but subtle music, involving and educating their audience, and focusing on the actual performance works as a whole, and that makes it a great piece of art.

Again, why is this important? One might argue that this movement would just be another way to market their music; this could have been true if Snarky Puppy’s concept was not this educational and audience-based. They emphasize the importance of the performance, and expose their audience to styles they might not be familiar, and educate them by explaining how the music works. By doing so, they contribute to reaching a new stage in music, and possible transcend to a new worldview. Philosopher Ken Wilber has an excellent explanation of what this transcendence of a worldview consists of. Note that, while Wilber’s theory is about the mind in general, it is perfectly applicable to the worldview of music: Each level [stage] include its predecessor and then adds its own emergent qualities, qualities that are not found in the previous dimension. So each succeeding dimension is “ bigger” in the sense of greater embrace, greater depth. And we will see that an individual Holon’s [in this case applicable to music] identity actually expands to include more and more of the Kosmos.13 Regarding evolution, which includes the growth of human consciousness, world views and all forms of this phenomenon, Wilber describes a pattern that can be found in every situation; “Transcending and Including.” The idea behind this is that every time an evolution occurs, it takes the qualities from its previous form, and includes these in the next, greater phase. An example of this is our long-term evolution from foraging to industrial society; the industrial                                                                                                                 13

Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything (Boulder, CO: Shambhala Productions, 1999), 36.

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society did not deny or ignore anything from the foraging or agrarian societies, but took their qualities, and therefore transcended to a greater, more efficient form. If we relate this concept of “transcend and include” to music, it could be very much possible we are in the middle of a transcendence in music. In this movement that Snarky Puppy started, we see the strong qualities from previous stages of music; from the Representing (Attali’s theory) stage, we see the strong importance of the actual performance, rather than the performance being a replica of the recording. Also, the emphasis is shifted to the actual music again, instead of the image of artist. Although, this does not mean they do not take the qualities from the Repeating stage; technology nowadays makes it possible to capture these performances in a very high quality, but instead of these recordings becoming the “final product,” the roles are reversed, as the video merely captures of what the experience could be like. The music video functions as an encouragement to actually go to the performance, as they perfectly capture the involvement and engagement of the audience. If you would like to take it even further back, one could say that there are even qualities from the Sacrificial stage can be found, as there is no ego involved, and many of the influences come from Gospel music, which has, of course, a strong affinity with religion. Now, in Wilber’s transcendence theory, he refers to the process consisting of a three-step process before the next stage is reached; (1) fusion/identification, (2) differentiation/ transcendence (3) integration/inclusion. If we are indeed in this process of transcendence, it could be assumed that we are in either the first or the second step; whilst Snarky Puppy is certainly attempting to innovate the way of how music is perceived and receipted by the audience, the music itself it not yet fully new and undiscovered; it is a very effective and wellwritten fusion of many styles, presented in a new way that creates possibilities for musicians and

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bands to try and actually make new kinds of music. Therefore, it could be stated that Snarky Puppy’s concept is not necessarily bringing music to the next stage on its own, but it certainly is a fundamental and necessary gear in the chain. Grammy Awards; Today’s Worldview. We have covered a lot on how Snarky Puppy’s movement may be the start of a new direction of pop music in terms of artistic values, aspects, and worldviews. But, how does this translate to the real world? If the band’s concept were noticed only by a small group of music enthusiasts, it would be harder to make a difference on a global basis. However, Snarky Puppy’s movement certainly does not go unnoticed. In 2014, something surprising happened; Snarky Puppy got their big breakthrough moment when up they won the “Best R&B Performance” Grammy for their live recording of the Something, featuring singer Lalah Hathaway. This song, while being generally mainstream soul, has an interesting use of extended technique; during the bridge of this song, Hathaway creates vocal multiphonics as an improvisational tool to converse with the organist: On that particular take, two distinct tones are coming out, and then we change keys and I sing two tones in a different keys. I never really used it before on a record, because I wasn't sure how to control it, and people would probably think it was fake anyway, so I only do it live, and that just happened to be the right venue. The organist, Cory Henry, and I decided before we got to that vamp that he would go wherever he was going and I'd follow him. His playing really encouraged me to come to that space. The great part of the performance is it's a real conversation between musicians. The fact [that] I was able to stretch to that point is a phenomenal gift. And it's amazing we were acknowledged for it. … I think that might've been the second take, but we performed it all the way through, with real musicians, no Auto-Tune, [we left] it as is. We weren't out to make it perfect.14

                                                                                                                14

Lalah Hathaway “The Making of Lalah Hathaway and Snarky Puppy's Something,” The Grammy’s, March 3, 2014, accessed May 11, 2016, http://www.grammy.com/news/the-making-of-lalah-hathaway-and-snarky-puppyssomething

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This particular award, combined with this performance, is an interesting phenomenon; while the Grammy Award ceremonies are definitely not a reliable source to judge whether a work of music is great or not, it does reflects what “is happening” in the music scene (other winners of the same year were e.g. Rihanna, Lorde, Macklemore, Daft Punk, and Pharrell Williams15). The fact that Snarky Puppy now appears in this list of winners, next to the more mainstream artists, proves that there is room for a new sound in pop music; the R&B award was only the tip of the iceberg. In 2015, Snarky Puppy won their second Grammy award. While their first was for their R&B collaboration with Hathaway, their second is more notable in the context of the worldview we are in right now, and the worldview we might advance to. This Grammy was won for their album “Sylva;” an instrumental album featuring the Dutch Metropole Orchestra. As “Sylva” contains songs with a wide array of different styles and genres, ranging from big band horn stabs section to romantic orchestral passages, accompanied by solid hip-hop grooves, this album is hard to put just one label on. Nevertheless, the album was very successful and was well received by all audiences. So, what happened? Snarky Puppy won this award in the category of “Best Contemporary Album.16” What is the term “Contemporary” supposed to mean in the context of popular music? If we consult the Merriam-Webster dictionary to define this term, the actual meaning is “happening or beginning now or in recent times.”17 The term “Contemporary,” in this context, is completely meaningless; every single Grammy that is awarded during a ceremony goes to an artist that has released their music in the same year, so every award could have been “contemporary.” This phenomenon proves that the general audience –and in this case, the                                                                                                                 15

CNN Staff, “Grammys 2014: Winners list,” CNN, January 27, 2014, accessed May 10, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/showbiz/grammys-winners-list/ 16 Los Angeles Times Staff, “2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees,” Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2016. Accessed May 10, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-grammys2016-nominees-winners-list-story.html 17 Merriam-Webster, s.v. “Contemporary,” accessed May 11, 2016, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/contemporary.

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Grammy Panel– is noticing and appreciating Snarky Puppy’s movement, but they are not quite sure where and how to place it in the pop music scene. This is okay; the idea that Snarky Puppy’s approaches to music are not fully comprehensible by everybody could mean that we are indeed moving to a new direction of (pop) music. As mentioned earlier, the music itself it not yet fully new and undiscovered, but the way the styles are fused, and it is presented to the lay audience is. A direct result of exposing this audience to these sounds is their newly appreciation for new pop music; bands that are trying to go against the mainstream, and present themselves as relatable and accessible to their audience as Snarky Puppy does. A great example of this is the (self-proclaimed) “future-soul” quartet Hiatus Kaiyote. Hiatus Kaiyote, founded in 2011, brands itself as “Multi-Dimensional, Polyrhythmic Gangster Shit.”18 Interestingly, while going a bit further than Snarky Puppy’s “Music for Booty and the Brain,” this tagline already reveals the aspects they are addressing more than just the physical aspect of music, and are trying to bring the world something new. Their concept, just like the Puppy’s, did not go unnoticed; the band has been nominated for 2 Grammy awards so far, and has been very popular with both trained musicians and nonmusicians. In an interview with Billboard, Hiatus Kaiyote’s singer revealed their worldview: The soul in Hiatus Kaiyote is certainly intact. For the group (who ultimately lost the award to Weeeknd), the nomination itself was an honor – primarily because their inclusion in the category proves that artists who go against the commercial grain play a vital role in the world of popular music. “I think we have a lot to offer,” says “Nai Palm. “I think there’s a lot of music out there that isn’t really sincere … and that’s what the majority people are listening to. I think it’s our role as artists to even out the balance a little bit. The more people we can show that sincerity to, the better.”19                                                                                                                 18

Hiatus Kaiyote, “Hiatus Kaiyote,” Hiatus Kaiyote, accessed May 16, 2016, http://hiatuskaiyote.com/ Tye Comer, “Hiatus Kaiyote's Grammy Morning: Behind the Scenes With the R&B Innovators,” Billboard, February 19, 2016, accessed May 15, 2016, http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/6882466/hiatuskaiyotes-grammys-patch 19

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This is the view every artist should have. Just like Snarky Puppy, Hiatus Kaiyote is educating and exposing their audience to art. The way Kaiyote does it can be summed up in one word: subtle. Harmonically, their music is very much on the jazz/soul side, but rhythmically, intense layers of complex polyrhythms can be found. Combining these complex rhythms with danceable grooves, Hiatus Kaiyote successfully helps progressing the quality of pop music. Although, without this movement that Snarky Puppy has introduced, it is questionable if Hiatus Kaiyote’s “next step” would have been this successful.

Conclusion Are Snarky Puppy's efforts making a change in the way pop music is perceived? We are probably not able to give a definite answer until the movement is over and appears in history books. Until then, it is safe to say that bands such as Snarky Puppy, but also Hiatus Kaiyote, are essential in their efforts to bring the world new pop music and change the world. Snarky Puppy addresses multiple aspects of an artwork, involves and educates their audience to emphasize the importance of the performance and experience, rather than making a performance a marketing byproduct for selling a recording. Most importantly, they set aside all their egos for the sake of bringing great music to the world. All the ingredients are there to change the worldview and transcend to the next stage of music. Hopefully, these efforts change the mindsets of both audiences and musicians to do the same, instead of treating music as an economic product that could be quite lucrative if you don't stray away from the Top-100 charts.

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Bibliography Print Sources Attali, Jaqcues. Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Minneapolis, MN: University Of Minnesota Press, 1985. Morgan, Diane. Essential Buddhism: A Comprehensive Guide to Belief and Practice. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2010. Roberts, Michael. “Something Snarky This Way Comes.” Jazziz 32, no. 9 (1 October 2015): 32. Shuker, Roy. Popular Music: The Key Concepts. New York: Routledge, 2002. Wilber, Ken. A Brief History of Everything. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Productions, 1999. Internet Sources Comer, Tye. “Hiatus Kaiyote's Grammy Morning: Behind the Scenes With the R&B Innovators” Billboard. February 19, 2016. Accessed May 15, 2016. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/grammys/6882466/hiatus-kaiyotes-grammyspatch CNN Staff. “Grammys 2014: Winners list.” CNN. January 27, 2014. Accessed May 10, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/showbiz/grammys-winners-list/ D., Mahaut. “When Texas Brings Groove to Poland – Interview with Michael League from Snarky Puppy.” Red Tapes. November 16, 2014. Accessed May 17, 2016, http://redtapes.net/en/2014/11/16/texas-poland-interview-michael-league-snarky-puppy/ Drummerworld. “Robert ‘Sput’ Searight.” Drummerworld. Accessed May 15, 2016. http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Robert_Sput_Searight.html Hathaway, Lalah. “The Making of Lalah Hathaway and Snarky Puppy's Something.” The Grammy’s. March 3, 2014. Accessed May 11, 2016. http://www.grammy.com/news/themaking-of-lalah-hathaway-and-snarky-puppys-something Hiatus Kaiyote. “Hiatus Kaiyote.” Hiatus Kaiyote. Accessed May 16, 2016. http://hiatuskaiyote.com/ LA Phil. “About Snarky Puppy.” LA Phil. Accessed May 14, 2016. http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/snarky-puppy Laurence, Bill. “About Bill Laurence.” Bill Laurence. Accessed May 16, 2016. http://www.billlaurance.com/#/about

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Los Angeles Times Staff. “2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees.” Los Angeles Times. February 15, 2016. Accessed May 10, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-grammys-2016-nomineeswinners-list-story.html Middleton, Richard. “Popular music.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed May 15, 2016. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/43179. Miers, Jeff. “Permanent Waves: How Snarky Puppy Became the Hub of a New Movement in Music.” The Buffalo News. March 31, 2016. Accessed May 5, 2016. http://buffalo.com/2016/03/30/news/music/permanent-waves-how-snarky-puppybecame-the-hub-of-a-new-movement-in-music/ Official Charts. “Official Singles Chart Top 100.” Official Charts. Accessed May 13, 2016. http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/ Ropeadope. “What is Ropeadope?” Ropeadope records. Accessed May 11, 2016. http://www.ropeadope.com/about_us/

 

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