Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Bottle”, along with Mr. Mendel’s seriously dope and creative edit are here to set off the cipher.
“The Bottle” is one of those indisputable classics whose sound and lyrics resonate with as much meaning as the moment the late Hip-Hop proto-pioneer recorded them, and this track has been sampled by dozens of legendary producers from Jungle Brothers and Q-tip to Kenny Dope.
Mr. Mendel of Amsterdam has done some incredible things with it, as you can hear. Gil Scott-Heron’s original follows below, so feel free to compare and contrast.
Some background on Gil Scott-Heron from an official website:
… an American poet, musician, and author known primarily for his late 1960s and early 1970s work as a spoken word soul performer and his collaborative work with musician Brian Jackson. His collaborative efforts with Jackson featured a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul music, as well as lyrical content concerning social and political issues of the time, delivered in both rapping and melismatic vocal styles by Scott-Heron. The music of these albums, most notably Pieces of a Man and Winter in America in the early 1970s, influenced and helped engender later African-American music genres such as hip hop and neo soul. Scott-Heron’s recording work is often associated with black militant activism and has received much critical acclaim for one of his most well-known compositions “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. On his influence, Allmusic wrote “Scott-Heron’s unique proto-rap style influenced a generation of hip-hop artists”.
Check out Gil Scott-Heron’s original version of “The Bottle”:
Mr. Mendel’s (@mrmendel) insane edit is one among many seriously ill jams I came across on his Soundcloud.
His edit of “The Bottle” combines elements of Latin Funk and House with the original Jazzy, Soulful sound that made the joint a classic for Hip-Hop producers and Funk freaks the world over.
Some background on Mr. Mendel from his official website:
Mr. Mendel, an Amsterdam native, started out spinning records at the infamous Café de Duivel. This landed him a residency at Freakin Ill, an oldschool club night at Bitterzoet, Amsterdam. Mr. Mendel soon decided that hiphop just wasn’t enough. Waxwell Records introduced him to soul, afro-beat, rhythm & blues and disco records. He instantly fell in love with the smell of dust, thousands of album covers and the crackling sound of old vinyl.
The 25 year old Mr. Mendel has developed his DJ’ing skills to an all-round style, collecting and spinning dance music from all corners of the globe with only one condition: “as long as it’s good soulful music”. Always selecting passionate, intriguing tunes. You’ll hear sexy melodies, funk filled basslines, energetic drums, exotic percussion and euphoric vocals.
Currently he hosts successful parties, like The Daisy Age at Bitterzoet and I Love Vinyl at Canvas, which continue to attract an enthusiastic crowd of music lovers. Mr. Mendel knows how to rock a party with his soulful, upbeat, heartfelt musical extravaganza.
(Influenced by & played alongside DJ’s Rich Medina, Rahaan, Lefto, Sadar Bahar, Kon & Amir, KC The Funkaholic, Manga, Marcel Vogel…)
