Steven Hale
May 2, 2021

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Songs for Insomniacs 35: “Nag Champa” by Common

I don’t know much about rap (beyond the basics). But I do know one of the samples from Common’s relaxed anthem “Nag Champa” — “Morning Order” by Canterbury musicians Hugh Hopper and Alan Gowen. Their album “Two Rainbows Daily” is both exploratory and accessible. Common uses a dreamy 6–7 note synthesizer riff by Gowen to add a reassuring order to the challenging truths of his lyrics.

Only a few tracks from “Two Rainbows Daily” are on YouTube (not “Morning Order”), but all the mp3’s are for sale. Worth searching out.

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Steven Hale

Music: Discovering the lost and forgotten. Politics: Exposing injustice. Screenwriting: Emotional storytelling.