Revivalist Exclusive: Karriem Riggins – “Ding Dong Bells” + Interview

Revivalist just unveiled their exclusive feature with drummer, producer and renaissance-cat Karriem Riggins today, which not only includes an indepth interview but a also a grip of audio previews from his forthcoming debut LP on Stones Throw Alone Together. In the excerpt below get a chunk about his 6-year old son’s input on the project and one of the tracks he helped Riggins name: “Ding Dong Bells.”

Did you bring anyone in to give you a second pair of ears or anything like that?

My son. He even named a few of them like “Ding Dong Bells” and some others. I trust his ears. He’ll be six in November.

How has becoming a father changed your outlook on music?

I think listening from a 5-year-old’s perspective is incredible. To play him something and have him respond to certain things is amazing. Sometimes I think about children when I make beats or when I’m playing certain rhythms. Certain things stick out to kids. At the end of the day, we want to inspire the children. So I definitely try to keep that in mind when I create now.

Seeing as a child wouldn’t know the history of the music, what do you think it is about your music that could stand out to either a child or an adult?

I think just the honesty. Also the rhythmic patterns, especially in some of the beats I created, I felt like less was more. I tried to keep stuff complex, but simple. Simplicity was important to me.

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