Fender have teamed with A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and producer/composer Adrian Younge to create an inspiring new short film titled ARTFORM.
The new film is a 23-minute exploration into each musician’s entry into music through hip-hop.
Fender’s new short film with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad ARTFORM is a fascinating odyssey into a musician’s obsession with sound.
The film shows us how typical band instruments, like a guitar or bass, can be used in unorthodox ways to create new and totally bizarre but wonderful sounds.
Muhammad and Younge’s hope is that the film inspires all musicians to break musical boundaries and push the envelope while finding their own identity through an instrument.
They also hope it motivates artists who rely heavily on samples to go back to the roots of how they were made by picking up an instrument and playing it themselves.
In collaboration with the musicians, Fender is releasing 12 limited edition bass guitars in a deep, dusky purple that you can buy here.
In the film, we see Muhammad and Younge digging through crates of records while discussing the difference in the quality of sound you get from listening to digital files versus putting on a real vinyl record.
Then we see the two jamming around in the studio, dissecting the specific sonic qualities of each instrument they’re playing, before they experiment with swapping around different microphones and talk about how they approach the recording process.
In all, the documentary is a fascinating look into an artist’s obsession with music – when sampling a sound was no longer good enough, Muhammad and Younge picked up an instrument and started learning to play it themselves.
ARTFORM is a testament to the painstaking lengths some artists go to, whether they are in pursuit of perfection or perhaps some higher truth, ultimately driving home the importance of musicians and art in our daily lives.
This film will inspire anyone to dive headfirst into the world of rhythm and melody, whether that be picking up that guitar that’s been collecting dust in the corner or widening your musical tastes – you cannot help but feel inspired by Muhammad’s and Younge’s tenacity.
Watch the film below:
Buy the bass guitar here.