KORD’s interactive music player empowers you to deconstruct songs and discover how they were built, track by track. Simply tap on the instruments, a.k.a “stems,” to isolate and combine them any way you’d like (see additional instructions and demo song at the bottom of this page).
KORD also shares the stories behind the songs. Exclusive liner notes and detailed credits spotlight headline performers as well as key collaborators like songwriters, producers, arrangers, session musicians and recording engineers.
If you’re new to the KORD app, we’ve chosen three of our favorites to get you started, complete with tips on how to experience the music in a whole new way.
Note: All stems featured in KORD are licensed from the original multi-track master recordings, letting you hear the music exactly as it was recorded in the studio.
Song 1:
“Is This Love” is one of the purest and most popular love songs in the Bob Marley canon. But hidden beneath its surface are individual musical performances that connect together like perfect puzzle pieces.
Listening suggestions:
- Isolate the acoustic guitar track to hear Marley’s intricate yet effortless 12-string guitar lines.
- Check out Tyrone Downie’s Hammond organ on the keyboard track and revel in the masterful use of delay.
- Combine the bass and drums to hear brothers Aston and Carlton Barrett, one of the most formidable rhythm sections in reggae history (or in any other genre, for that matter).
Song 2:
“Holiday” is but one particularly effective example of Vampire Weekend’s signature combination of pop accessibility and intellectual edge. Ska-punk forms the song’s stylistic foundation, fleshed out with syncopated guitars that imbue the track with the band’s melodic and harmonic hallmarks.
Listening suggestions:
- Isolate Ezra Koenig’s guitar and Rostam Batmanglij’s piano at the 1:08 mark to hear their wonderful contrapuntal interplay.
- Solo the backing vocals at the 1:26 mark to hear Koenig’s intimate vocal harmonies.
- Listen to Chris Baio’s formidable bass work throughout the recording, and savor how his busy yet tasteful staccato notes lock with Chris Tomson’s drums to propel “Holiday” forward.
Song 3:
Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” has been filling dance floors for decades. This timeless disco staple may be known for its four-on-the-floor beat and anthemic chorus, but it’s vocals and musicianship deserve a closer look.
Listening suggestions:
- Houston’s isolated vocal performance is glorious, but don’t sleep on sibling backing singers Maxine and Julia Waters, who add weight and exuberance to the choruses. Note how they only sing the second half of the word “desire.”
- Henry Davis’ precise, creative and endlessly funky basslines are the stuff of legend. Try listening both with and without James “Big Foot” Gadson’s drums for a textbook example of how bass and drums should lock together.
- John Barnes plays two keyboard parts on “Don’t Leave Me This Way.” You’ll find the first, the shimmering Fender Rhodes heard at the top of the song, on KORD’s piano track. Then, at the 2:43 mark, Barnes’ Clavinet enters the mix via the keyboard track, and adds another layer of pure funk.
FREE Demo Song:
Instructions:
Briefly tap and hold to solo any instrument.
Tap instruments (stems) to create your own mix.
