WHO IS TFF ?
NAME: Ken Mitchell aka Big Ken; Creator of The Flavor Foundation
LOCATION: Naperville, IL (Suburb of Chicago)
FAVORITE MUSICIANS: Prince, Miles Davis, Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Charles Mingus, Gang Starr, John Barry, Herbie Hancock, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, John Williams, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington…the list is ENDLESS….
SO WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH TFF ?
It’s quite simple, really…
TFF was born out of an all-encompassing passion for music.
It’s the core of who I am – my foundation, if you will.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been enamored with music of various styles and genres – everything from Hip-Hop to Classical and pretty much everything in between. As such, my musical influences are wide-ranging; those listed above are just a few in a VERY LONG list.
I’ve absorbed so much music over the years that it was inevitable that I’d do something with it at some point. As such, I began creating my own music in 1998. At the time I was a big computer hobbyist as well, so it was a natural fit when I became fascinated with electronic music production. Armed with my computer and a cheap software program called “Acid” by Sonic Foundry, I started a dabbling in this arena and became instantly addicted and intensely gratified with my amateur creations. Within the first 3-5 years, I made many CD’s worth of material under the name “Dimension 9 Soundwerx” – none of which was released publicly as it was just for fun. However, it wasn’t too long before that fun ended up becoming a SERIOUS hobby and creative outlet and over time, I graduated from using “Acid” exclusively to experimenting with MIDI, virtual instruments, synthesizers and drum machines within full fledged MIDI/Audio sequencers. By 2005, I decided to officially released my music on the Internet. To commemorate this milestone, I did so under a new name: THE FLAVOR FOUNDATION.
When people ask me what kind of music I create, it’s been difficult for me to give them a definitive answer. To my ears, my songs aren’t limited to one style; instead, they are more of a blend of many elements I’ve absorbed over the years. Heavy traces of 80’s style Hip-Hop and Jazz are definitely at the core; a good friend of mine once described it as “Jazz Hop”! That’s fairly accurate I suppose, however, it’s never planned that way as my creative process is somewhat organic. I just throw together what feels right. In the final analysis, the music’s classification is not important. Making sure it sounds good enough to get your head bobbing is all that matters to me. Hopefully you get as much pleasure from hearing it as I did making it.
Peace and Enjoy,
Ken
