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About Wendel

Wendel Patrick has been referred to as "David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer" by Urbanite Magazine and as "wildly talented" by the Baltimore Sun. He has been referred to by XLR8R magazine as "a hip-hop producer that could easily make any fan of Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, or Madlib flip out." The alter-ego of classical and jazz pianist Kevin Gift, Wendel Patrick is rapidly making a name for himself as a producer to be recognized. His five albums, "Sound:", "Forthcoming", "… more
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Wendel Patrick scores Nike Kobe Bryant "Genius" ad campaign - soundtrack

In 2008 Wendel Patrick was asked to score three commercials for the Nike Zoom Kobe 3 "Genius" advertising campaign using three different musical styles...ragtime for the George Washington Carver spot, solo piano for the Albert Einstein spot, and something akin to a Mozartean symphony for the "Anthem" spot which featured Kobe Bryant as George Washington Carver, Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Leonardo da Vinci. All of the music was written, played and recorded by Wendel Patrick, without the use of any acoustic instruments.

In addition to his work for Nike, Wendel Patrick has scored national advertising campaigns for Teva and written music for radio shows such as NPR's State Of The Re:Union. He is the composer of the theme music for The Signal which airs weekly on Baltimore's NPR affiliate WYPR.
  • KB24_"Genius - Anthem"_:30
    In 2008 Wendel Patrick was asked to score three commercials for the Nike Zoom Kobe 3 "Genius" advertising campaign using three different musical styles...ragtime for the George Washington Carver spot, solo piano for the Albert Einstein spot, and something akin to a Mozartean symphony for the "Anthem" spot which featured Kobe Bryant as George Washington Carver, Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Leonardo da Vinci. All of the music was written, played and recorded electronically by Wendel Patrick, without the use of live instruments.
  • KB24_"Genius - Carver"_:30
  • KB24_"Genius - Einstein"_:30
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    • "Sound:" Full Length Album

    Wendel Patrick's debut album "Sound:" received national critical acclaim, including "four star" reviews in both URB Magazine and XLR8R Magazine, and was featured on XLR8R.com. The album was essentially sample free, with Wendel Patrick playing all of the instruments; and featured vocal contributions from Baltimore emcee Saleem as well as Cincinnati emcee and ISWHAT?! frontman Napoleon Solo.
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      Wendel Patrick's debut album "Sound:" received national critical acclaim, including "four star" reviews in both URB Magazine and XLR8R Magazine, and was featured on XLR8R.com. The album was essentially sample free, with Wendel Patrick playing all of the instruments; and featured vocal contributions from Baltimore emcee Saleem as well as Cincinnati emcee and ISWHAT?! frontman Napoleon Solo. "Sound: just gets better and better upon each listen and it's easy to tell that Gift is no one trick pony. Keep your eyes and ears on this one." - RE:UP Magazine
    • "Traffic" - track no. 3 from "Sound:"
      "Sound: is an atmospheric album akin to skipping stones or a pebble being dropped in a river with circles that reverberate from the impact. It’s not heavy, but it is deep, often reminding the listener of that haunting, dusty DJ Shadow sound of abandoned houses and attics filled with old belongings and memories before a bright new day emerges through a newly opened window." - URB Magazine
    • "Mazinger". Track 4 from "Sound:"
    • "My CD Has A Scratch II" - track no. 11 from "Sound:"
      This is the kind of single that makes me wish hip-hop could produce product that is as all-around-dope as, “My CD Has A Scratch (feat. Salim).” Wendel Patrick is one of the true original production voices on the East Coast. His beats have turned the ear of hip-hop fans who listen to Company Flow as much as they listen to Kid 606. This track is going in my “all time favorite songs” list." - Subverse2ten
    • "Thirteen Years". Track 15 from "Sound:"
      "Fusing his piano-jazz history with a passion for hip-hop, digital texturing classes in college, and a childhood stint in a Jamaican reggae band, producer Kevin Gift created the moniker Wendel Patrick to give shape and form to this lifelong collection of song forms. Sound is cinematic in many ways, from the meandering and accentuated synthesizer effects to deep, well-formed bass and occasional breaks. Most impressive is when he sits back on a solid groove, like the slightly dark "Rest. Move.," as MC Napoleon Solo drops his own science. It's a fitting summation for Gift: precise, effective, and well thought-out, with plenty of soul to round out any overly heady dynamics." XLR8R Magazine
    • "Scanner". Track 9 from "Sound:"
    • "Man vs." opening track from "Sound:"
    • "Mass Media". Track 5 from "Sound:"
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    • "Forthcoming" Full Length Album

    "Forthcoming" is Wendel Patrick's second critically acclaimed full length album featuring appearances from Ryn Tracey, Saleem, Eze Jackson and Topix from Baltimore, Eagle Nebula of Brooklyn, and world renowned spoken word artist and emcee Ursula Rucker. Wendel Patrick lends his own vocals to several tracks. All music was written, played and recorded by Wendel Patrick without the use of physical instruments. The album was released in 2010.
    • "Split Personality"
      Article and review written by Baynard Woods.
    • "Forthcoming" cover art
      "Forthcoming" cover art
    • "I'm Just Sayin". Track 5 from the album. Featuring Ursula Rucker.
    • "Ten G's" One of two versions of this song on the album. This is the instrumental version.
    • Emcee and Sould Cannon frontman Eze Jackson discusses collaborating with Wendel Patrick on "Forthcoming" and the direction of Hip Hop as an artform in Baltimore.
    • "Estrella". Track 18 from "Forthcoming".
    • THE CYPHER
      Music video for track no. 12 from "Forthcoming". Directed, shot and edited by Wendel Patrick. Additional camera work by Ramona Lee.
    • "Forthcoming". The album's title track featuring vocals by Wendel Patrick
    • "Forthcoming" Trailer.
      Directed shot and edited by Wendel Patrick. Additional footage shot by Hilton Carter.
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      forthcoming-poster-cover.jpg
      "Ask Wendel Patrick what kind of music he makes, and he’ll likely cock his eye and tell you to listen to the album. But he’s not being coy: If he says his recent release Forthcoming is hip-hop, you’ll get one impression, and if he tells you it’s electronic music, you’ll get another—conflicting—impression altogether. Electronic aptly describes the mode of production, and hip-hop is a pretty accurate tag for the album’s rapped vocals, but neither label really conveys the sonic richness of Patrick’s music. The lyrics seem spontaneous and the music alive (and only occasionally electronic—there are no samples). It is organic, intricate, and packed with the density (to put it in literary terms) of David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer." -Baynard Woods, Urbanite Magazine
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    • Baltimore Boom Bap Society - Co-founder. BEST OF BALTIMORE winner

    Wendel Patrick and Erik Spangler bring the revolving line-up and spontaneous creativity of the Out of Your Head series to the realm of hip-hop—to spectacular effect. Both of these guys are classically trained and impressive in their own rights, but the Boom Bap Society takes it further, with a format that allows MCs to work with some of the best beats and live musicians. A recent night saw Jake Leckie on the upright bass, Tony Bonta on banjo, DJ Dubble8 on the turntables, and Javier Starks as MC. Where else can you see someone seriously rapping over live banjo? And it’s all improvised. These kinds of nights can be revelatory, supportive, scene-building, and fucking fun." - City Paper.


    "To describe the type of music Wendel Patrick produces would be to miss the point. His music is rooted in hip hop, but feels both classic and contemporary. His records are entirely self-produced and mixed–truly a complete artist. “Wendel Pat” is Kevin Gift, a classically trained pianist who has performed all over the world. He lives and creates in Baltimore, where he has worked as a Loyola University music professor for a decade. DJ Dubble8 is Erik Spangler, a tour-de-force, personified in the Baltimore music and arts communities. He is an adjunct professor at MICA, a founder of the Mobtown Modern concert series, and earned his Ph.D. in Music Composition at Harvard. These two friends and culture-curators wanted to collaborate. After a short stroll through Station North following last year’s Artscape, the Boom Bap Society vision was born. A typical Boom Bap Society evening will feature different combinations of carefully curated artists, including Wendel and Dubble8 themselves. I have been to a couple and already seen a harpist, vibraphonist, and full chamber orchestra adapt seamlessly to the Boom Bap universe. What comes of it depends on the moment. Literally. Each performance is as “in-the-moment” and “once-in-a-lifetime” as it gets. Or, in my quoted words, “fucking special.” The Boom Bap Society is by far the most promising thing this city’s hip hop community has. Baltimore Club has already put the world on notice; Now the Boom Bap Society has the potential to change the perception of what “hip hop” can be. Community Hip Hop has arrived in Baltimore, and we’re all invited. Talk about a breath of fresh air." - What Weekly
    • Video footage from the One Year Anniversary show.
      With: Shodekeh, Jackie Pollauf, Tony Bonta, Jake Leckie, Black Root, Eze Jackson, OOH, J Pope, Wendel Patrick, DJ Dubble8, Kane Mayfield and others. Shot by Tom Kessler.
    • "4:12"
      Slightly shorter than John Cage's "4:33" with (debatably) more going on. Max Beats and Wendel Patrick beatbox rehearsal - During a session we were working on something based on a rhythm Max managed to record that somehow had a perfect seven beats on a machine that only records in increments or subdivisions of four. This is the mathematics session that followed with us trying to figure out how to perfectly do it again.
    • Baltimore Boom Bap Society article in City Paper
      Written by Michael Byrne. Published on March 7th, 2012.
    • Baltimore Boom Bap Society article in What Weekly
      Written by Jordan Goodman. Published on May 9th, 2012.
    • BALTIMORE BOOM BAP SOCIETY (featuring ALASH): SESSION XXVII: 5/8/2014, (Part 3)
    • Baltimore Boom Bap Society - Session XX
      With special guests: Carolyn Malachi - vocals Anna Roberts-Gevalt - violin Ruby Fulton - flugelhorn, violin Brian Brunsman - upright bass Chuck The Mad Ox - beatbox And your hosts: Wendel Patrick - turntables and electronics Erik Spangler - turntables and electronics
    • Promo video for Boom Bap Society Session VIII
      Tony Bonta - banjo Max Beats - beatbox Javier Starks - emcee Blake Cramer - vibraphone DJ Dubble8 - turntables and electronics Wendel Patrick beatbox, rhodes, turntables, electronics
    • Promo video for Boom Bap Society Session VI
      Jake Leckie - bass Max Beats - beatbox Ursula Rucker - emcee/spoken word Ben Beirs - classical guitar DJ Dubble8 - turntables and electronics Wendel Patrick beatbox, rhodes, turntables, electronics
    • Wendel Patrick and Max Beats - Beat Box improvisation
      "Experimentation is the keyword in Boom Bap’s improvised hip hop sessions. While Dubble 8 spins, Wendel Patrick is usually doing a combination of scratching, playing the keys and beatboxing as a guest emcee spits freestyle rhymes. Accompanied by the Windup Space’s dim lighting and table seating, the monthly show’s ambiance has the acid-jazz hip hop feel of the early ‘90’s. The most captivating element of the show is the choice of instrumentalists for any given session. Bassists, banjoists, and harpists have all landed spots, testing what a lot of us think of as hip hop. (Who rhymes over a harp being played?) Wendel says this is just the beginning. “We’re happy with the instruments that have been played so far, but we’re always looking to go further. As long as all the sounds complement each other, there’s no limit to what we can work with. We’re open to anything and want to keep pushing boundaries.” - Urbanite Magazine
    • Baltimore Boom Bap Society Improvised Hip Hop Session 3 promo vid
      "The Boom Bap Society is by far the most promising thing this city’s hip hop community has. Baltimore Club has already put the world on notice; Now the Boom Bap Society has the potential to change the perception of what “hip hop” can be. There’s power in numbers and the Boom Bap Society embodies this. To be an artist, especially an aspiring rapper, can be isolating, but Wendel Patrick and DJ Dubble8 have created a framework from which all artists can learn, and one similar to the other, proven, DIY art collectives that this city has spawned over the past decade. Community Hip Hop has arrived in Baltimore, and we’re all invited. Talk about a breath of fresh air." - What Weekly Magazine
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    • OUT OF THE BLOCKS: Winner - City Paper Best Radio Project. (Co-Producer).

    Chosen by City Paper as "Best Radio Project" of 2012.

    OUT OF THE BLOCKS. A simple concept from the minds of Aaron Henkin and Wendel Patrick. One hour, one city block, everybody's story. Interviews by Aaron Henkin - Musical score by Wendel Patrick.

    "OUT OF THE BLOCKS: 3300 Greenmount" first aired on November 18th, 2011 on WYPR in Baltimore. Soon after, the episode was recognized and featured by the Third Coast International Audio Festival as a chosen feature on its website, by NPR's Morning Edition, by "On The Nature Of Things" in London, England; and by NPR's "Hearing Voices", which aired the episode on over 200 NPR affiliate stations nationally. More recently it was broadcast on the BBC. Wendel Patrick and Aaron Henkin's work was also featured in "Locally Soured" as part of an exhibit on the Station North community at the Sheila & Richard Riggs and Leidy galleries at MICA in 2014.
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    • Photograph by Wendel Patrick
      Photograph by Wendel Patrick
    • Photograph by Wendel Patrick
      Photograph by Wendel Patrick
    • Photograph by Wendel Patrick
      Photograph by Wendel Patrick
    • OUT OF THE BLOCKS I: 3300 Greenmount
      Best Radio Project The Signal’s “Out of the Blocks” series on WYPR Published: September 19, 2012 Last year, in an article about the NPR show Radiolab, The New York Times made the good point that with the internet and archiving, radio has entered a new era where it does not immediately disappear into the ether as it once did. But while shows like Radiolab have the production values equivalent to, like, HBO, most local shows are still produced as if they are ephemeral. But The Signal, on WYPR, gave us a taste of what was possible here in Baltimore with “Out of the Blocks.” Aaron Henkin spent months on the 3300 block of Greenmount Avenue, interviewing everyone, and instead of just putting music to the voices, he gave it to hip-hop maestro Wendel Patrick to score as if it were a movie.
    • OUT OF THE BLOCKS II: 400 Patapsco
      One hour of radio, one city block, everybody's story. Interviews by Aaron Henkin, Musical soundtrack by Wendel Patrick.
    • Wendel Patrick - WYPR Out Of The Blocks Promo video and theme music
      Video Trailer. OUT OF THE BLOCKS: 3300 Greenmount. Co-Producer. Winner - City Paper Best Radio Project for 2012, Fall 2011 - 2012
    • Out of the Blocks: 400 E. Patapsco - 88.1 WYPR Baltimore - Aaron Henkin and Wendel Patrick.
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    • Wendel Patrick "Ten G's Reprise"

    Producer Wendel Patrick covers his own song "Ten G's" with a little help from...himself.
    Directed and shot by Hilton Carter.
    • Wendel Patrick - Ten G's Reprise - Directed by Hilton Carter.
      "Get familiar with Baltimore MC Wendel Patrick, as he laces his own track "Ten G's" with some nifty beat-box skills and dope visual effects in this spanking-new video." -VIBE Magazine. There are two versions of "Ten G's" on Wendel Patrick's album "Forthcoming". The first version is an instrumental one. In this second version, Wendel Patrick recreates the sounds of the song's ten instruments entirely with his vocals. Filmed and directed by Hilton Carter.
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    Wendel Patrick "Producer" - Directed by Wendel Patrick

    Producer Wendel Patrick recreates DJ Premiere's instrumental track from Nas' classic "Illmatic" in his studio without the use of samples. This video gives the viewer a peek into Wendel Patrick's creative process.

    Instruments:

    Fender Rhodes
    Korg PadKONTROL
    Serato ITCH
    Numark NS7
    Steinway Grand Piano
    Roland Fantom Rack
    Yamaha Motif Rack
    UAD Plugins
    BBE Plugins
    XLN Audio Kits (Drums)
    Reason
    Ableton Live
    Akai APC 40
    Korg KP3 Kaoss Pad

    Directed shot and edited by Wendel Patrick
    Additional camera work - Dylan Beatty
    • WENDEL PATRICK - "PRODUCER". N.Y. STATE OF MIND - NAS/DJ PREMIER
      "If you live in Baltimore and have ever been privileged enough to witness Wendel Patrick at his Boom Bap Society shows at Windup Space, then you know how remarkable of a musician he is. His Forthcoming album was free of samples, with nothing but live instrumentation. In a lot of ways he’s a one man band and even though the bulk of his live shows are absent of his vocals, they lose no captivation. His newest video falls right in line with a demonstration of him duplicating Nas’ “NY State Of Mind” without sampling. The display is pretty amazing. Peep it." - Lawrence Burney (True Laurels)
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    3 Album Releases on 1 Day

    Wendel Patrick released three albums on the same day. January 1st, 2014. All of the tracks on "Travel" were either written or conceived while on tour performing in the cities the tracks are named after. "Passage" is a quartet album with Wendel Patrick playing drums, bass, guitar and Fender Rhodes. "JDWP" is a tribute album to the late producer J Dilla, and "20.TEN." is a solo album featuring his own piano compositions. With the exception of "20.TEN.", all of the music was played and recorded without the use of microphones or live instruments.
    • JDWP - Complete Album
      All instruments played by Wendel Patrick
    • Travel - Complete Album
      All instruments played by Wendel Patrick
    • Passage - Complete Album
      All instruments played by Wendel Patrick.
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    • Music Producer, Pianist, Composer, Improviser

    An overview of Wendel Patrick's work as a pianist, composer and improviser (Kevin Gift)
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      522031_10150818280060774_753870773_11826180_108998.jpg
      Photo by Wendel Patrick. Wendel Patrick has been referred to as "David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer" by Urbanite Magazine and as "wildly talented" by the Baltimore Sun. He has been referred to by XLR8R magazine as "a hip-hop producer that could easily make any fan of Squarepusher, Boards of Canada, or Madlib flip out." The alter-ego of classical and jazz pianist Kevin Gift, Wendel Patrick is rapidly making a name for himself as a producer to be recognized. His two albums, "Sound:" and "Forthcoming" were produced without the use of samples, with Wendel Patrick playing every note of every instrument. What is perhaps most astounding and perplexing to listeners is that other than his Fender Rhodes, there are actually no physical instruments...he crafts all of the instruments, and every note, electronically.
    • 20.TEN.
    • Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major. Bach- Siloti Prelude in B minor
      Mozart concerto performance in Bolivia with the Orquesta Sinfónica Cochabamba. Kevin Gift Bio: "Kevin Gift (Wendel Patrick) began playing the piano at the age of three and began taking piano lessons in Caracas Venezuela at the age of four. He first performed publicly at the age of five. Equipped with a brilliant technique and a remarkable lyrical sensibility, Kevin is rapidly gaining the respect and admiration of music lovers wherever he performs. Recent performances include solo recitals in Virginia, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and Annapolis. In 2000, Kevin performed during the opening weekend for the Smithsonian Institution's Piano 300 exhibition commemorating the 300th anniversary of the invention of the piano, and in 2002, he performed at the grand opening celebration of the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin studied piano with Dr.
    • Out Of Your Head - Live Improvisation Collective - current member.
      Live improvisation at "Out Of Your Head" with drummer Ethan Snyder, cellist Zack Branch, and Colin Renick on reeds. From City Paper - September, 2010 - "Winning for “Best Band” was the Out of Your Head Collective, a weekly free improvisation series that meets every Tuesday night to give free concerts. Each week a new trio or quartet forms, plays together, and disbands. On any given Tuesday, you might hear Susan Alcorn on steel pedal guitar or Kevin Gift on electric piano or Will Redman on drums or Erik Spangler on turntables or any combination of dozens of players."
    • Recording Session - Rachmaninoff Prelude in C Sharp minor
      Filmed during a classical recording session at the Schwartz Performing Arts Center in Atlanta Georgia.
    • "Split Personality"
      Article by Baynard Woods for Urbanite Magazine.
    • "Wendel Patrick, A Hip Hop Orchestrator"
      Article by Lawrence Burney for True Laurels.
    • Summertime- From Porgy And Bess. Arr. Kevin Gift
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