[ aquarius records — Hiphop Turntablism ]

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Showing results 101 through 150 of 241.

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SORRY. The fourth volume released by the Skratch Piklz, more beats and breaks for scratching.

First full length from Nettle (a duo that just happens to feature AQ fave DJ/ Rupture!!). This disc is mostly made up of previously released 12"s, but adds some extra tracks to make the whole package worthwhile, even if you have the wax. The sound here is pretty far removed from the plunderphonic dancehall turntable mashups of the two Rupture releases (though some Nettle tracks can be found on those discs). Nettle is more like a hyper-glitched, super distorted Muslimgauze. Middle Eastern melodies are buried under bumping beats, downtempo rhythms and lots of glitched out bursts of hyper distortion and BZZZZZZZTTT. Dreamy melodies weave in and out of the mix as do brief hip hop snippets and found sounds. While this doesn't have the sort of novelty factor of Rupture's DJ mixes, this is still some seriously great stuff.

RealAudio clip: Minesweeper Dub
RealAudio clip: Ballad Of Jimmy Hollin

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SORRY.

Some seriously twisted WTF hip hop for fans of Sensational, the Pharcyde and the like, blending warped home brewed studio fuckery, with some classic hip hop. He's a member of Deadverse Massive, along with Dalek and Destructo Swarmbots.

Madlib's super talented younger brother Oh No has been doing a great job as the ambassador of '60s & '70s international psychedelia to the hip-hop world, liberally sampling all sorts of aQ faves, Turkish psych, Mediterranean pop, whatever struck his fancy, so Dr. No's Ethiopium should really come as no surprise, a whole record sampled and inspired by rare '60s and '70s Ethiopian soul, jazz, funk, folk and psychedelic rock, all chopped up and recontextualized into brief little snippets of bad ass Ethiopian groove, wreathed in record crackle, peppered with pops and clicks, adding a warm timeless texture to these jams, some are just straight ahead sampled, others are rearranged into lurching, stuttering rhythms, the basslines woozy and funky, horns wailing, the vocals often left intact, but just as often all mixed up, flipped backwards, woven together to create strange hiccupping vocal layers, the sound ranges from soulful ballads, to pounding jazz funk, to cinematic string laden drama, to swirling Ethiopian folk transformed into something way more buzzy and bouncy, some jams synth swaddled, others warped and warbly, the bass cranked up all over the place, you can almost imagine the Wu-Tang swooping in for a verse or too, these brief jams are just so groovy and heady and funky and kick ass. Hands down THEE mix of the year!!!

MPEG stream: Madness
MPEG stream: Ox Therapy
MPEG stream: Louder
MPEG stream: Fuego Tribe

Every crate digger worth their salt has come upon the Asian record dilemma. Records (often Chinese) that look so awesome and full of promise with their mysterious photography, strange graphics and humorous English misspellings, only to be underwhelmed by the most boring, pedestrian and oft-times sickly sweet music contained within. But what's a cratedigger to do when they are actually IN Asia and have to wade through stacks upon stacks of such records knowing they can only bring home a tiny batch? That's the dilemma the French-Vietnamese producer Onra found himself in on a trip to Vietnam where scouring through various flea markets, he picked up a stack of promising but highly worn records. Like the best of recent instrumental hip-hop records by J Dilla, Madlib (especially his Beat Konducta Indian series), and Oh No processed through the radio collage filters of Sublime Frequencies, Onra was able to mine pure gold from the scratchy sounds he collected abroad. Bits of operatic theater, odd sixties easy-listening covers, traditional flute and string ensembles, love songs and obscure soundtracks chopped into loops and grooves with all the rough crackle and sheen kept in tact. Soooo Awesome!!!!

MPEG stream: I Wanna Go Back
MPEG stream: Dark Sea
MPEG stream: Here Come The Flutes
MPEG stream: The Vallee of Love

Full-length debut for LA's latin/jazz/salsa/funk/hip hop sensations. Includes the "Cut Chemist Suite" in which their famed DJ (also of Jurassic 5) shows his stuff.

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SORRY. DJ Paul Nice's battle breaks for fearless turntablist DJs.

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SORRY.

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SORRY. Kinda along the lines of El Stew, this is the Scratch Piklz' DJ Disk performing live with a band including Les Claypool and Brain of Primus, Buckethead, MCM, and Ektrakd. Japanese import.

I slipped this cd into the player thinking it would be more quality turntablist scratching and stylin' from Disk, founding member of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, but... my bad. I should've remembered that Disk is so creative he's got his skilled fingers in a

RealAudio clip: Madame Blavatski Overdrive

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SORRY. Buckethead and DJ Disk of the Invisbl Skratch Piklz.

Long-delayed (but finally released) new live disc from the Bill Laswell-led, contantly mutating Praxis outfit. This time around, the line-up features bassist Laswell, long-time Praxis participant Buckethead (y'know, the new Guns n' Roses guitarist!), former

RealAudio clip: Flux and Reflux

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SORRY. From the folks who brought you the modern DJ classics by Cut Chemist & Shortkut and Z-Trip & Radar, this is the Future Primitive label's 3rd release - a studio turntablist album from the collaboration between Mr. Dibbs, DJ Jel, and MC Dose. Similiar in scope to Mixmaster Mike's Anti-Theft Device and is full of Illuminati references and wild scratching.

Finally out, it's the DVD film of Wave Twisters, which is a truly incredible film edited to correspond exactly with Invisibl Skratch Pikl DJ QBert's album of the same name. Even the vocal snippets from the record become dialogue on the film, a seamless integration! Needless to say, the film is hilarious, with the hero Inner Space Dental Commander trying to revive the four pillars of hip hop (graffiti, breakdancing, rapping, and DJing) while the evil villains played by the Skratch Piklz thwart his attempts... There's all kinds of animation too -- stop motion, photographic, etc. Also included are film stills presented specifically so people can animate them themselves, creating new episodes in the Wave Twisters saga, the trailer for the turntablist film Scratch, deleted scenes, a commentary track from the filmmakers, subtitles in French, German, Japanese, Russian, etc, and extra live footage of the Scratch Piklz in action. Pretty incredible! This dvd has been flying out the door ever since we got it a few weeks ago.

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SORRY. Features that legendary tear-up of Rush's "Tom Sawyer" before Z-Trip or Mix Master Mike ever got a hold of it. Includes bonus cuts with DJ Disk and Shortkut. This is a Japanese compact disc pressing of the rare samenamed cassette issued by the Piklz.

50 minute video starring former Skratch Piklz Qbert, D-Styles, DJ Flare, and Yogafrog. All animated! We haven't seen it yet, but hear that the story involves personifications of the four arts of hip hop (MCing, B-boying, Graffiti, and DJing) who are being oppressed by an evil lord. For those of you who don't want to buy this video, we are renting it (local customers only).

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SORRY. The first proper album from the mad scientist of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz is "a trans-galactic deconstructed symphony of head-wringing turntablist godliness with booty-bruisin' beats communicated via microcosmic creatures hidden deep within the grooves. Layered in vinyl generated sound collages, samples, and of course Q-Bert's unequaled skratch style, it's an orgasmically dental fresh hip-hop sound explosion of the first order!"

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SORRY. "In Turntable TV 5.0, take a journey to the north with Yoga Frog and Q-Bert to the cold lands of Canada. Take a sneak peek at a behind-the-scenes look at the pre-DMC practice sessions with the Turnstyles crew and other Canadian DJs. Plus hear some cool interviews with all the DMC contestants as well. Watch ultra rare scratch sessions with Mix Master Mike, Q-Bert, Shortkut, and D-Styles. To top it off experience the deadly kung fu lessons by no other than the infamous toadman, with fight scenes of DJ Fat Blubber Belly."

His name doesn't appear anywhere on this record, but Qbert is da guy what compiled these breaks for your inner DJ. The sleeve is pretty brilliant too, it folds into a popcorn box! Perfect companion to your new Qbert how-to dvd that you bought last week!

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SORRY. The Bay Area's own DJ Qbert, one of the most famous turntablists in the world, proves himself a pretty great teacher and comedian in this how-to-scratch DIY dvd. Whether you're a turntablist or not, this is *delightful* to watch. He demonstrates over 25 different scratches, beginning by talking about each scratch's history -- who invented 'em and when -- then breaks the move down into its parts. The demos loop so you can just leave 'em playing until you've mastered the crab, the lazer, the phaser, the swipe, etc., not to mention you can view the scratch demos from four different angles! Qbert looks at the camera a lot so you feel like he's talking right atcha, plus he's totally sweet 'n nice, not a trace of attitude, no talking down to the viewer at all. There's a whole section of tips and tricks where he demonstrates how to set up your turntable and customize it to your own liking, how to make your own slipmats, how to fix a record that's wobbly cos its center hole is too big, explains why fingertip moistener is better than lickin' yer fingers, even how to count bars. There is a volume issue with the dvd, though, it keeps fluctuating, but it's not terribly annoying and it never drops out completely. (And I suspect that it's my computer, not the dvd, at fault.) There's even a battles section with several djs for you to trade scratches with. OK, this is how brilliant Qbert and his cohorts are: instead of taking the easy way out by just filming himself scratching, with pauses for you to scratch back, each of the battles (which are arranged in order of difficulty) have visual themes, like level 1's Dek Demon who is wearing a black cape, way oversized devil mask, and is surrounded by flames. Really. Another cute one features Spiderman scratching on a bus while another masked man is stitting next to him steering the bus. Pretty funny shit, you could just set it up at a party and let it run. Makes learning fun! As if all that wasn't enough, there's some plum extras, like a mock "other videos in this series" section where Q demonstrates how to do plumbing repair with the help of a sock puppet, the trailer for his animated film Wave Twisters, even a hidden surprise. The tone of the whole thing is casual and precise, he's constantly making jokes, and his love for the craft is clear. Get this dvd! You never know when you're gonna wanna learn how to scratch, plus, this glimpse into the mind, craft, and funny bone of Qbert is just about the nicest, friendliest, most hilarious thing I've seen in a long time. Highly recommended.

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SORRY. The first volume of DJ Qbert's Complete Do-It Yourself scratching DVD was a huge hit 'round these parts due to its irresistable combination of both useful how-to-scratch DJ tips and humor. Even if you yourself wouldn't want to scratch a record with a ten foot pole, as long as you have an interest as a listener in hip hop and turntablist music, it was a pretty fascinating introduction to the basics of scratch DJing (or 'skratch' as they spell it). And Qbert is just such a charming guy. Volume one seems to be out of print at the moment (hopefully just between pressings or something) but here's volume two! Subtitled "Skratch Sessions" this takes up where volume one left off, providing budding scratch djs with TONS of stuff that'll help improve your skills (or just entertain). Over 20 top DJs appear in various band or battle situations where you can "jam" along with them at home. Multiple video angles and audio tracks make this one extremely interactive DVD. And the DIY lessons don't stop with just DJing, you get Qbert & co.'s home improvement tips as well. Super great.

Ok turtablist fans, you all know that DJ Q-Bert is the bomb. Seeing him master his custom-made QFO (a battery-powered turntable with built-in mixer) is totally amazing. It would be great if a dvd about him actually showed his skratch-wizzardry predominately throughout. However, Live: Australia-Asia shows a little too much of all the most boring parts of being on tour: the airports, the non-partying hotel rooms, sitting in cabs, etc. Q-bert seems to be having good time though, what with the crowds, the ladies, the female DJ he crushes out on... Die-hard fans of Q-bert will want to see this regardless of the poor editing, just simply to see footage of him skratching up a storm and to get a feel for the man behind the QFO. We just wish there was more skratching footage throughout this region-free dvd.

Turntablist pro Q-bert here has compiled a *great* breaks record for aspiring DJs. (That's right, his name's not on it but that's who put this together.) There're dozens of tracks, long enough for scratching yet also short enough that if you put this on at a party and just left it alone it wouldn't get too boring. The breaks are uniformly fun and exciting -- lots of James Brown yelps, and I also heard Chic and Run DMC in there. Funk, hiphop and disco experts will recognize much more than I did. A PERFECT companion to Q-bert's DIY Turntablist dvd.

We don't sell a lot of breaks records here, but we know a few of you folks out there dig em so once in a while when we stumble across a good one we like to let everybody know about it. Most breaks records are tools and nothing but. A straight listen through would bore you to tears. But this Quake Breax 12" is a whole 'nother ball of wax. I just listened to it the whole way through and instead of being boring, it's super repetitive and hypnotic. It doesn't sound all that straight up danceable to us, but that's a point in its favor. It's funky, but in a creepy, proggy Goblin (yes, THAT Goblin) kind of way, with brooding basslines, haunting synths and some wicked live funky drumming. It's all very intense and sad and, well VERY prog sounding. Which if you know us, is obviously a good thing! These Goblinesque breaks are augmented with all sorts of weird little glitchy extras: minor key piano, super distorted lo fi drum machine breakbeats, stuttery chopped up loops. Good stuff. And if you're actually a DJ don't sleep on this one!

Another great installment in Mochilla's series of global DJ mixes documenting the crate-digging treasures of one DJ's trip to a far off land. The last one we listed was Madlib's killer Speto Da Ruo: Dirty Brasilian Crates Vol. 1 and what that was to Brazilian Popular Music, this one is to Ethiopian music of all varieties from the funky to the folkloric. Culled from a 2004 trip to Ethiopia with the Soundway label's Miles Cleret, Quantic met Mulatu Astatke and first discussed plans for his first trip to Los Angeles for a legendary 2009 concert performed with a full orchestra and jazz legends Bennie Maupin and The Tribe's Phil Ranelin. Most of the records played on this mix are over 30 years old, and their dusty crackle is often left intact. But don't expect this to be merely an Ethiopiques series rehash. While it starts in familiar ethio-jazz territory it veers seamlessly into traditional chanting, street festivals and performers, exotic cinematic instrumentals and evocative ballads. A near hour long seamless mix of surging energy and warm beauty for hot summer nights!

MPEG stream: Excerpt 1
MPEG stream: Excerpt 2
MPEG stream: Excerpt 3

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SORRY. "Yo quiero DJ Quest!" Space Travelers DJ breaks out with a very cool new tape. Wild scratching and imaginative samples make this perfect for the car (it's been in Windy's car deck since we got it last week and shows no sign of being usurped except when I get in a Kid Koala mood). Recommended.

SF's own DJ Quest has been winning solo scratching competitions worldwide since the early '90s, while also making music with first the Bulletproof Scratch Hamsters (later to become the Space Travellers) and then with the groundbreaking jazz/scratch outfit Live

RealAudio clip: Bulletproof Traveller (Treble Lord)
RealAudio clip: Moments (Part II)
RealAudio clip: Shout (Hip Hop Mix)

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SORRY. DJ Roc Raida (of NYC's X-Ecutioners crew) spinning and scratching live on pirate radio. In the mix: The Arsonists, Q-Bert & D-Styles, Common, The Beatnuts, The X-Ecutioners, and others...plus "Caller Trying To Win Tickets" and other interludes.

Roc Raida of NYC turntablists The X-Ecutioners (formerly X-Men) with a solo disc.

The tireless SF DJ Romanowski brings good tidings with his brand new festive mix, Holidays With Romanowski! His turntable boughs are weighed heavily with old soul and hip hop classics. Nice.

Local DJ Romanowski and Greg "P-Nut" Galinsky put together an art show featuring sixteen pairs of plain white Adidas shell toes. each decorated to within an inch of its life by sixteen artists. Some of them look pretty cool, like Romanowski's which he bronzed and be-winged. The show opened in SF and will travel to LA, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, and finally NYC. Romanoski mixed this cd as a special soundtrack to accompany the show, and in addition to several of his own previously-unreleased tracks, there are contributions from Latyrx, Poets of Rhythm, Rad, Exotic Pets, Viva Brazil, etc. Fine mood music for an ultra hip event such as this. Made specially for the art show and limited to only a few stores. Nice photos of the shoes too.

RealAudio clip: My Adidas Intro
RealAudio clip: Skindo-Le-Le
RealAudio clip: Say That

When we first heard this record, we were so blown away, and before we had a chance to dig WAY in, we took to describing it to other folks as the 'free jazz Endtroducing'. Like DJ Shadow's legendary hip hop classic, but here constructed from jazz records instead of funk and soul and psych. But closer listening and a glance at the liner notes revealed that Fuga is so much more, as the process of creating it is almost as interesting as the music itself. The basic framework was constructed by sampling bits and pieces from records, just how you would imagine, but then that framework was presented to musicians who then played the main chords and melodies, improvising and adding and interpreting. Live drums were added, the whole thing tweaked with and arranged, then those sounds were pressed onto vinyl, and the resulting vinyl records are what was finally used to arrange, sequence, scratch and put together the final product (similar to the way Portishead would record themselves, and press vinyl so they could 'scratch' their songs live). The result is a warm, abstract, fuzzy avant garde free jazz record. Or something. While the presence of vinyl and scratching and referencing DJ Shadow would lead you to think this was some sort of hip hop record, it's really not. Maybe in the way it was constructed, but Fuga tends to flip back and forth between scrabbbly, drone-y, dense assemblages of jazzy sound and chaotic plunderphonic free-jazz. The first two tracks pretty much lay the framework for the whole record. The opening track is an abstract ambient soundscape, warm swells of sound underpin clattery percussion, rumbling drones, buzzing synths, all very muted and minimal, an expansive stretch of darkness, peppered with tribal percussion, way-in-the-background fretless bass, eventually the whole thing morphs into a funky jazzy workout, but only briefly, before it fades into a manic percussive shuffle, which perfectly slips into the second track "Harder Than Hard, Softer Than Soft", the first half a seamless collage of drums and nothing but drums. It definitely sounds like a live drummer tearing it up, hard to detect how it was assembled via various slabs of vinyl, eventually it warps into a strangely funky, fuzzy synth workout which again finally slips back into just drums. The rest of the record is a bit like a freaked out version of Don Cherry's Orient, but all chopped up and layered and twisted and smeared into drones, stretched into strange shapes, funky horns, shuffling tribal percussion, chant like vocals, warm washes of organ, groovy vibes, scrabbly guitar, mournful strings and fluttery flutes, all woven deftly into a gorgeously dense and abstract sort of jazz. Wow.

MPEG stream: Tension And Release (The Journey To Fuga)
MPEG stream: Harder Than Hard, Softer Than Soft (The Line Between Yin And Yang)
MPEG stream: Too Fresh For Words

Once in a while we get all super annoyed BY DJ'S and DJ culture. We love DJ's as much as the next guy (okay, well, maybe not AS much) but once in a while, we start to wonder how playing somebody else's records makes you a musician, or a celebrity or a star. C'mon, what the fuck? Sure there are DJ's and turntablists who blow our minds, who take the turntables and do amazing shit, from avant soundscapists like Jeck or Marclay, to actual hip hop DJ's like the Skratch Piklz or folks who exist somewhere in between like DJ Shadow. But for the most part it's hard to not think "Fuck DJ's". So when there's a DJ, who isn't some crazy acrobatic scratcher, isn't some crafter of obtuse beatscapes, but who just plays records, has killer taste, and deftly mixes and matches and mashes up tunes and beats and said cool records, well for us to love every single thing they do is definitely saying something. And that's precisely how we feel about Rupture. Sure being a DJ is the equivalent of being a professional mix tape maker, so your record collection is 90% of the battle, and judging from Rupture's last few records, he has one of the world's best record collections (rivalled only by DJ Andy Votel we'd imagine). This time around it sounds like Rupture has caught grime fever just like the rest of us. Sure there's loads of classic hip hop, spastic drill and bass, classic jungle, huge bigbeat ragga, dancehall, but there's also plenty of greasy grungy griminess!! Every track on here rules, From a wildly catchy and bizarre MIA remix, to a Dead Prez meets snake charmer joint, to a perplexing but killer a capella Tracy Chapman track mashed up with some super stuttery slow motion drum and bass. Funky, fierce, furious, and FUN. As if that weren't enough the disc also includes 4 live German radio mixes, over 90 minutes, 6 MP3's of crazy sonic terrorism, all over the map, from Sabbath, to eighties pop, to hardcore ragga but most importantly there's glorious GRIME all over the place...

MPEG stream: Got It Right Here (50 Cent Blend)
MPEG stream: Old Skool Armageddon
MPEG stream: Bush Is A Pussy Cloth + Backward Country Boy Explosion

Three early DJ Rupture tracks, from way back in 2000, a remix of Rupture by France's Rotator and a brand new Rupture track featuring Puerto Rican rapper MC Welmo Romero.

It's been a while, but finally a new record from AQ fave DJ /Rupture. Unlike his previous releases, which were essentially mix tapes, this is a bonafide record of original tracks produced and arranged by Rupture with all sorts of guest vocalists and musicians. Now obviously it would be hard to create a record that stood up to your past releases, when they are all culled from the cream of your record collection, but Rupture makes a go of it and fares pretty well. The tone on Special Gunpowder is much more laid back and mellow that previous releases, and way less experimental. While your need for weird might not be fully satisfied, this is definitely much easier listening. A smooth mix of reggae and dancehall, as well as muted Eastern rhythmic ambience ala Muslimgauze. The dancehall tracks are awesome, but not at all aggressive like the Bug. Wicked Act, Junior Cat, Wayne Lonesome and a handful of others toast over darkly delerious, pulsing dancehall rhythms, nestled in Rupture's unique sonic stew. There are a few missteps, the opening spoken word bit is a little cringeworthy, and Eugene from Oxbow (who can do no wrong in our eyes) pops up smack dab in the middle of the record, mewling and howling over a creepy musical backdrop, and while we can never get enough Eugene, it definitely feels out of place and disrupts the flow. Other than a few hiccups, Special Gunpowder is a prety cool spin, and it's definitely cool that Rupture chose to write and record a record instead of cruising along on his impeccably hip record collection.

MPEG stream: Little More Oil ft. Sister Nancy
MPEG stream: Leech Wisdom
MPEG stream: No Heathen ft. Wicked Act (Blacksmith Mix)

We're always excited by a new blast of DJ /Rupture's unique mixology from his decidedly left field record collection. And this split disc with New Yorker Mutamassik is no exception. No big surprises, just another wicked mix of hip hop, jungle, dancehall and obscure world music. Andee was most excited by Rupture's inclusion of two tracks by German Dancehall crew Seeed, whose records we haven't been able to track down for the store yet. And Mutamassik is the perfect compliment to Rupture, offering up a similarly ecclectic sonic brew.

MPEG stream: Bidoun 2
MPEG stream: Bidoun 3
MPEG stream: Bidoun 12

5 is the magic number for this central California duo of stoner over-driven electronica, looped samples and big noisy drum breaks. The oddly monikered Scantily Clad not only celebrate their fifth cd-r release, but it contains 23 tracks (2+3=5), limited to 55 copies and priced to move at $5.55! That's a lot of high fives! But seriously, we have loved this duo since their first cd-r, their sound a home-brewed collaged confection of dirty over-driven electronics and big beats with a humorous Lynchian sensibility for melody, song titles and packaging, each one a hand-assembled venture of surrealist clip art collage and scrappy recycled cd cases from what must have been from those free AOL trial cds they used to mail out in the nineties. On their fifth release, the sound is more sample-based and dreamier then ever before. Each track is a miniature world of vintage electronic soundscapery with often a mysterious jazz soundtrack vibe deconstructed, cut and repasted that reminds of something like Madlib or J Dilla remixing Dymaxion or Quintron, or a less self-aware Tipsy. Way eccentric and off-kilter, but also shimmery and narcotic, with occasional clipped vocal snippets peering through the stony layers of hazy sound, twangy strings, cascading harps and drum breaks. Super unique and very likely our favorite release from them so far. Again, LIMITED to 55 copies. Grab one while you can!

MPEG stream: Those Photographs Aren't Anything Special
MPEG stream: Bottomless Veil of You
MPEG stream: Drums Falling Down The Stairs
MPEG stream: Flood Insurance For Substratum Weavers
MPEG stream: Double Shot Sweet Envy Love
MPEG stream: Life Builds To Know Nothing
MPEG stream: As Lonely As The Moon

Rop, ex-Peechees member, has moved to New York where he hones his DJ and turntablist skills as DJ Ropstyle. Semiautomatic features the additional talents of Akiko. Fans of Kid Koala's funny style and ICU/IQU's lo-fi d'n'b will enjoy this.

One of our favorite modern electronic hip hop outfits offer up a super limited double disc instrumental version of both their previous albums. Shadow Huntaz are the ultimate crazy crew of brain melting tongue twisting outer space hip hop visionaries. Disconnected rhymes, sputtering, glitched out beats, total mind melting confusional free funk freakouts. For a while there, Antipop Consortium were pushing the envelope, Anticon definitely had their own avant angle. But we had been hankering for someone like Kool Keith. Paging Dr. Octagon. We wanted some damaged stuttery beats, warped warbly synths and fuzzy glitched out grzzzzt. Most importantly, some maddening slurred, drug drenched, space age, conspiracy theory WHATTHEFUCK flows. Maybe that's why we've been leaning toward Grime so much lately. It just feels so much more dangerous and fucked up and unconcerned with hip hop convention. But now we've got the Shadowhuntaz. A rogue band of futuristic hip hop explorers, who mix the perplexing sci fi / high as fuck mush mouthed ramblings of Dr. Octagon with the glitched out hip hopped electronic squelch and thud, skitter and skid, slowed down IDM beatscapes of Antipop (they are on Skam after all) into a fucking killer trip hop skittery groove. On this double disc instrumental collection, the vocal tracks are stripped away allowing us to focus on the truly visionary sounds and HOLY FUCK, we didn't think we could dig this stuff any more but we do!!! The beats, hiccup and slither, bounce and bump, the music is a claustrophobic swirl of haunting loops, weird industrial clatter, moaning drones, and all sorts of production fuckery, effects swirl and shift, little vocal snippets are chopped and looped, skipping samples, warm washes of ambient whir. Phew! Plus there's some totally fucked up scratching, little snatches of DJ freakout, but those scratchfests are run through the Shadowhuntaz supercomputer and spit out the other side a careening chaotic crush of chopped up, impossibly complex textural collages of scratch detritus, like they dropped 3 or 4 DJ's, wildly scratching and tearing shit up, into a huge blender, and then sprayed the resulting funk flecked gore funk all over these tracks. Funky, fucked up, freaked out, cool and creepy and quite possibly contender for INSTRUMENTAL hip hop record of the year! Packaged Skam style in a clear jewel case with no artwork and a Braille sticker along the spine!

MPEG stream: 2020 (Instrumental)
MPEG stream: Massive (Instrumental)

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Short (and cheap) single with two versions of a piece composed for the documentary Dark Days (about subway dwellers in NYC). Shadow wisely keeps turntablist showboating out of it, as this is, after all, soundtrack music. Downbeat and mellow with lazy blues guitar. Quietly impressive scratching, and on the second track are some vocal snippets presumably from one of the homeless subjects of the film. Nice, if brief!

RealAudio clip: Dark Days

ATTENTION SHADOW FANS! You know you need this! Two massive mixes (2+ hours) and a brand new track! Not sure how long we'll have these so act fast. Disc one is a massive 80 minute mix that was originally aired on BBC Radio-1 on March 29th 2003 and is a seemles, fun and funky mix of obscure old school (and old school sounding) hip hop. So good. Summer-time-top-down-booming-system mix of the year! Disc two has a 40 minute mix that is more sort of soul and R+B and croon-y weirdness, and features the brand new Shadow track 'War Is Hell', that sounds like an Endtroducing outtake, but with chugging metal riffs!!! Like we said, not sure how long these will be available so first come first serve.

MPEG stream: Mix Two (excerpt 1)
MPEG stream: Mix Two (excerpt 2)
MPEG stream: War Is Hell

One of our fave albums and all-time best sellers, Josh "DJ Shadow" Davis' seminal Endtroducing debut, finally in stock on vinyl!! For a long time, our website's listing of it had just a single word review, but that word was "amazing". A while later, when a deluxe cd reissue came out, we took the opportunity to write a few hundred more words, pretty much amounting to saying the same thing, "amazing". Here they are: Shadow's masterpiece is a brilliant example of hip hop DJ-as-composer, sample-based songwriting, a mostly instrumental suite of songs built entirely from sounds, hooks and grooves sourced from the depths of Shadow's extensive record collection. He didn't invent the idea, of course, but he did do it better than almost anyone before (or after!) him, garnering for himself worldwide fame and heaps of deserved critical praise. And even if you scratch (heh) your head when we talk about turntablists and sampling, rest assured that, process aside, this is a great album that transcends genre tags and easy categorization. It's dark, dramatic, bright, hip-hop, soul, and jazz. It is very accessible. Shadow picked cool samples (like the Pugh Rogefeldt bit that helped us sell a ton of reissued cds by that particular Swedish '60s psych-folkster) AND also turned these samples utterly into his own, new music. Music that's groovy and moody and challenging, never all that easy to figure out, and not at all about turntablist hi-jinx or trickery, just about careful listening and the love of all kinds of old LPs!! Cut Chemist, in the liner notes, is quoted as calling DJ Shadow "The King Of Digging" and vinyl collecting/crate digging for sure is celebrated by Endtroducing, from the famous cover shot of the racks in the vast Sacramento shop simply called Records to the grooves reborn within. As Shadow himself put it: "this album reflects a lifetime of vinyl culture". He never topped it and probably never will. Not that anyone else has either! So if you don't have it already - or even if you do, but not on wax - what the heck are you waiting for?

MPEG stream: Mutual Slump
MPEG stream: Midnight In A Perfect World