Monday, December 19, 2005

DJ Cam Revisited By

I can't really say enough about the influence DJ Cam has had on shaping a particular segment of my record collection. He is a downtempo all-star, one of the originals with Krush and Shadow, and like his two counterparts, the Frenchman skillfully manipulates the area where hip-hop and downtempo seem to converge. From his 1994 debut Underground Vibes to his masterpiece, 1998's The Beat Assasinated and beyond, DJ Cam has proven that through production and passion, downtempo music is much more than passive chillout fare and can stand on it's own whether accompanied by vocals or simply an instrumental. Like fellow countryman Kid Loco, DJ Cam helped carve the early niche by taking a love for producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock and and channeling that energy into an amalgam of dub, electronic and hip-hop, in turn influencing handfuls of next-gen producers like AIM, Eliot Lipp and Nicolay. His newest release, DJ Cam Revisited By features 13 of the best DJ Cam reworkings and includes a class roster from top to bottom -- Kenny Dope, Thievery Corp., Kid Loco, DJ Premier, Lord Finesse, DJ Vadim, J Dilla, Four Hero, Attica Blues and more. I could have posted just about any of these remixes, but figured I'd start from the top with a real NYC legend. "Success" is arguably one of DJ Cam's best and most recognizable tracks and it's fitting like a Master such as Kenny Dope allows the original to breath while adding his subtle touches. Resources

  • For more information on DJ Cam check out his Flammable imprint here.



    • DJ Cam :: "Success" (Kenny Dope remix)

    Posted by Steve at 12/19/2005 12:36:00 PM | | Comments  

    Monday, December 12, 2005

    DoF

    Great winter post today, moving slightly away from the more funky recent posts, to some nice pastoral acoustic electronica. DoF is producer and musician Brian Hulick, and if you enjoyed the recent King Seven post, you will definitely feel "Ten Cities" off of his 2004 Mine is May. Nice acoustic guitar melody blended with much improved programming really makes this a winner -- emotional without being melodramatic and great for a cold-weather car ride. Similar in tone to Howard Hello or Xela, this will be a nugget you will be proud to pass on to friends when you compile your holiday mix tapes. Airy, lively and just enough of that great endscene melancholy. Look for similarly toned posts over the next 3 weeks. We love our holiday season and since SK will be doing a lot of driving this year, look for roadtrip soundtracks galore. Resources

  • For more information on DoF check out the Abandoned Building Records homepage.

  • You can purchase DoF's 2003 record If More Than Twenty People Laugh, It Wasn't Funny online at Insound.com by clicking this link to Insound.com
  • Get all kiinds of online nuggets, including some holiday covers here

    • DoF :: "Ten Cities"

    Posted by Steve at 12/12/2005 07:54:00 PM | | Comments  

    Thursday, December 08, 2005

    PJ Pooterhoots

    Although this is not a new track and might even have been posted on other blogs, I'm simply going for it. I mean, it's highly likely that you haven't heard of PJ Pooterhoots and are unaware of his "No Go" EP which features a nice little cover of Hall & Oates classic "I Can't Go For That." Now look, scissorkick is not prone to wedding set tunes -- you know, the new trend that has underground DJs playing shit platinum cuts from 2 decades back like it's something novel. What's cutting edge about Lisa Lisa mixed into Cameo or Cybotron into Snap? Great DJs were doing that WHEN THE RECORDS CAME OUT. Not to say I don't likes me a good wedding set (and I have plenty of big 70s and 80s records to prove it), but let's just say that there are more stimulating things out there to deem 'underground' and champion. So why is scissorkick posting a Hall & Oates cover? Because this nice minimal techno version is almost a completely new track. Everything about it -- from the cute-su vocals to the staccato programming -- makes it dancefloor fresh and something that can make a variety of audiences happy. It's the sound of a retro 80s party in 2090. We'll try it out tonight and report back. Until then enjoy this track. It's a lot of fun.

  • You can purchase a copy of the "No Go" EP from the UK record store/distributor Juno Records


    • PJ Pooterhoots :: "I Can't Go for That"

    Posted by Steve at 12/08/2005 04:26:00 PM | | Comments  

    Wednesday, December 07, 2005

    Bastard Jazz Presents: The 12 DJs of Chriskwanzukah

    Look, if you are a scissorkick reader in NYC, you put up with a pretty fair amount of emails coming from SK. I know I forward you the Bastard Jazz and Redbud party info in addition to other events were are involved with and while you may have igonred those emails/postings in the past, please DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS! This will be the Bastard Jazz event of the year for sure -- 12, count 'em 12 of our favorite DJs and friends will be doing special 30-minute barnstorming sets to the delight of fans, audiophiles and dancefloor junkies citywide. Each year our annual Holiday party has been amazingly successful -- a no-nonsense environment with free admission, an hour of open bar, and the best Thursday night of music in the city. It is also a chance to help us celebrate a year of Digging Deeper, a great, friendly space that has been our home for 2005. Despite the turntables hanging from chains, it really is a homebase we have enjoyed playing in. For more information, you can click over to www.bastardjazz.com which should be updated with a larger version of the e-flyer in the upcoming days. And please, if you are a reader of SK and come by, please say hello.

    Posted by Steve at 12/07/2005 03:11:00 PM | | Comments