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Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow are back
by Paul Labich
This second release from the superstar turntablist duo of DJ Shadow
(a.k.a. Josh Davis) and Cut Chemist(a.k.a. Lucas MacFadden) is the sequel
to last year's Brainfreeze mix CD, a recording of practice sessions
for Cut and Shadow's performance at the Future Primitive Sound Sessions
in Los Angeles.
Product Placement, like Brainfreeze, is compiled almost exclusively
from 7 inch 45 rpm records(as opposed to DJ standard 12 inch 331/2 rpm
records). The result is another seamless blend of lightning-quick turntable
scratches and old school funk and soul whipped up into frenzy by two
producer/DJ's at the absolute height of their game. Product Placement
is a testament to the art of "cratedigging," what DJ's refer
to as the eternal quest to find the most obscure and funky records in
the crate of every flea market and used record store they can find.
Cut and Shadow reclaim their title as the kings of cratedigging
with this schizophrenic compilation. You could imagine thegrin on Shadow's
face when he found a dusty 45 with a woman crooning "Shadow"
over a funky minimalist drum beat, which serves as the opener. The packaging
touts that one hundred and twenty nine records were sampled in course
of this sixty minute disc.
They truly pull out all the stops on Product Placement, mixing Led Zeppelin’s
"Whole Lotta Love" into "You Got What I Need," the
record popularized by Biz Markie on his signature song "Just A
Friend." Also in the mix is a knee-slapper called "Rapping
With Gas," which consists of little kids rapping about the wonders
of cooking with natural gas, with Cut pulverizing a James Brown break
in the background.
On Product Placement, these two guys are not only having a great time
matching breaks and trading cuts with each other, but they seem to bring
out their best qualities. Cut Chemist is known for his ability to change
the pitch and speed of his scratch, in sense making it an
instrument capable of jamming like a guitar in the soundspace of a band
or record. Along with his solo DJ projects and his affiliation with
the Jurassic 5, Cut has done scratches for Less Than Jake, the latin-funk
collective Ozomatli, and even supplied the ghost-scratch
cuts for Incubus’ breakthrough album, Make Yourself.
DJ Shadow entered the scene with the brilliant soundscapes of his critically
acclaimed debut album...Entroducing.
This led to his involvement with James Lovell on the UNKLE project,
which included collaborations with Kool G Rap, Mike D of the Beastie
Boys, Richard Ashcroft of the Verve, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Shadow
also runs his own Bay-Area record label Quannum Projects, with a roster
that includes Lyrics Born, Blackalicous, and at one time Jurassic 5.
Shadow has an amazing ear when it comes to blending different sounds,
creating lush sound scapes that can seem funky and hollow at the same
time. Along with his upcoming follow up to ... Entroducting, Shadow
also recently composed the film score to Mark Singer’s documentary
of homeless subway dwellers, Dark Days.
Product Placement is Cut and Shadow at the their finest, blending a
hodgepodge of 70’s soul along with classic rock, Dick Clark, the
Beverly Hills Cop theme, and a vintage promo record for something called
Strike Cola. Right when you think you've got their sample locked, they
switch it on you and give you something even more obscure.
Product Placement is a tribute to the art of DJing in it’s truest
form, all up and coming turntablists should sit down and take a lesson
from the true masters of the craft. And in true DJ form, Cut and Shadow
have only made this album available on a limited six thousand copy pressing.
Happy hunting cratediggers.
Email Paul Labich at PLabich1@ic3.ithaca.edu
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