kingdrake

So my review of DJ Quik & Kurupt's new record was published in Pitchfork today. It got an 8.2, so at least Mos Def didn't release the BEST RAP ALBUM OF 2009 any more, ha.

The album really is pretty great. I think I got my point across pretty clearly in the piece, but what really makes it work is Quik's function as a DJ; he sets expectations for how the record will sound, then upends those expectations at every opportunity -- yet somehow the album maintains a really cohesive overall picture. One writer I enjoy reading once referred to Puffy's "curatorial flair" when making records; Puffy is like the DJ who never quite learned how to beatmatch, but knows how to construct a record. Quik is like that, but learned how to beatmatch, produce & rap all at once. It's a rare talent, I think, to be such a multi-dimensional artist, jack of all trades & master of them too.

If you're not really familiar with Quik's career (& you NEED to be) I recommend checking out Matthew Africa's Best of DJ Quik mix which u can download for free.

Here's one of my favorite Quik tracks, 2nd II None's "Up N Da Club." Further evidence of Quik's multi-threat skills as an artist, how great of a summertime jam chorus is this??

I listen to a lot of DJs, both in at-home 70-minute mixes & out at multi-hour club sets, but there are very few that can really push a mix that you remember as a mix, rather than a "collection of good songs." The ones who've stuck with me include Larry Levan's live mix at the Paradise Garage released on Rhino, a few Larry Heard mixes I copped from deephousepage.com, DJ Harvey's 1st Sonic Disco mix, Theo Parrish's "These Days & Times" mixes, Shanks & Bigfoot's Aiya Napa mix of millennial 2-step and The Avalanches' "GIMIX" mix. These are pretty much the foundation of my conception of how to construct mixes, how to build and increase tension & release, & how to subvert expectations, tell a story with other people's songs, etc. There are probably a few others I am forgetting, but these DJs created mixes that stick with me.

When it comes to constructing recorded mixes, Maurice Fulton is one of the best. His produced material is pretty hit-or-miss to me; I dig his tracks with Kathy Diamond, his remix of Alice Smith's "Love Endeavor" was incredible -- but then he gets on some weird art-y shit like Mu. But as a DJ, it's hard to front on his talents. He does such an amazing job creating mixes with balance, where each track takes you in a different direction without undermining or feeling out of place, each mix somehow striking that difficult equilibrium where diverse styles & sounds come together to form a complete whole, the tension between genres pulling each track apart while the specific characteristics of each track interlock in such congruous ways that it forms some sort of counter-pressure, and each mix hits a perfect symmetry of forward motion.

The mixes really do feel like journeys, where by the end you look back & realize all the different places you've been without ever feeling jarringly shifted (unless of course, a jarring shift was the point).

For example, his mix for Resident Advisor managed to include an edit of Barbra Streisand's "Promises," an elevator muzak cover of (Maurice Fulton-co-produced) Crystal Waters track "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)," and mnml techno all in the space of a single set. But through timing & context & the simple characteristics of each track, the mix really felt like a perfectly logical construct.

Download Fulton's latest mix for Beats in Space here. It's the kind of thing yr gonna want to sit with -- he plays out the full tracks, lets the full songs really settle and breathe, not at all interested in fancy blends & quick transitions -- but it's most enjoyable if you have patience & sort of let the story unfold. I think my favorite stretch of the mix starts with Damon Harris' "It's Music," a disco classic that Levan used for his Garage sets, through what sounds like the restrained sexuality of Coco Steel & Lovebomb's strutting "Touch It," but isnt, which is finally released after a long blend into Letta Mbulu's powerful "Kilimanjaro," where the mix feels like it really bursts free.

If you enjoy this, I also recommend checking the podcasts he releases monthly for his Bubbletease Communications label. Basically, 30 minute mixes of unreleased tracks by that label. You can find them here.

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