Cut Chemist/DJ Shadow - Brainfreeze - 1999
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Yes, that's right the legendary Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow CD that has been much bootlegged, much sought after and requires much $$$ if you bought it from ebay (apparently around $200 US).

OK OK OK so it is pretty old (released sometime in 99), however, not many have had the chance to hear an awesome CD. I was recently able to get my hands on one of the few new copies that actually made it to Oz. Now where's that $50 gone?

The 2 songs/tracks or whatever you want to call them they came up with on this CD were recorded from a rehearsal for their "45 sessions" tour they were doing at the time. So apart from the few 12's being used, such as the Number Song and Organ Donor, most of the snippets we hear during the album are taken from rare 7" records. Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow also show off a rare 7-eleven 7" record (more on that later).

Anyway, let's break it down....

The first track, aptly entitled "Uno", appropriately starts off to introduce the album. Underneath the Karate/Kung Fu "Thunderkick" samples, the theme to Space Odyssey 2001 plays , then segue-ing into some Jimi Hendrix inspired psychedelic rock track, before kicking into the mix (yes, that's right, they certainly know how to make an intro!). For all the old skool breaks fans, some tracks are instantly recognizable during the mix -
Harry and the Champs - Mohawk
Rufus Thomas - Itch & Scratch
Afrique - House Of The Rising Funk

you'd probably know more than if you were one of those diehard elite breaks fan! A lot of the titles used are actually displayed inside the CD cover :)

The second track, "Dos", has a bit more of a Cut Chemist feel to it especially once the song which was sampled to make Jurassic 5's Jayou hits your ears, and it sounds great! Then once you think Cut's overrun the set, in comes DJ Shadow's Number Song - I've always got a bit of a soft spot for that track with it's hard guitar and cheeky Sesame Street sounding number samples, yet I still feel it's not as great as it could be. The original version of Organ Donor and the track it samples is the icing on the cake for the second track.
Oh that 7-eleven 7"? It's called Dance The Slurp and you can see Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow holding it up on the CD cover. A pretty funky track with some guy telling everyone to "slurp with the beat" while they "rock the slurpee break". And rock they do! A cheeky sample of someone slurping on a slurpee on top of a drum break is complemented by deft scratching courtesy of Cut Chemist and Shadow... pure class no arse!

All in all, this CD represents live turntablism, with each track being recorded live and there was no stopping during recording, according to some reseach done on our ever so porn friendly internet. I still need to find a site which contains the complete tracklisting for this CD.

If you can get your hands on one in a store, make sure you get it. If not original, any bootlegs will still do you ears some justice. Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy of the ever-so-rare Product Placement CD which contains about 144 tracks all mashed up into a 50 minute mix!
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PeAcE
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