Some DJ’s go “crate digging” or “digging for beats” to find that perfect breakbeat in order to rock a party, while others search for rare groove beats to make people’s jaws drop and raise eyebrows. It’s not rare for a DJ to do both, but to do it for a clear eighty minutes? That’s almost ridiculous! Mixing rare groove, old 45’s and 7 inch’s together and turning them into long sets was something started by Steinski with his song from back in the day called “Lesson #1” (as far as I know). DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist helped pour the foundation on the genre by taking that idea and running with it on their well-documented Product Placement tour.
AEIOU two – Making Music Your Own, which is a mix CD from Philadelphia DJ’s Diplo and Tripledouble, have taken this style to the next level, genre-blending rare-groove breakbeats, and mixing them with everything including the kitchen sink. What I mean by that is soundtrack music, psychedelic, funk, old soul, folk and Led Zeppelin. Yes, in this case, Led Zeppelin is the kitchen sink! Blending the organ melody to Zeps “No Quarter” with a funky drumbeat over it is simply genius. The two DJ’s met at a record show in Philly and together have amassed a collection of over four thousand records!
The samples they’ve chosen and the way they doubled up beats and in general, just threw all of it together into a pot, make this CD a mind-blowing musical trip. The album is a near flawless mix of highly entertaining beats that just keep getting better with every listen. These guys are obviously not looking in the 99 cent bin and have not only done their homework on finding the best of what they were looking for but have probably scoured many a record store and website to find that perfect beat not just to rock a party, but to rock it right! |