Customer Reviews

Audiences Listening

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sometimes albums are made with groundbreaking new twists and sounds. Sometimes they are made for financial gain, via radio hits and MTV coverage. And then there are some that are really just made for the love of it.

Cut Chemist's "The Audience's Listening" appears to be one of the third category, though the turntablist/DJ/Jurassic 5-er does give electronica and hip-hop some novel twists in his first fully original album. But at the heart of it, it sounds like Chemist is simply dabbling in whatever he enjoys most.

"Start remembering what you hear," says a cheerful interviewer, before a patchwork of samples inform us about the DJs of the future, about music, the first annual DJ convention, and a lot of dogs barking. By the time you're finished with the intro, your brain will be in the right state for what comes next. ("People get ready... the robots are coming!")

He retreads familiar ground in the energetic percussion-heavy "My 1st Big Break," before switching over to a new sound -- bossa nova. Gypsyish guitar playing an energetic live tune, with a sample of Astrud Gilberto playing softly halfway through. It's an exquisite, ethereal tune that shows that Cut Chemist can do all sorts of music.

Lest anyone think that Cut Chemist has lost his edge, he dabbles in some truly weird stuff (a phone conversation done entirely with samples and scratches), sharply surreal hip-hop, and shimmering electronic numbers that sound like an arty sci-fi film. Cut Chemist dips back into bossa nova once before, before finishing up with the dense, catchy hip-hop of "The Audience Is Listening Theme Song."

Cut Chemist has done some pretty brilliant work with remixes and the "Brainfreeze" collaboration with DJ Shadow, so expectations were high for "The Audience's Listening." But the best way to listen is without expectations -- while it's neither groundbreaking nor brilliant, it is a beautiful, funky little album.

One thing it has from the beginning is a relaxed, laid-back feeling feeling. Cut Chemist shows that he can do everything from spare acoustics to dense, intense melodies, dabbling in a little of everything at least twice, and trying new sounds without trying anything too new.

It's not groundbreaking, but from the sound of it, Cut Chemist was just trying out whatever existing sounds he liked rather than striving for something new. The basic melodies are loaded with extra sound: lots of vinyl scratches, odd samples (glass breaking? dogs?), razor-sharp hip-hop beats, and everything from a cowbell to gypsyish guitar to waves of smooth synth.

Hymnal and Thes One make rather surreal cameos on a pair of songs, while Edan and Mr. Lif appear on the frenetic hip-hop "Storm," blurting out a breathless rap that gets stranger with every word.

Cut Chemist may not have broken new ground with "The Audience's Listening," but the result is still a fun, weird, and thoroughly likable album. Definitely worth a listen.

Cut Chemist's 'Motivational Speaker' wants to know who the audience is and what it wants. The second track begins with 'If I get killed '****' it! It's at this point that he proceeds to show the listener that he is not going to play by the rules of the standard DJ record. This is an experiment that analyzes the role of the audience and the DJ. Chemist's answer is to have fun without sacrificing integrity and invite the Audience in as close as possible. The backbone of this LP is most undeniably Hip-Hop. The results show a mature ease with incorporating elements of rock '(My 1st) Big Break', garage/surf 'What's the Altitude', electro 'Metrorail (thru space)' & 'Storm', world 'The Garden', and progressive funk 'Spoon', 'Peak in Time'. This record is not a loner DJ record or filled with guest MC's yet is fun and gives an experience that begs repeat listens.

As a turntable enthusiast, I can really respect what Cut Chemist does on this album. He really is just having fun with things, with a variety of beats and great samples. One track in particular he simulates a phone conversation with scratching, which blows my mind. Great album.

Parts of the cd are full of the usual sample anticts from Cut Chemist that i expected. A The few songs that have mc's are solid lyricly, and the beats are more than that, they could be played as instrumentals and still be dope. The cd is a little short, but that doesnt make it anything less than great. The Garden is an epic song of strings and things with great production. A few of the songs are really catchy and will have you singing them all day (A peak in Time...He ho He ho, HEHO heho HEho, hehohehoheho. youl'l know if you lisen to it). All in all i'm very pleased with the album, and highly recomend it if you really enjoy underground hiphop, indie west coast production, soundscaping, turntablism, or pretty much anything. plain ol dope

i think the people that bash this album or are dissapointed by it are the ones that expected too much of the album. and that's not the album's fault, that's their own.
let me tell you, i first heard this album performed live by the cut chemist himself. and it got me shakin', same with the whole audience. so if u get a chance to, go see it live... it was awsome.
so therefore i decided to pick up the album on vinyl and compact disc.
its a good album, especially if u like a mix of hip hop, funk and jazz. Djs should respect it because the turntablism aspect of the album is up to par, nothing new or totaly mind blowing, but creative nontheless. if this is your first album listening to cut chemist, its a good one, and i think even for the cut chemist fans, its apreciable work. its fun, creative, and gets you moving. i thought however there lacked a bit of energy from the MC on the track 'whats the altitude' on the CD. however, live, he rocked it.
its a short album, but its fun, and its short enough not to be too redundant, long enough to enjoy.
get a copy, its not a let down... if youre looking for something completely mind blowing, maybe this isnt your pick, but thats why i didnt put five stars. fine album all the way through.

and the others are good, too. I'm particularly fond of "Spat", which rolls nicely into "What's the altitude". Spoon has a great groove, too. "The Garden" seems to be the song that gets radio air-time around here, so you'll recognize and dig the track.

After seeing the golden age of hip hop deteriorate and then the dissapointing sell out of DJ Shadow I had begun to lose all hope for artists who had a passion for the art of sampling. I purchased "The Audience's Listening" and I was so happy to hear that Cut Chemist was keeping this sound alive.

Although DJ Shodow and Cut Chemist both still work together on a constant basis, we now all know who to give our respect to. An album like this was truely needed this day and age. Anybody with a love for sound collage will not be dissapointed. Support Cut Chemist.

I've been a fan of Cut Chemist since his work on the J5's first EP. His DJ sensibilities are refreshing and organically inspired, and the guy knows how to dig through his crates to find samples that work. He isn't in-your-face with his scratching like most hip hop DJs, but what scratching he does use is tasteful, sweet, and sometimes very funny. The guy kicks [...]. I give him props.

But "The Audience's Listening" isn't one of his stronger efforts, in my opinion. Aside from being a very short CD at 43 minutes 30 seconds, it suffers because there aren't any tunes you can really sink your teeth into. There's some nice live instrumentation on "The Garden" and "Spoon," but it's nothing distinctive and even a bit sloppily played, so I wonder why Chemist felt the need for live instrumentalists at all on those tracks.

Even on "Storm," the CD's bread and butter track featuring Edan and Mr. Lif, the production is wandering and unfocused. It had none of the straight-forward, head-nodding punch normally found on Chemist tunes. Just... strange. I've listened to the CD several times over the course of several days, and it just doesn't make me want to nod the head. Ever.

Maybe Cut was coming with a new approach to producing or songwriting, which I support for any artist, so I give him some slack. But my lack of desire to nod the head as I was driving around listening to it in my car just left me confused.

I was thinking a collabo with a deep house artist might've been far more rewarding here. Instead of silly overindulgences coupled with the fourteen-year old attitude that went into making this CD, I'd like to see Cut grow up and make an adult album with some polish and sophistication. Something that gives beatlovers what they're looking for.

I love your work, Cut. But in my opinion "The Audience's Listening" should've been so much more.

I picked this up after getting heavily into DJ Shadow--not a big leap. The two San Fransisco turntableists are freinds and consistent collaboraters. Listen to Product Placement, The Hard Sell (Encore) and Brainfreeze: A Nonstop Live Mix of Strictly 45's and Exercise in Vinyl Destruction

But Chemist has a very different approach than Shadow, and hearing the counterpoint is facinating. Listen to Shadow's Endtroducing...: he uses his towers of vynal to create thick, sometimes inpenatrable ambient textures.

Chemist seems much more drawn towards rhythm. Taking samples, cutting parts to create jerky beats, and then using these in almost Steve Riech like repetition.

This makes Audiance Is Listening work as dance music. You can definatelty shake to it, and it is amazing to hear how, when a snippet is repeated after being sliced, it is in itself a whole new piece of music. Cut is THE chemist at this.

If I had to kick the ball, I would probably kick it to Shadow, only because his music seems more layered, more complex. But it is hard to deny the power of Chemists' cuts, particularly on Audinace is Listening.

I only heard one cut (The Garden) from this album, and only heard it 3 times over the course of about 2 months. Outstanding tune, but I wanted to hear more.

FINALLY the DJ actually said who the artist was, and I bought the album immediately! This was a good decision on my part!

It is an intellegent composition, one that will not yield hits on the radio, but is brilliantly crafted. It requires actually listening to it several times to get into it, but the "effort" is worth it! And you won't get sick of hearing it on the radio every hour like so many albums!

If you have any interest at all in DJ compositions, this one is a must have!