Customer Reviews

DJ Spooky: Under the Influence

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

 

 

this is da bomb! I don't care what anybody says... when you get stuff like japanese shikahachi flutes mixed with Moby, little snippets of Redman saying "let's get ILL!" mixed with Kool Keith, or some of the weird ambient sounds at the end of the record, its just open... think Solid Steel or Krush's Code 4109, but more abstract. I've been checking Dj Spooky's stuff for a while, and Necropolis was weirder than this stuff... "Under the Infleunce" is more dance oriented... Spooky always breaks rules [....] I say good! I'm soooo sick of dj's that play the same stuff all the same way every time... the turntablism in this is subtle - weird effects underneath Saul Williams voice, Future Sound of London turned into dub, Deckwrekka (a cool underground turntablist out of London) cut into Sussan Deyhim - who sings in some weird middle eastern language... this is like what Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaata were doing back in the day... its raw, but smooth. Choice cuts: Sonic Youth's "Tremens" (weird instrumental chilled out rock), Dj Spooky's remix of Anti-Pop consortium, Paradox's mix of middle eastern sounds with drum n' bass... another subliminal classic

Five stars to DJ Spooky (...)Being his second DJ mix since 1996 one can notice a difference in sound. His older work "Necropolis" is dope, and contains a lot of ambient/illbient/dub tracks. This is a little more hip-hop friendly, featuring a lot of ill underground acts (i.e Anti-Pop Consortium, Mike Ladd, DJ Logic). This is the first album that I have heard that has successfully attempted to bring together clearly defined underground musical genres without loosing the vibe. (...)Show him your support.

This CD is pretty tight, infact one of the tightest i have ever heard period. I got into The Deckwrecka and DJ Spooky like 2 years ago and this is my favorite cd yet. A lot of breakbeats and a nice drum'n'bass fill. The best songs in my opinion are 3:7:8 by Emergency Broadcast Network, Show Stoppa by DJ Ziggy, and Sycosis by The Deckwrecka. Mad beats and some skilled turning by paul. Nice job on this paul. Peace guys. You like hip hop or techno with a jazz-twist, then you will like it.

but this album caught my ear at a party a few weeks back. i picked it up the next day and have been listening to it ever since. (i don't own any of his other stuff, and i'm generally leery of comp mixes because you don't always know what you're getting.) i don't know what his other stuff is like, but this is a pretty catchy mix. i love it because it wanders all over the place, from ambient to indie rap. the liner notes talk about life and metamorphises and it's easy to see how dj spooky constructed that philosophy in this mix.

the best part for me is the transition from "anger" into "music is...". "anger" is the third of three trance-ish tracks that are really kind of boring. and out of that emerges phoenix orion's "music is...". it's catchy as hell, one of the best parts, and it kicks off 5 or 6 really danceable hip-hop and house tracks. and yeah, there are some tracks that are annoying/boring, but the vast majority are listenable at the very least.

and it's almost 75 minutes, so you're definitely getting your [price] worth.

This mix album is definitely worth the effort and money to grab it. It is eclectic, as is most from Spooky. He still reigns as my fave DJ, seeing him spin those tables is a surreal site. As it says on the package, this album doesn't bank on some current dance-floor trend. It is Spooky showcasing his many influences and favorite tracks. Those range from Sonic Youth's "Tremens" to Moby's "Sound". He mixes his own collaborations into the cd as well to create a mix cd like none I have heard. Overall, it is a compelling listen, and a very varied album that I can listen to no matter what my mood.

Great stuff here. While not as advanced as his "Modern Mantra", Spooky does a tremendous job here. He's got it. Highly recommended if you are into turntablism.

Spooky does things his way. He's more in the Luke Vibert (Plug, Wagonchrist) end of the spectrum than the club DJ end. Think DJ Krush or Amon Tobin.

This is a good start by Six Degrees to allow prominent DJs to put together their favorite cuts (also see K7s DJ Kicks series). The cuts don't always belend but they are interesting and out of the norm from most dancehall froth.

I don't know what all the fuss is over DJ Spooky. I've heard a few tracks mixed by him and I own a copy of his Riddim Warfare album, but this album is the last straw.

As eclectic as he his, he may be too eclectic as he tries to mix from genres too diverse. Though I appreciate the fact that he doesn't go for the trendy anthem-type dancefloor hits and experiments with more rare tracks, the result is, I think, unmelodic and uninspiring torture. I think that it's not so much his talent mixing as it is his taste in track selection that makes this album so awful. Riddim Warfare is much better in my opinion.

My advice is - don't waste your money. There are plenty of other albums out there that are more deserving of your money.

Spooky starts out this album strong with tracks that while varied, beg to be amplified. It's a great collection of tracks, but my main difficulty with this album is that's all it is: a collection of tracks. The term "mixed" can only be applied loosely to this album at best, as the songs rarely segue from one to the next and many transitions are bluntly abrupt. There isn't really any turntablism on this album either. This being said, I can't figure out what Spooky did other than pick the tracks, and even that falls apart towards the end of the album. Hover dub is 3 minutes of a vacuum sounds. Putting sonic youth in this mix is like trying to put the round peg in the square hole. I expected better out of Spooky.

I have heard several mixed tracks by this DJ and own a copy of his Riddim Warfare album. I must admit that this album is quite different from his previous material. In fact, it's not what I expected at all.

I thought that because Moby and Future Sound of London tracks were featured on this album that the album would be more ethereal and ambient sounding. What a mistaken assumption that was. Those two tracks are the first two tracks on the album and comprise only 1% of the total album running time. The rest of the album is overwhelmingly hip-hop sounding. And don't let the fact that there are 26 tracks on this album make you think you're getting a great deal. The majority of the songs are under 3 minutes long. What also makes this album so unattractive is that DJ Spooky tries to mix tracks that are too diverse: from hip-hop, trip-hop, minimal techno, ambient, lounge, drum-n-base. The result is a mass of incoherent noise.

If the Under the Influence series proclaims to showcase DJs who spin less well-known and personal favorite tracks, then this first installment is, in my opinion, a reflection of both the quality (or lack of) of this series and the DJ's bad taste in track selection.

I had always thought that DJ Spooky was a decent DJ, and I respect the fact that he tries to undercover less well-known tracks and experiments with those tracks, but I have come to the conclusion that he's not as great as everyone portrays him to be. Beware to those who are looking for a melodic and inspiring album; this album is not it.