Customer Reviews

Drop the Needle: Illy B Eats Remixes

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

 

 

this cd f**king rules... buy it, trust me. i'm a drummer, love mmw, hip hop, rock and roll, and mostly everything in between except for that 1 -40 thing. everything that glitters is not gold. you won't be sorry. if you believe in art, the eternal groove, communal sharing, saving trees, or anti-corporate music just hit place order. the second cd is more beat oriented and may not be as well liked by non-musicians, but the first cd is worth the price of admission alone. the second cd is more raw grooves and some ethereal ambience... but its damn good. bake a cake and relax.

To appreciate the premise behind "Drop the Needle," the listener first must appreciate the three "Illy B Eats" CDs. The problem is that you don't want to go out and buy these recordings since they're not intended for the casual listener. The Illy B Eats discs consist of break beats. A break is the instrumental part of a song that grooves between the choruses and verses. It becomes a break beat when the initial break is looped to become a new, continuous rhythm. Break beats are typically employed in hip-hop, rap or house/techo music. So the idea is that rather than lifting samples off a James Brown recording, Billy Martin released three discs of two minute long ready to use beats. DJs used his beats on Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass Re-Whipped, the Prophecy snowboard videos and a Japanese toilet bowl commercial. Rather than sit around and wait for more royalties to pour in, Martin took the initiative. Billy Martin initiated a project that encouraged cats to take his beats and do something interesting. "Drop the Needle" is the result. While I'm not sure if it really deserves four stars, it's good for what it is. The tracks employ very interesting beats with minor musical accompaniment. While this music is far from the bare-bones break beat originals, it stays light years away from having pop sensibilities. There are no hooks or significant melodies that will pull the listener in. Rather, "Drop the Needle" features post-modern, danceable, urban infused instrumental music. In a sense, these are glorified break beats. Given that I was able to pick up a copy for around four bucks through a marketplace seller, I'd say that the project's appeal has stayed underground. The market for these two discs may be minimal, but it will appeal to Billy Martin completists and lovers of post-modern urban groove.