REVIEW: DJ Spooky vs. Scanner, The Quick and the
Dead
- Andrew Duncan
DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, aka Paul D. Miller, has teamed up with Sulfur Records' top dog, Scanner, to create an anti-musical statement that brings forth a more intellectual form of pop culture.
The Quick and the Dead is classified as a part of the Meld Series. The CD defines it as "a union of one artist with another, breaking the mould, dissolving expectations, in the hope of opening up a fresh wound in the sound." DJ Spooky and Scanner have stuck the knife in the wound and twisted the concept beyond repair.
With Scanner's exceptional debut for Sulfur, Lauwarm Instrumentals, DJ Spooky has taken the initial landscapes of Scanner's haunting minimalist landscape he has defined and chips away at the creative boundaries. DJ Spooky adds depth and movement with the inspiration of his experiences in Africa, as well as the sounds of New York's urban landscapes.
The first track, "Journey" takes the sounds of cloudy, urban industrialism and adds ambient-dub that emotionally builds in volume and substance, eventually receding into the second track, "Edison," and further with "Uncanny," an experimental approach to hip-hop sampling that tweaks the effects to the extreme.
DJ Spooky leads you on a roller coaster ride with quick scenery of urbanism to Scanner's apocalyptic minimalism that boil down to just plain creepy. "NGUGI" can be conveyed as theatrical horror that bleeds into "Dialogic," fueled by African tribalism, burning down to just a lull in "Channel Float." Turn down the lights and you might just feel frightened or poetically inspired.
Scanner's presence leaves a spine-chilling effect only intensified by DJ Spooky's talents. The Quick and the Dead is truly a godsend that will hold its presence well into the 21st century.
