Reviews (1)

COOOOL
This is the best Breakdance CD you can get.. The best mix ... so you should buy it now... It's really nice..

P.S I never listened to it.. ... Read more

Album Description

Vernon Reid and DJ Logic's second record has evolved into an assault of sounds and styles that defy genre, combining hip-hop, metal, and salsa influences. It's a musical tour de force, employing guitar and DJ work into a cohesive package of riffs and beats. There's also a political undertone to this release, making it timely and fitting during this supercharged election year. Guests include Latasha Nevada Diggs, Taylor McFerrin, Traz, Boz Omega, and Ricky Quinones, to name a few. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Dj Rectangle!!!!
If you don't have any Dj Rec cd's than you need to go cop them. All around the best mix cd's you can get.They may not be as up to date as Kay Slay or Clue or Kool Kid, but for one there isn't any talking over the song or shout outz like those dj's and the songs are actually mixed and scratched in(advanced scratching might I add) instead of just fading in the song.Just get one that has some songs you like and slip it in at a party, you won't be disappointed believe me! Don't forget to check out his new mixtapes Faders of Fury,TurnTable Terrorwrist, Turntable Torture,and Vinyl Combat 2, all available at Cellarnoise.com.

A must have CD for those who listen to rap.
This CD is a continuous mix of the best artists around.

Has me looking for his other releases!
Fluid hip hop jams. Some radio standards others underground hits, seamlessly put together. Put in on and get ready have a party.

Another can't miss effort by rectangle
If you have any affinity whatsoever for hip-hop music, you need a DJ Rectangle CD. This is the first one I ever bought, and while it may be a lesser effort for him (maybe), it certainly solidifies his position as hip-hop's best DJ. Seamless transitions and the best intros on wax. For a party on your stoop, this is the poop! ... Read more

Album Details

Second volume of the succesful series.Featured artists include: Buckshot from the legendary Black Moon,Tripple Seis from the Terror Squad,This album is mixed in a mixedtape format with shout-outs,cuts,backspin and all that good stuff. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

W-A-C-K
This CD is wack. I bought this thinking it would be like Laid In Full the first one. Don't waste your cashe on this wack mix CD. I don't know any of my friends who think this DJ is good. Pick up X-cutioners or Peanut Butter Wolf if you want to listen to good DJs.

...
If you tell me this is underground you are wrong. The beats sound unoriginal and this MBogie cat has no new moves to give us. This is typical of these record bizness guys who can't make it on there own and overcharge us hip hop fans for weak... complations. Only 2 good songs here...

Could be better...
If M-Boogie had brought back some of the talent from the first Laid In Full. All this CD represents is a reason to push M-Boogie artists down hip hop fans throats. Akbar and Rasco are the best here. The problem with it is the beats. His beats are good, but they get repetitive. I don't consider this CD underground.

Yawn...This guy is just another Premiere imitator.
I know things about M-Boogie. He makes okay battle breaks albums and the first Laid In Full was definitely the freaking b to the o to the m to the b. This chapter focuses less on the best of the underground and more on M-Boogie's stable of artists and collaberaters. Mykil Myers is dope but I can live without M-Boogie's wack attempts to imetate DJ Premier. As for who M-Boogie is I will tell you what i know. This is a guy who makes house dance records on the side and if I am not wrong is the guy who runs the label Matt Terio. I live the undergroudn. This guy just wants to be it.

For further information on a wannabes career see a group called Shakespear and the Lumberjack (M-boogie was the Lumberjack). No recomendations here.

I do recamend Akbar since he at least is dope too.

Laid In Full 2
M-Boogie offers his production skills on a compilation album that is off the hook. Underground sounds at their best. Check the last track: 2 djs and 2 emcees battle over the same track for the most creative work. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

pretty good
I like the mix. he throws in some cypress hill "i wanna get high" and a few other cool samples. sounds like a lot of the stuff that I trade for. overall though it leaves me wondering why he has a mix cd on amazon instead of marcus b, peyote cody, spinbad, q-bert (dpsm), john doe, 1200 hobos or something like that. worth hearing though just not the best. check out z-trip and radar future primitive for a sweet hip-hop rock mix. they've got that on here and check out product placement if you haven't yet ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Don't listen to other reviews
So many people hate on music that they don't even have taste for. If you like hip-hop spinning at its finest, just go get this cd. I like it!

Good scratching...when you can find it
Like the other discs in this series, this one features the best turntablists in the world spinning non-stop beats and scratch theory totally disrupted by WAY too-much non-sensical "rapping" that doesn't elevate the tracks in ANY way. Maybe they felt that no one would tune in to a radio broadcast of pure turntable action without some kind of grounding vocalisms, but it was just distracting. Get Q-bert's solo efforts or the World Famous Beat Junkies instead...at least until they put out a Pikles disc that doesn't have the "rapping" on it.

am i missing something?
someone please articulate what is so wonderful about this collaboration? maybe these guys have to be experienced live or perhaps i bought the wrong album to introduce myself to this music, but i found this disc not only uninteresting but also straight-up annoying. most of the beats were boring and if there was any interesting scratching or programming it was drown out by the innane gibbering of the horrible mc babbling old school nonsense over all the music? who's idea was it to let this guy disrupt the hard work of the dj's? i love the solo work of q-bert and also of mix master mike (who was absent from this album to his credit), but this outing had nothing in common with the energy and innovation expressed in their other work. anyone buying this disc expecting something like the incredible work of q-bert, mix master mike, kid koala, dj shadow or other contemporary dj visionaries be warned-this ain't it. i strongly suggest giving this disc a listen before slinging your cash on the counter.

ISP = gods of turntable
No reviews needed! just go get it

The best Skratch crew in the world
These are the greatest Dj's in the world assembled into one crew, therefore this is an album any fan of real hiphop would like, because they are the fastest, most creative, turntablists in the world ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Destroyer Breaks!
Really dig the tracks that Josh Atchley aka NYNEX produced fast sounds coming from everywhere the other songs are not that bad but you can only listen to them so much :( but over all great breaks:) If you like this album check out "NYNEX'S" zerozero album

good techno for such little advertising they deserve better
The only reason why i purchased this cd was because of it's influence on the Fast and The Furious Soundtrack. Luckily after hearing the entire cd i was not dissapointed. There are some break beat tunes and very fast beats which make this album one of the better techno albums i've ever heard. The first track somethin really bad is extremely good if you're a fan of pop and lock. The rest of tracks are really good as well but not many lyrical sayings which is dissapointing since i happen to like his voice. Hopefully they will do a follow up album which hopefully won't be as hard to attain as this. Overall i recommend this to people who like fast break beat music and aren't afraid of waiting a little bit for this very good cd. Just because it's on a small label doesn't reduce it's quality. ... Read more

Album Description

Aussie single off the New York-based turntable group'ssecond album, the 2002 release 'Built From Scratch'.Tracks, 'It's Going Down' (Radio Edit - non-LP),'X-ecutioner Of A Bum Rush' (Explicit) & 'Play That Beat'(Lo-Fidelity All Stars Remix - non-LP). ... Read more

Amazon.com

Consistently throughout its 11 loose-leaf tracks, ConstantElevation serves up expansive instrumentals from first-string producers,starting with hip-hop handymanEl-P and signed off byBlackalicious'sChief Xcel. Along the way, we hear jarring bits of electro from This Kid NamedMiles, Planet E's Recloose, andthe fantastic Z-Trip, as well asa couple of sci-fi breakdowns from Omid. While nothing can surpass Steinski'sappearance--which provides the album's center--when the emcee's get a turn, theyshine. FreestyleFellowship check in with "Crazy," whileAnti-PopConsortium continue their campaign for most-improved players with thenitpicking "Crab Lice." Ultimately, Constant Elevation lives up to itsname. By turning the attention to producers and recruiting several decidedlynon-hip-hop craftsmen, the medium receives a much-needed upgrade. --ArnoKazarian ... Read more

Reviews (3)

ILL COMPILATION
I'm really feelin' 'Constant Elevation', lots of bangers on this one. I don't think the title fits though, since the elevation certainly is not constant. I have tons of illbient, down tempo, and turtabilist compilations from '96 and '97 that sound a lot like this one. Nothing groundbreaking or different here...but all of the tracks are quality. The El-P track could have easily been on Company Flow's 'Little Johnny...' breaks album. Really dope...but if you are looking for that next ish...check Chocolate Industries or Big Dada.

This is HipHop Evolution, Man, Don't Hate on the Future!
Man...'Nothing Special'!?!?!
This compilation's line-up is the A-list for the future hope of hiphop: a bible, a black-book, a family tree, a glimpse at artists from every side of the continental U.S., as well as a few from abroad. These artists will keep the true art-form alive, while Eminem, Diddy and the Big Tymers sink the glittery, iced-out Titanic Rap has become... And El-P's instrumental work is just as good as Steinski's (I actually favor Z-Trip's 'Backyard Banger'!!!)
+Plus we've made no mention of a dope Madlib/P.B. Wolf joint that starts with a grimey street beat, then switches to a jazzy YNQ style!!! +No mention of Nobody and O.D. breakin a craaayzee ragga-hop old school relooping session!!! +No mention of Recloose bringing that old Sugarhill/Grandmaster-breakin-feelgood music back in the game!!! +No mention of 'Crab Lice', a sick, sick, ferocious Antipop track that is not available anywhere else!!!('What's your last name?....Nope, you're not on the list.')
Man, come on, the Fellowship releases this type of throw-away material all the time,(like 'The Planets Ain't Aligned' on Nobody's 'SoulMates' album)How many vaults full of old tapes you think those guys are stashing, anyway? If you want some nice Acey rhymes check his new album with Elusive on the beats (w.LLcrew.c). Mikah9 or Acey could sneeze in a DJ booth and somebody would want a copy of it....
And, yeah, Chief Xcel's joint IS a nice, chill outro, but to put it plainly, it's a Blackalicious remix of the Beatles 'Dear Prudence', so to me it is one of the most unoriginal tracks featured here...but its still fresh!!
Take it from a music fan (below) or take it from a HipHop Basehead--I say: Buy now, Agree later>> When you're nodding uncontrolably...

Nothing special...
First disappointment is that the El-P track is an instrumental. I was hoping for vocals - bummer (hadn't read the review before I bought-oops!). The rest of the album failed to really hold my attention, with the exception of the Steinski track, which was fresh as hell, and the closer by Chief Xcel - very nice dynamic shifts. The other big disappointment was the Freestyle Fellowship track - decidedly uninspired rhyming from Aceyalone, which is most out of character. Not the high level we've come to expect.
In conclusion, this album feels like a compilation of throwaway tracks that the artists didn't feel were good enough to make it on their own releases. Unless you are insane backpacker-obsessive, your money is better spent elsewhere. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Best Compilation Of 2001 So Far (Real HipHop)!!!!!!!!!
Koch/In The Paint Fat Beats Comp. Vol 1 is the best comp. I heard since 1999 Soundbombing 2. Every track from 1. the X-ecutioners ill scratching to 17. DJ Babu are tight and the artists on this album are all independent and true to hip hop. Their are a gang of new artists on the album like Non-Phixion, Saukrates, Kazi, a new dope female MC Helixx, Pacewon, Streetsmartz, and Supafriendz. Their are also a bunch of old school artists that can still kick it today like the D&D all stars(Greg Nice, Big Daddy Kane, Sadat X, and Guru), Grand Puba, and Krs One. The Whole album is banging with tight lyrics and of course FAT BEATS, but if I had to choose about 7 of my favorite joints they would be Bumpy Knuckles "The Lah" produced by Primo. Bumpy is raw and rips Allen Iverson apart about how he tryng to become an MC(funny S**t), Non-Phixion "Legecy", Afu-Ra/Gza "Big Acts, Little Acts" Remix also produced by Primo. Juggaknots "Clear Blue Skies", Lord Have Mercy "Charge", Grand Puba "Up and Down", and my favorite track is the great Bobby Digital with "IT Must Be Bobby" If you are a true hip hop head then this compilation is a must get. If you are into simple commerical garbage then stick with that new Beanie Sigel album this is not for u. Peace

Above average compilation
This album is worth the price if just for the songs "stuck in the past" by the x-ecutioners and the remix of "big acts little acts" by Afu Ra and the Gza.The Bumpy knuckles joint is also nice.Lesser knowns such as Non Phixion,Kazi,Jugganots etc. also drop notable tracks.An overall cool album thats worthy of your hard earned dough. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Yet another masterpiece has been created by this artist....
Sir Mix Alot was at it again doing what he does best,comming up with some of the most inventive beats ever. This gentleman has been paired with a true master at the turntables , MC Shy D. He prooves to be a fine conductor ,who knows his buisness of revolutionizing hip-hop. This is indeed one of those great albums that will be talked about; as well as sampled from for years to come:Sir Mix Alot has created yet another masterpiece.Baby got back again. ... Read more

Amazon.com

El Stew are a motley assortment: there's Brain, the drummer from Primus; DJ Disk, a.k.a. the Shigger Fragger, the godfather of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz; twisted guitarist Buckethead--who wears a chicken bucket atop his noggin whenever he appears onstage; Eddie Def of the Space Travelers (formerly the Scratch Hamsters); and producer Extrakd. It's an assemblage you might not expect to work, and their music is almost unclassifiable--except to say that it makes for a hell of an interesting listen. The album isn't a seamless mix of the quintet's talents, but it comes close: all five meet on a trippy, abstract plane and share the same twisted sense of humor. (If you recognize the two films they lift the phrase "klaatu barada nikto" from, this is the album for you.) Somehow, El Stew manage to fit funky dance tracks ("Reign of Terror"), bizarre dance tracks ("Surf Mission [Invasion of the Duck Punk]," with its chorus of quacks), and some very experimental, weird music side by side. That it never once feels out of place is an incredible accomplishment. --Randy Silver ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Buckethead fan...but not this C.D.!
I'm a huge Buckthead fan, but I have to agree with someone else's review that I read, It's not for Buckethead fans! There's way too much D.J. going on and a lot of repetivness. Buckethead doesn't even seem to be on the C.D.!

better than laswell's "a dub transmission"!
even if buckethead's guitar work isn't the focal point of this cd,and even if you normally don't listen to electronic music this disc if well worth checking out!it has trippy samples and the dj scratches aren't ever "overpowering" as they can be on some other dj's albums.it's just a bunch of tripped-out beats that are chilled to the core!a must have for any fan of "the funk troupe"aka buckethead,bill laswell,bernie worrell,bootsy coolins,george clinton,brain,john zorn,etc,etc,etc.cd's to get with this one are "shin terrai-unison",bill laswell/jah wobble-"a dub transmission",buckethead-"over the slaughterhouse",and material-"hallucination engine"

Keeps you interested
I tell you, these fools are beat masters. I really like the little samples that prelude some of the songs. Ingenious. I can't play the whole CD all the way through, 'cause a couple songs don't have the mastery that others do. Some of what these guys are doing is unmatched by other triphop artists.
Buy it. Songs 4,5,8,10,11,13 are my favorite.

Another DJ driven band?
If you are heavy into other bands like PHONOPSYCHOGRAPH or Extra Kid or are a big phan of the invizbl skratch piklz then you will certainly enjoy this CD. It is a collection of Dubs that reminds me alot of Ben Wa's Devil Dub. Songs that build up so gradually that you don't notice that the music is growing until you are enveloped in a cacophony of screaming noises with distorted guitar wailing away behind it all. On the other hand if you are more strictly a Buckethead phan then you might want to sample a few songs because this most likely isn't for you. If you are a big Death Kube K phan, then you will most likely enjoy this CD as well. The musis seems to grow and swell as an entity rather than just music, on the downside this makes listening to individual songs impossible. If you really want to feel the effect then you have to competely zone out and listen to this CD. Overall another solid DJ diven album from Japan's favorite masked psycho, Buckethead. BUCKETHEAD FOREVER!

first time listener
This is a real eye-opener!sheer brilliance,just 4 the Rick Wakeman sample on Igloo condo,i am now in the process of buying as much of El stew,Buckethead and probably Praxis aswell,good show. ... Read more

Amazon.com

From a distance, electronic dance-music producers and hip-hop turntablists might appear simply to be located at different points along a shared continuum, and elaborate plans shouldn't be necessary for them to meet. However, when the emotional temperatures joined at the meeting are hot and cool, the result can be either a curious sensation of both or merely lukewarm. This CD takes tracks by well-known drum & bass and other electronic artists, and it hands them over to leading turntablists for scratching and mixing. In some cases, such as Photek and the Scratch Perverts, anyone who is not already a fan of both parties is not likely to have their head turned around, whereas the recipe of Meat Beat Manifesto and the Herbaliser creates a more integrated result. Wagon Christ's Luke Vibert often uses the humorous or ironic vocal samples that many turntablists favor, so the spoken bits from an audio engineering instructional source spread across his track with DJ Rob Swift could have come from either camp. Some of the contributors from the producers side have a foot in hip-hop to begin with (Ming and F5), and some (Soulstice and DJ Curse, Propellerheads and DJ Craze) hit a big beat stride that smoothly combines everyone's skills. J-Boogie and DJ Imperial present a modern electro track that evokes the epochal juncture of studio electronics and hip-hop DJ'ing in New York in the '80s--where it all began, in a sense. --Bob Bannister ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Blew my mind...
This CD features some of the best artists and DJs in the game. Begins on the right note with "Check the Skills" by the Freestylers and DJ Z-Trip. The diversity of the tracks is good. There is everything from house (Tim 'Love' Lee) and trance (Photek), to big beat (Propellerheads) and drum&bass (Howie B.). Any fan of electronic music and turntablists should get this compilation.

A first of its kind...
In our postmodern age, it's rare (if not almost unheard of) to find music that classifies as "unique". But this CD is definitely it - you get the feeling this is music is at least twenty years' ahead of its time. Some cuts are better than others - while some of the DJ's just resort to dropping some kitschy samples over the beats, some of the others are incredible reproductions of the original. This is worth the price of admission if only for Craze's reinterpretation of the Propellerheads and the Scratch Perverts doing Photek...

WIKKID... 'NUFF SAID!
This album is dope. What else is there to say? BUY IT YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Being the king of New York's illbient scene, DJ Spooky brings a theory of musical abstraction to The Quick and The Dead, the first installment of the Meld Series.Scanner's sampled cell-phone conversations seem the perfect complement to this terrestrial soundscape, and together the pair weave a cohesive mix out of scattered, lazy hip-hop beats finished with refreshingly unpolished production.Even the eighth track, "Guanxi," which features Caipirinha recording artist Rachael Finn plucking out the most haunting cello arrangement, never strays too far from the digitized aural skyline. Fans of Spooky's earlier work should delight in the familiar crackle of ham-radio samples and random transmissions that rise to the top of nearly every track.Sparse, off-kilter beats and the occasional scratch-and-rap ties the album together, making its urban collage credible. As the saying goes, "The world is in the mix." --Aaron Kirschnick ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Love it!
I love this CD...it's haunting, but so dark that it brings me down. I find myself relistening frequently.

holy bat guana
Freaking righteous... Buy this CD, no question. I now need to find more of Scanner's stuff. I like what he and That Subliminal Kid have done here. Very minimal beats, noises, freakishness. Parts are almost reminiscent of some of Future Sound of London's better stuff, but not quite as "produced." This makes it all the better, in my opinion.

A really incredible album.....
Certainly, this is a great album; in the end, the best that it could do... setting aside that it is a heck of a work unto itself, would be to introduce to a wider audience the strange works of Scanner, who is.... an artist of... uncommon nature....

The bulk of people reading this review, I am assuming, are fans of DJ Spooky: the works of Scanner are just not known. Fans of Spooky shouldn't be disappointed; although this is no where near as accessible as the 'Riddim Warfare' album (which, although pretty artistic... could be listened to by a 'major' audience-- Pharoh Monch, Killah Priest and Kool Keith were all on it...) it is as accesible as the 'Freight Elevator Quartet' album, and, probably, shares the title with it of his most important and brilliant work (though 'Viral Sonata', released as Paul Miller... remains his furthest artistic reach). This is a listenable version of his 'illbent' creation: world-sounds mixed with scratching, noise, and minimalist beats... overwrought with Scanner's work.... who does similar things, adding in captured cell-phone conversations....

This album also can be liked straight off the bat-- it doesn't take four or five listens like some of Spooky's other stuff-- in this way, it's probably more like Scanner's canon, which, although somewhat weird, doesn't require years to get into. I highly recommend this album both to fans of traditional drum n' bass and to fans of more experimental stuff....

A must buy for fans of the genre.
I agree with the other review that you've got to give this CD a chance. From the techno riffs to the haunting, tribal beats later in the CD, Q&D has it all. I am really looking forward to further CDs in the Meld Series. GET THIS CD!

tried to run but couldnt hide
well, when i first listened to this album in it's entirety i must say the first thought that popped into my head was, "man, what a waste of time, money, and talent". thankfully i stopped writing things off so quickly and gave this album another chance and boy was i wrong. this is one softly tough piece of work here. i would recommend this album to people who like experimental music. the whole idea of this album was to blend two talents and i think it worked out quite well. thanks for the time. peace to all. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Not for everyone
This album is an exploration of sound that tantilates the senses and aroses the mind. It expresses thought and rythem in bizarre ways creating a texture of sound that is not easily appriciated by your average music lover. Like a fine wine this album is not for everyone. If your a raver club kiddy looking for something new to bounce to this is not the album for you. If you want an album you can space out to one your commute or just want to sit down and listen intently to all the aspect of this music this is the album for you.

DJ Spooky, SPOOKED ME!...
I gave this album one star because ZERO wasn't an option! This is the first & only album I've heard from this DJ. I made a HORRIBLE mistake. I purchased this album after reading reviews that Spooky's music was "tight." I wanted to check him out for myself. Hey, I'm into experimental music, but there's got to be a limit. Only about three songs of this entire CD have a distinguishable beat. I loved the movie "Groove," I can get down to a spinning dryer and the sound of a zipper as it hits the side, slides, tumbles and then hits the side again. That ROCKS! Necropolis, however, does not. It doesn't flow and there is no rhythm. It's a BAD acid trip! There are some cool sounds. For example, the clicking sound of a train-car running over the tracks & some spacey taser, zapping type noises. If you wanted to sample these sounds and incorporate them into an actual song, then this CD is for you. These sounds do not stand on their own. Therefore, listening to this CD was not enjoyable in my opinion. I may give Spooky another chance, but he's off to a bad start with me.

Spooky pushes the music
This was originally released in 1996 along with his solo project "Songs of a Dead Dreamer". 1995 and 1996 were big years for the NYC illbient/dub/ambient scene, and this mix CD reflects that. Mad tracks by other leading illbient artists are included, such as Byzar, Subdub, abstract junglist DJ Soulsinger, and WE (Quark Soup is one of the dopest dub tracks I have ever heard). The album is very abstract and is hard to swallow for some, the first two tracks sound like noise to the untrained ear, understandably. But Dj Spooky's theory is Abstraction, or a Stream of Consciousness, as he defines it. Its all done on purpose, before he drops his own remix of Ben Neill's "Sistrum" (Grapheme)and gets the album started. But personally I feel Zvona the most, I dont know what language it is in (perhaps Hungarian?), but this track defines this album as "illbient" - in that Spooky is unafraid to utilize anything to maintain the Stream of Consciousness. This is a REAL Dj mix and nothing else by Sasha or whatever can even compare to it; its all about artcore.

Not for First-time Listeners of Spooky or Electronic Music
Uh, no. A mix-CD of things that Spooky digs, with some remixing here and there. I had to listen to it a few times to find 1 song that I could listen to more than twice. It's not that the music is bad, it's just hard to grasp. Hey, I like the dilalecitcal manuevrings of The Art of Noise, too, but I think I'd know when I'm licked. It's thick, it's spooky and it's a tough listen to get through. A lot of it just comes off as pure noise, and I LIKE Spooky, in general.

Easily the weakest CD I've purchased this year...
Electronic Music is an enteresting genre that encompasses everything from Steve Reich to The Chemical Brothers. DJ Spooky is certainly more towards the former than the latter, and suffers from some of the same problems that mark the low points of Reich's career, namely getting so caught up in ideas that the music suffers. The difference between Reich and Spooky is that over-intellectualism plagues only Reich's low points, while it defines Spooky's work. And I like experimental music, especially experimental techno music. This album, on the other hand, uses ideas as an excuse to produce absolutely unlistenable trash that is not only difficult on the ear but boring at the same time. Combined with Spooky's constant search for street cred (especially considering he studied Roland Barthes at Bowdoin) and his need to demonstrate that he's read French literary theory and semiotics make for one talentless album. DJ Spooky's really good producing job is on "OFFBEAT: A Red Hot SOund Trip". Pick up that album, and leave this one on the shelf. ... Read more

Album Description

Full title - Beyond Real Experience Volume 2. From one of the top producers, remixers and DJs world-wide. Featuringspecial guests Guru (Gangstarr), Sadat X (Brand Nubian),the Jigmastas, Mr. Complex & L. Fudge, along with moreup-and-comers like Dynas, and Mr. Akil. ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of the more approachable groups to emerge from Brooklyn's illbient scene, We manage the neat trick of standing outside the many subgenres they draw from while having a deep insider's knowledge of each of them. On their third album, Decentertainment, We's three kings, Lloop, Olive, and Once11, move at a deliberate pace--trip-hop and dub tempos are the order of the day, with the jungle beats filling in the spaces every now and then. But it's an event-filled album, shifting texture, mood, and rhythm as constantly as a really bad prog-rock record or a really great Cecil Taylor concert. On the sublime "Out for Now," for instance, a jungle-style hoover bassline meets up with a breakbeat structure that's looser and jauntier than what jungle usually offers these days, collides with a manipulated Middle Eastern wail, and gives way to a single sweet guitar chord echoed over and over again, before trailing into a lovely ambient swirl. Group efforts are the exception rather than the rule in the bedroom-studio world of electronica, and Decentertainment--constructed by three guys who inspire and edit each other to fine effect--reminds you why that's a shame. --Jeff Salamon ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Best 'Illbient' album ever recorded...
We are amazing...and this album is their crown jewel. Unfortunately it is the last album the group will ever record. Amazon has the wrong album title on here, it should say 'Decentertainment'. While all of We's albums are great, this one shows their true potential...a perfect mix of ambient hip-hop/dub/drum n bass and a little science fiction. But not so sci fi that it becomes [bad] or cheesey. I have met a DJ Olive and Loop, and it sounds like they just never found a good label that situation for their material. Liquid Sky/Home Entertainment went out of business right after this release. Well, regardless, Amazon has some copies so pick one up. Also check out the new label 'the Agriculture'.

Cut and paste...
This CD was a disappointment. Although We continues to invent interesting sounds and weaves them into catchy, deep tunes, this record sounds like artists' block. Except for the excellent track "Out for now," the rest of the CD is filled with stuff that sounds like it was fed into a sequencer by a bored technician. Harsh judgment, but true. They are simply capable of better work.

Although many have commented that they don't like "Square Root of Minus One," Square Root beats Decentertainment in musicality, variety, and the kind of creativity that makes We true composers in my book. They are the only ones who have made a dial tone something worth listening to (seriously, the first track is amazing). You will also find some of their best work on "Incursions in Illbient" (three tracks) and "Necropolis" (one track) as well as on their first record "As Is."

Dub rhythms, ambient sounds make for excellent album
We bridge a gap between ambient explorations and dub style music. And bass-filled dub rhythms are definitely the order of the day for "Decentertainment." This is a great album to relax to since the beats take their time, avoiding a dance floor tempo. One of the best aspects of We's music is their ability to pick out truly evocative ambient sounds. For instance, "Afrique" makes the listener think of a twisted carnival, and "If they see" immerses us in a sonic bubble bath, floating along until the beat comes forth.

We's tendency to include pure sound experiment tracks, those without any basic musical structure, has been the only problem with listening to them. Thankfully, this album is much more consistent than As Is or Square Root of Negative One, because keeps such songs to a minimum.

This album is a must for anyone who enjoys intelligent, varied electronic music. Be sure to try We's other albums too.

Utterly different from the rest
I owned We's "sqr. of negative 1" album a couple years ago, and it appears We are no less experimental. This is a good thing, some of their sounds are so evocative, you just have to sit there and say, "Damn, how do they *do* that?"

The neat thing is that We defies genres. They're a shape-shifting mix between experimental ambient, drum and bass, and a they have a few bits of reggae and "world music" tastefully thrown in.

I wish I could compare We to some other artists, but the fact is, there is no comparison (so far as I know).

A Classic Above Classics
After the classic "As Is" one of the best CDs of the 90's in the electronic genre, i (aka the sqr. root of -1) was a bit of a dissapointment. The new CD "decentertainment" not only redeems this but turns out to be one of the all time best in the electronic genre ever. It is melodic, imaginative, atmospherical and emotional in ways never before deemed possible in electronic music. It is conceptual in many different levels. It is international in flavor as if echoes from many parts of the globe are making small but noble attempts to have an impact in a supposedly homogenising world culture.

I read in an interview with Lloop, one of the members of We, that "decentertainment" refers to the audience being the entertainers, rather than a one way transmission like television and hollywood, every person is a participant in creating the ultimate whole. This CD is awesome! ... Read more