Search - DJ Cam :: Mad Blunted Jazz

Head Boppin' Blunted DJ Cam

bordersj2 | Boston | 11/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"8 years later I'm STILL playing this cd. Released back in 96 as a two disc set including some live interpretations and mixes, this was a cd that came out on the heels of Guru's Jazzamatazz and loads of acid jazz and trip-hop artists that were just getting bigger and better. Not to be overshadowed (ha!), of course today Cam has quite the resume of tunes. From the Loa Project to compilation pieces "The French Connection" (oh yeah, he hails from France), to even his stellar DJ kicks where he takes flavors from this and loads of other artists in Europe and of course, Urban life in genearl.



I really dig this. It starts out with Gangsta $hit right after the intro - hey if you have St. Germain Des Pres Cafe, the cut "No GOvernment"... sampled the ENTIRE base line from this. The title track is relaxed and has a dope bass dropping bridge where the tempo of the track is changed altogether, getting deeper with keyboards. "Suckers Never Play That" will be familiar to anyone that's got his DJ Kicks cd and remembers the mixed up "Milan" cut towards the end of the cd. But also on the disc is the sexy, slick and smooth "Sang-Lien" with French vocals and a loop sound to it, tailer made for cruisin' through the city in the late nights. Those aren't the only good cuts - "Dieu Reconnaitra Les Siens" actually became one of the bigger chillout tunes in the late 90's with its free flowing beat and gentle vocals and, again, a change of pace in the bridge. CD 2 is the live recording - from 11-30-95. It doens't gte the same rotation as Disc 1 does for me.



I definitely recommend this - especially to anyone that's a long time Cam fan. He once said: "Hip-Hop is some of the most beautiful music." and I'd have to agree with him. He's a DJ that managed to put a sort of mood and feeling into the works here that paint a picture of the city into your head (albeit a dark one). If you dig this, check out his recently released "Liquid Hip-Hop" and of course, Guru's Jazzamatazz. You might also want to check out a few of the "Future Sounds of Jazz" sets that were released on Compost Records along with albums by Amon Tobin (Permutation in particular), Minus 8's early stuff (Beyond, Beyond), DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff. All in all, this one is a bit dated but I still enjoy many of the tracks."

When Jazz had an affair with Hip-Hop

bordersj2 | 04/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a fan of some of Cam's stuff and always loved the more jazzier element to his work, this album fuses those fat hip-hop beats with gracefull chilled out jazz. I would say that this album is the enbodyment of everything that is cool about Cam. It's like the sort of thing that you would hear in an uber-sheek celeb hang out. Buy this album and show off to your mates how you only listen to music that is quite simply splended.Nuff said."