Search - DJ Rels :: Theme for a Broken Soul

Worth hearing, but not the place to start your Madlib collec

Thomas B. Mitchell | 09/29/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"DJ Rels is another Madlib moniker. This time, he's doing the "broken beat" thing (whatever that means). To my ears, there are many genre and sub-genre names for what is essentially electronic dance music. It's hard to keep track and differentiate one "style" from the other. But I digress.



This collection is instrumental and features 'Lib's trademark drum chopping and unusual sampling. This time, it's on some tripped-out disco-ish groove. Despite the sometimes jarring juxtaposition of the drum sounds over the loops, the songs are surprisingly organic (for the most part). Being unfamiliar with the broken beat scene, I've relied on others to assess Madlib's faithfulness to the style. For the most part, they say he's done an admirable job.



Please realize that this is not Quasimoto, nor is it Lootpack, nor is it YNQ. People may hear that it's Madlib and purchase it based on the caliber of his other work. This is its own thing; you will not be hearing "Angles Without Edges Part 2" or "More Shades of Blue." If you like his music (particularly his instrumental tracks) and have already been indoctrinated into his musical approaches, you'll enjoy this. If you're new to his music, try "Shades of Blue" or "Madvillain" instead.



One final note: If you purchase this item, try to do so through his record label's prefered retailers. They offer a promo-only companion mix from Madlib himself. He has deep, deep crates: It's almost entirely disco/dance music and, much to my surprise, it's really great. When you consider both discs (the original album and the disco mix) together, it makes for a fantastic listen."