Search - Rob Swift :: Sound Event

The art of scratch

carterfactor | Toronto | 12/29/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At first this was a difficult listen. About half the tracks on Rob Swift's Sound Event, his follow up release to his full-length debut The Ablist, are straightforward turntable scratching over beats. No vocals. No perceived structure. To fully appreciate a truly DJ-centered album, the listener must discard the narrow view that hip hop is simply rhymes over a beat. Thankfully, Rob Swift tries to make the experience as painless as possible by supplying beats that are varied and accessible even to fringe-hip hop heads. The Latin-flavored funk of "Salsa Scratch" is irresistibly cool, while the jazzy "The Great Caper" is a strict lounge affair. Both are probably the least conventional-sounding hip hop songs on the disc but also the most enjoyable. That's not to take anything away from the straight b-boy cuts. "The Ghetto" contains a nice juicy beat accompanied by well-placed vocal samples and dope horns, while the spaced out "Tronic" is highlighted by unreal human beatboxing from The Human Orchestra, Kenny Muhammed. As for the four vocal tracks, they're excellent. Underground legends, J-Live, Supernatural (yes, he freestyles on both tracks) and Large Pro are in top form. Even relative unknowns, Gudtyme and Eddeganz, shine on the political track, "The Program." On these cuts, it is especially fun to hear Swift interact with the vocalists through his creative use of samples. The hilarious "The Interview With Colored Man" is classic. From a technical standpoint, the scratching is surprisingly understated. Swift, a long-time member of the legendary DJ group, the X-ecutioners, relies heavily on placement of the scratch as well as type of color it adds to the music. Don't expect to be blown away by Tigerfist-style, nanosecond speed-scratching. It is obvious that this album was not made for the sole purpose of showcasing his formidable skills (even if he does so on "2,3 Break"), but instead to further advance the turntable as a musical instrument. Not only does he succeed in doing this, he has produced an thoroughly enjoyable piece of work in the process.Peace, carterfactor."

An more 'Eclectic' Set....but Arguably worth Anyone's time..

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 02/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rob Swift (of the phenomenally talented "The X-Ecutioners", collective group of turntable wizards), produces his solo effort, that as well as some quite frankly astounding Hip-Hop turntablism, impresses far more when he base's the album around "eclecticism".....this means that as well as expected Hip-Hop/Rap turntable skills, he showcase's why he's one of the world most technically gifted turntable wizards, by mixing sets that feature astounding influences as far a field as: "Latin, Jazz, Samba, rhythm guitar & Techno" all incorporated, as if they were his main style of music..... and Rob isn't interested in making this album one long "Scratch-fest" (even though the idea of that sounds fantastic), No....this is more an appreciation of music in its various forms, with Rob given each and every track room to actually breathe before being incorporated into part of a quite frankly superb set. Those looking for beat juggling & Vicious scratching at every turn may be slightly disappointed by the more restrained approach taken here, but it could be argued that this album is all the more impressive for the seamless integration of other genres of music without upsetting the fluidity of mixing. And even if Turntablism is not your preferred style of music, you'd been hard pressed not to (at the very least), appreciate just how far, Turntablism has evolved into an art form."