Bricolage 1
By
DJ Destruction
& DJ Specifik
For those of us who grew up in the early years of Hip-Hop music, especially around the early to mid-eighties, there was an exciting sub-genre of the music that came to be known as the Cut n Paste mix.
Most of you will be aware of how the Hip-Hop music grew from
Kool Herc mixing the break beat of two records from turntable to turntable and
then we had such things as Remixes and the Megamix. But, in 1983 the duo of
Double Dee & Steinski would enter a Tommy Boy contest to remix the track
‘Play That Beat Mr DJ by G.L.O.B.E & Whiz Kid. The track they submitted was
Lesson 1- The Payoff Mix which would sample early Hip-Hop records, Funk and
Disco but also included samples from such diverse sources as movies,
tap-dancing instruction records and records by Little Richard and The Supremes.
Double Dee & Steinski would win that contest and would go on to release
Lesson 2- The James Brown Mix in 1984 and Lesson 3- The History of Hip Hop Mix
in 1985. The Lessons would quickly gain legendary status and go on to inspire
such acts as Coldcut and MARRS in the UK and many more around the world. In fact,
Coldcut’s first white label release ‘Say Kids What Time Is It?’ from 1986 was
another entirely sample driven track which was hailed as the UKs first breaks
record.
Tracks like these were often produced using the Pause button
edit, something that Coldcut did exclusively with ‘Say Kids’ and ‘Beats + Pieces’,
where you would pause the tape record the section you wanted then pause again
and what you were doing was essentially cutting on piece of a track and pasting
it into a new mixed track, hence the monocle of the Cut n Paste mix. This
became popular among teenagers, like myself, who spend hours on a dual tape
deck with a pile of cassettes trying get our own mix just right. I probably
still have some of mine lying around somewhere…
This idea of the Cut n Paste mix still lives in the heart of
many of the old skool headz out there and has been kept alive by those such as
DJ Yoda with his How To Cut and Paste series and the Unthugged albums with Dan
Greenpeace, just to name a couple. DJ Specifik also did a Cut n Paste competition
through his Cold Krush radio show receiving some awesome submissions and being
won by one Jabbathakut.
So, what DJ Destruction and DJ Specifik have done is to
bring that vibe back for a new generation so, without further ado let me dive
into these two tracks and if there is time afterward, I might include a few
questions I asked both DJ’s…
The A side is Opus #1 (Test Of The Emergency Broadcast
System) By DJ Destruction which takes you on a journey which almost
redefines the idea of the cut n paste mix. An Opus, in musical terms, can be
defined as a set of compositions and an artistic work, particularly one on a
grand scale and here DJ Destruction takes a wealth of differing musical
compositions and, through the medium of DJing, creates his first Opus. There is
everything you would want here to get your body moving. You have you Hip-Hop,
you funk, disco and soul and everything in between from the plethora of James
Brown samples and other well know sounds from the likes of The Rimshots and
Toney Lee to some more eclectic choices like Fun Boy Three and a collection of
sounds, sound bites and even the appearance of Zippy from the UK children’s
show Rainbow, which just goes to show there is nothing you can’t cut and paste with.
This one really feels like a homage to Double Dee and Steinski and their
Lessons style of mix.
Flipping to the AA side we have Pause 191 (85 Prime
Factory Reset) By DJ Specifik which packs more into a smidge over 4 minutes
than most pack into an entire album. Specifik pulls no punches and hits you
with break after break from the likes of Hall and Oates, Herbie Hancock,
Mantronix, Art of Noise, Full Force, Digital Underground, Eric B and Rakim,
Hasim and a whole lot more to boot. Add into that some scratching and a dash of
sound bites and Specifik has you up on your feet bouncing around like a Mexican
jumping bean on speed. The shear amount of what is packed into this mix is off
the charts and took me back to the days of listening recordings of early DMC
mixing championships on the John Peel show it takes you back in the days and
pours molten liquid audible treat directly into your ears and before you know what’s
happening it’s all over, now breath…
Overall, what can you really say about these two mixes?
For those of us who know this style of mix then it takes you
back and really does give you a deep nostalgic feeling. Two different styles
that bring the same warm injection of adrenaline on hearing all those great
breaks from those tracks and instantly identifying them or, in some cases at
least, trying to remember the source track (Damn old age). I mean, what a way
to pack as much of your favourite sounds into just four or five minutes.
For anyone not familiar with this style of mix then this is
about as perfect an introduction that you could want to this genre. Hearing
these two tracks will make you want to go out and listen to the likes of Double
Dee and Steinski, Coldcut, DJ Yoda etc and then hunt down the original tracks
that those samples come from and that is the joy of this, if these is a track
you are not familiar with, you can probably google it these days, it was a
little harder for us back in the days you know…
I give huge respect to DJ Destruction and DJ Specifik for
taking it back to the old days and creating two seamless Cut n Paste style
mixes that really do keep that original Hip-Hop sound but for a new era and for
bringing back great memories and emotions.
I understand that these days it is a little easier to create
you own mixes with the advent of digital software but, that said I know there
are still plenty of people out there keeping it analogue too. So, perhaps you
might wanna hunt down an old double tape deck and a few tapes and have a go or
alternatively there will be a program on your pc or even an App for that these
days, why not give it a go…
You really won’t want to miss this release. This is also a brand-new
collaboration with Wise Cut Records and will their first ever release. Released
through Wise Cut Records, the pre-orders go live today, 14th May,
and I doubt these will be around long…
On that note,
There is just enough time for a short Q n A with DJ
Destruction and DJ Specifik:
Guys, thank you for taking the time to
answer a few quick (well I hope they are quick anyway) Questions.
1. Can you remember the
first time you heard a mix of this kind, which one it was and which artist?
Specifik: If
the truth be known I can’t actually remember which one I heard first! Age is
taking its toll but what I can say is very early mixes on the radio by people
like Chad Jackson, chopped up bits in the mix on the street sounds records,
Double dee and Steinski, Coldcut all played a part. Now I think about it was
probably more about producing a mix of records that just happened to be at a
rapid pace rather than creating a patchwork. We were basically using tape
players and pause buttons to re-create what was spliced. So maybe you have to
credit the New York radio and club djs who did this first, It was natural
progression.
Destruction:
The first two Hip Hop albums I purchased were Grandmaster Flash & The
Furious Five’s Greatest Messages and Tommy Boy’s Greatest Beats. Both LP’s
contained amazing cut ups that blew my 12 year old mind ’GMF’s Adventures on
the Wheels Of Steel’ & 3-D’s ‘Tommy Boy Megamix’. Roughly around the same
time (84/85) I was religiously listening to Mike Allen on Capital Radio every
Friday and Saturday night, he would regularly play Double Dee & Steinski’s
Lessons and various other mixes like ‘Fusion Beats’. The Third Lesson (History
Of Hip Hop) really fascinated me and I started to try and replicate that by
creating my own pause button mixes. Little did i know that in 87 Mike Allen
would play one of my early megamix’s on his Sunday afternoon ’Street talk’
show. I still have a recording of it.
2. Going one step on
from that and thinking of your inspirations, DJ Specifik you note Michael
Provis as an inspiration for your mix could you explain why that is and if you
have any other inspirations for the mix.
Specifik: Yeah,
big up my old mate Michael Provis who defiantly played a big part in me being
interested in making pause mixes. He was a bit older than me and his brother a
bit older again, so we had access to his brothers records although he probably
didn’t know. Anyway, apart from breaking and graffiti we were also into having
mix battles. We only did this a couple of times, but it was something I
couldn’t get enough of. While I’m at it, happy birthday Mike !
DJ Destruction do you
have any particular inspirations for your mix you could tell us about? Destruction:
During lockdown I had a lot of time on my hands so thought I’d go back to my
roots by creating a series of live cut and paste video’s for my social media
channels. These were basically a salute to the pioneers such as Flash, DST,
Double Dee & Steinski and Coldcut etc who inspired me to start DJ’ing and
producing music. One video in particular had a Lessons feel about it so I
decided to cut a studio version together which then became Opus #1.
3. What was the
motivation behind putting this release together?
Specifik: I was
introduced to Ross aka Destruction through a mutual friend who knew I would be
interested in his cut and paste videos. What I saw blew my mind and I went on
to champion Ross through my radio show and CKTV. Obviously, we both have a
mutual love for cut and paste so the natural progression was to do a record and
here we are.
4. How do you both go
about deciding what tracks, sound bites and so on you are going to put into
something like a Cut N Paste mix?
Specifik: For me
it’s similar to Djing but applying a producer’s head. Find loads of tracks you
want to work with and try to make them work together. There is defiantly a
certain amount of fluke in the process as well. All the soundbites are adding
to fill voids and add to the experience but all with familiar references, I
guess.
Destruction: My
approach is very similar to Specifiks. When planning a mix, I try to visualise
a musical journey with multiple colours and shades, It’s a bit like putting a
musical jigsaw together.
5. How did the
collaboration with Wise Cut Records come about and are there any future
releases of this kind planned at all?
Specifk: The
two guys behind Wise Cut are probably two of the nicest people you would ever
meet. If this one goes well, I assume we will be back for more . .
6. Lastly, if you’re up
for it that is, could you tell us what you each think of the others mix? Destruction:
I was totally blown away with what Specifik created and even more by how fast
it was made. I seem to remember him doing the whole thing in a couple of
evenings plus a video version too. His mix is full of cool samples and
soundbites which brings back so many nostalgic memories from the 80’s &
90’s.
Specifik: I only
have one word that sums up Ross’s mix and its Genius. Everything is so well
crafted and works as one track which is what it should do really. I love
working with people that inspire me and push me to work harder. When the
video’s drop you will see the same energy again but visually.
Thank you both again for this, very
much appreciated.
So, there you have it everyone, a
little look into the story behind this awesome release. There is one last thing
for me to do, which id to send huge props to Specifik for sending this over to
me.
I’m outta Here,
Peace…
Steve
LINKS
Get your copy via Wise Cut Records Bandcamp Here:
https://wisecutrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bricolage1
VIDEOS
Opus #1 (Test Of The Emergency Broadcast System) - Premieres on 15th May
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