Spinning the idea of a DJ mix CD as if they'd invented it, Six Degrees launches its Under The Influence series with the cuts of turntablist and academic smarty-pants DJ Spooky. As if we needed more evidence, Spooky is here to impress us with his musical taste and an unmatched ability to be as self-referential as possible in 70 minutes. It begins exceptionally well with a trippy ride through collaborations with the Dub Pistols, Emergency Broadcast Network and Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra, and travels through a sustained and varied hip-hop set - some brilliant choices here, including Phoenix Orion and Anti Pop Consortium, although his flattened reworking of Spearhead's "Rock The Nation" does the original a disservice. What's most enjoyable about his choices are the way that they never quite stay within the boundaries of their genre: he even slides in a few avant-garde numbers while no one's looking. Unfortunately, this equilibrium begins to unravel toward the end: an unrecognisable Mike Ladd track is followed by four overlong minutes of minimalism, and no one wakes up in time for Sonic Youth.
(Six Degrees)Various
Under The Influence: Mixed by DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid
BY Helen SpitzerPublished Oct 1, 2001