As much as I love musical computer toys, and I do (believe me), nothing hits the heart and soul like the sound of real instrumentation. Without picking up the press release on the new D:FUSE, I knew there was something more than tweaks and samples on People_3. When I did read it, the quote from a review in Remix Magazine not only made me laugh, but it hit close to home, mimicking the with the way I’ve often felt while standing in the club wanting to hear the tracks from an artist’s new release in a live setting, but only getting able to experience those songs as the given DJ spun his or her own music or someone else’s. Then there’s the all-time favorite: staring up at them while they appear to be working on their college term paper or checking their MySpace account. The only question I could ask myself is, “What the hell am I staring at?”
Within the electronic neighborhood the flipside are groups like Basement Jaxx who bring their vocalists on tour, Ming and FS who rip out their guitars throughout their set, DJ Shadow who brings out his collaborative drummer, or Cirrus who goes all the way with a full-on, nuts-to-bolts band.
D:FUSE is also in the rank of those rare producers that step outside the mold when they go on the road. People 3 is the third in a series of compilations meant to present “both sides of the picture,” recorded as a live, double CD over two different performances: one at San Francisco’s Club Mighty this past July and the other in Austin at Lift Room.
If you open up the cover, they’ve got the pictures to prove it. For each set up D:FUSE loaded in variations of his instrumental setting, including a full percussion rig for Austin, a vocalist MC Flint, guitar, bass, and keyboards for S.F.
The S.F. recording, Disk 1: People_Clubbing, takes us back to the old days with the bongo dude going wild in the corner of the club, hands and arms moving so fast they seem invisible. The bass guitar is hot and heavy on Micali & Reavey’s “Stop,” things get downright nasty as they always do when Thrill Kill Kult joins the party on “Days of Swine and Roses,” then the floor get really sweaty as “Ghetto Funk Deluxe” from Audio Magnetics quakes the crowd into fifth gear. You can pick up where the drums are going off during the periodic lulls in the song, riding the beats in unison.
While the Austin gig would be considered downtempo on Disk 2: People_Chilling, with an end-of-the-evening/early morning kind of vibe, it’s far from background music to comfort you as whatever you devoured during the evening starts to take its toll. Filled with chunky beats, trails of jazz horns and drops of intricate piano all reflect the detailed etching of a rich, musical landscape throughout.
This compilation is over the top, so I can only image how D:FUSE will throw the kids into a frenzy when he comes to town this Saturday, playing the Sun Festival at Mishawaka. Also on the bill is our own DMX Champion, DJ Vajra and The Procussions, a former Denver hip-hop crew (now residing in L.A.) that have been taking on the nation with the big boys.
www.djdfuse.com
www.djdfuse.com/videos_new.htm (to check out the live set)
www.moistmusic.com
