So what do you do when you sign a record deal and your deadline to produce, record and mix the debut CD is only three weeks? Well…you don’t sleep that much and the music goods come out half-baked. Yes, that is what DJ Haul & Mason pulled off, but I have to disagree with the not yet done factor and believe the album’s refers more to their physical state of mind after a non-sleep session than the result. After a few listens the toothpick comes out clean, and when you slice it all up there’s plenty of chewy goodness inside.
Picking up unfinished goods that had been in their brains and their hard drives for a few years, these sound collectors have assembled a wide array of original sugar and spice, concocting a variable tray of delectable delights…a dash of Afro Cuban funk, a dollop of streetwise hip-hop, a smothering of urbanite downtempo, along with a soufflé of jazz inspired goodness. Ideas for samples run the gamut of scratchin’ Maars’ “Pump Up The Volume” to horns, bongos, space age keyboard sprazzles, phat drum beats or a snippet of a television show.
Although Haul & Mason are used to commanding the club dancefloor, on this release they’ve used their new found label relationship to bring out new ideas and sounds while also preserving their to their underground turntablism cred (2 Headz Are Better). That’s not to say that the goods don’t get you groovin’. No, you won’t be doing the “I gotta glow stick and I’m high on mushrooms, watch the pretty trails” kinda jig; this is movin’ your ass slow enough not to spill your vodka tonic but still feel the groove.
This is one of two DVD-Audio disc we’ve received as of late, the other being Josh One, which is also in this week’s issue. This new music and visual format came out last year and from what I understand, is starting to make its way out to the masses. On one side you’ve got your typical CD. Flip it over and the DVD side of the coin includes the entire album in surround “5.1 Multichannel Surround Sound & Stereo,” exclusive behind the scenes video of the duo explaining how they work and how the album came together, along with liner notes and other bonus content.
So they pulled it off…along with the help of their musical friends who provided everything from the instrumentations to the MC skills, and not to forget JED who was there ‘till all hours doing the mastering of the fantastic album. So these guys are one of us, the whacks with the “sleep when you’re dead” mentality that keeps the world spinning (hear that Aimee? This goes out to you chick ‘cause it’s 3:14 am and I know you’re still working like me).
www.haulandmason.com
www.afrodisiacrecords.com
p.s. If you dig this you should seek out their Scion mix album – www.scion.com/mix.
