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Review by Jack Foley |
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BEST known as VJs (or practitioners of a visual mixing technique that fuses
and segues images in the same way that a DJ mixes records), Hexstatic have
now turned their attention to music and the result is an ultra-hip and hugely
entertaining blend of styles, incorporating everything from old school funk
and rock to chillout and soul.
Listen and Learn has its grounding firmly in hip-hop and break beat, but cleverly
merges a number of styles to create an essential DJ set that would set the
dancefloor ablaze at any really good nightclub (and we're not talking Ibiza-style
crap here!).
A long term collaborator to the Solid Steel radio show, where his talents
have been seized upon by Ninja Tunes, Robin Hexstatic has created a genuinely
feelgood album which takes you on a musical nostalgia trip through some of
the great records of recent years.
Beginning with an exclusive new track from Hexstatic, which wouldn't sound
out of place on a David Holmes soundtrack, it's then all aboard for a thrilling
journey into the best that Solid Steel has to offer.
Highlights include Mr Scruff's Ninja Tune megamix teamed up with Dawn Penn
singing 'No, No, No', and David Holmes' Rip, Rip, which is lifted
from the soundtrack of the Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney collaboration,
Out Of Sight, and which features a sample of Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn talking
in the movie.
Shirley Bassey is given a seductive Nightmares on Wax make-over, for what
is, quite possibly, the most beautiful moment of the album, while Grand Master
Flash and the Furious Five's The Message (credited as giving birth
to conscious hip hop lyricism) is combined with some funky electro beats.
This truly is a busy long-player, packed with mood changes, samples, voice-overs
and a feelgood vibe throughout. Ike and Tina Turner crop up with Funky
Mule, as do Queen, with We Will Rock You (complete with an amusing
anecdote in the album sleeve), which is combined with a number of artists.
Trunk's Chrome Jam is reliably described as a 'dirty drum and bass workout
made positively filthy with the addition of Coldcut's I'm Wild About That
Thing vocal', while the rapidly-emerging Boards of Canada are given a
vocal workover, offset against one of their most famous tracks, Aquarius.
It is really at this point that Listen and Learn enters its relaxed vibe,
creating an essential slice of chillout for any fans of the genre, and expertly
sliding into that Nightmares on Wax/Shirley Bassey fusion, Easy Thing To
Do.
I could continue raving, for this is the type of record which delivers more
each time you hear it, but I would simply urge you to rush out and buy it
instead. As one of its vocal samples proclaims, midway through, 'that's a
great fuckin' record, man!' We couldn't agree more.
Track listings:
1. Telemetron (Hexstatic intro dub) - Hexstatic
2. Streetcrawler - Monophone
3. Mr Scruff's Ninja Tune megamix/No no no (Hexstatic edit) - DJ Food/Dawn
Penn
4. Solid Steel scratch school - Various Artists
5. Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
6. Funky mule - Turner, Ike & Tina
7. Rip rip - Holmes, David (1)
8. Funky Kingston - Toots & The Maytals
9. Jazzy John's dub - Stonebridge
10. Solid Steel rock school - Various Artists
11. Chrome jam/I'm wild about that thing - Trunk/Coldcut
12. Aquarius - Boards Of Canada
13. Easy thing to do - Bassey, Shirley
14. Daily intake - Unsung Heroes
15. Wildstyle/Hip hop be bop/Boogie down dub/Walking on sunshine - Timezone/Man
Parrish/Rockers Revenge
16. Apache - Viner, Michael Incredible Bongo Band
17. Know how - Young MC
18. Do your thing - Wright, Charles & The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band
19. Home shopping - Trafalgar, Bobby