Breaking new ground in 1997, the release of
Deep Concentration furthered hip-hop's turntablist movement by showcasing its brightest talents. This is primarily an instrumental album, with most of the vocals provided by a deejay's quick scratch on a piece of vinyl. Cutting tracks are abundant, like the lively selections from the
X-Men,
Prince Paul, and
Peanut Butter Wolf with the
Beat Junkies.
Cut Chemist of rap group
Jurassic 5 and the Latin outfit
Ozomatli lends "Lesson 6 The Lecture," a bouillabaisse of drum kicks and spoken-word snippets that offer a course in turntable madness. No sample is off limits to these deejays -- everything from Tibetan monks (
Radar's "Radar Frees Tibet") to water droplets (
Ingrid De Lambre and Eddie Def's "Poeisies, Scene 1 Le Blues") are stunningly pieced together to form new compositions. Also includes a bonus CD-ROM mixing program.