What's up?
I'm good! I'm just trying to get everything sorted out for the release.
Are you happy with how The Audience's Listening came out?
Yeah. I had been working on it for awhile. It came out really good. Everything could always be better, but it's probably better than I had imagined. I can't complain about it.
It could always be worse.
It could definitely always be worse. (laughs) That's for damn-sure.
You have the single with Mr. Lif and Edan. What'd you want to do with "The Garden"?
Make the music unlike anything I've ever done. I just wanted to have the MC's rip. They're two of my favorites and I didn't even pair them together. I called up Lif and he got Edan on it. It's a good thing. I like them going back and forth, just revisiting that whole type of structure without a chorus. I tried to build a chorus and I couldn't really do it. It just seemed to work more naturally having one go after the other. It came out pretty well.
There's a lot of crazy sounds on that.
Yeah. It's some really toked-out '80's thing. I really like that. It's supposed to me man versus machine so in the studio we come in and bust the drum machine and the tape machine and the machines fight back. There's kind of a war going on.
You've always had some rare sounds in everything you've done.
Yeah. I definitely try to create my own sound that's different from anywhere else. It's important for me to be original. I always try to put it with something that doesn't totally alienate everyone. There's always sides panning and some scratches off-beat, but it's not too off-beat. It's wild and chaotic.
How does DJ Cut Chemist go about putting together an album?
It's mostly reflective of the music I buy. I'll put together compositions of samples and maybe have the samples played or keep the samples in there and slowly arrange and sculpt away at them. Some songs finish up quickly but most of them take some time.
A lot of producers crank out the beats. How important is it for you to take your time?
Everything is about stacking sounds on top of each other and I can't do one sound the injustice of having another sound on top of it that doesn't go together. It's almost like match-making. It takes time. There are lots of boring dates.
Can you take us through the making of a Cut Chemist beat?
I usually start with music, not drums, because I think if I find drums, it's hard to find music that fits the drum pattern. I usually take the music piece first and then find a drum break that fits the kicks and the bass. Then I find the melody and randomly play things over it and start stacking sounds. I try to find a chord change for the chorus and another chord change for the bridge. I'll figure out if I want to use a vocalist or put in my own vocals by using a dialogue. That's pretty much it. Then I spend months mixing and mastering it.
What are your outside influences for your music?
Definitely movies. It's mostly movies. I like to think visually when I make music. There's kind of a whole movie going on in my mind when I'm making music. That whole sensory perception is important.
How did you want this album to flow?
I spent a lot of time sequencing it. Well, actually I didn't spend a lot of time sequencing it, I spent a lot of time thinking about the sequencing after I had done it. I sequenced them very naturally and then I played around with it. I think there's a flow to it and a narrative and a story that's kind of a loose story. It's like a sonic story, a journey from one room into another. That was really important to me and I hope people can listen to the album from the beginning to the end and you can go back to it and it makes sense. It starts out and comes back to the beginning again, which is like any good story.
A lot of people were caught off-guard when you left Jurassic 5. What motivated you to do that?
Definitely finishing this album. I couldn't have done that if I didn't loosen up my schedule. That was my main reason.
Are you done with J5?
I would definitely like to start working again. The MC's were the dopest I've ever worked with. There were a lot of times when the magic was there. My beats and those MC's, you will never find a better match than that. I would definitely like to go and work with them again at some point. That's the best there ever was.
Are you still on good terms with them?
Yeah. Everybody's chilling.
Are you working on the new J5 album Feedback?
No. I think we're both musically going in different directions. We were both doing something different and it wouldn't have gelled on this album. Me and Numark did some stuff.
You and Numark have great chemistry on stage.
Definitely. The chemistry I said I had with the MC's definitely extends to Numark as well, on-stage and off-stage. We've known each other since '92 and we can basically read each other's minds. From making beats to performing, we really didn't need to say anything because we knew where the other person would be.
You guys always brought out the dope toys during your shows. What's your favorite?
Since I'm on some garden shit right now, I would have to say the Berimbou. That's a cool instrument. The coolest one I ever saw Numark pull out was the Koto when he does the "Tried by 12" joint. Anything super-ethnic.
Now that The Audience's Listening is out, are you looking to do some outside production?
If it's something I can get with. I have my eye on a few people I would like to work with. I definitely want to spread my wings and do some stuff with other people. There has to be a friendship between the artist and the music. It can't just be like, "Let's do it and get it out."
I take it you're not the type to send out a bunch of beat-CD's.
It could happen, but probably not this year. It would be cool. If I could make ten beats in a day, that'd be great, if they're all good. I could make ten beats in a day, for sure, but none of them would be good. Maybe one or two, but if I could make ten good beats in a day, I'd send them shits off and make some money. That'd be great.
Did you do anything on Chali 2na's solo album?
I didn't. I'm going to keep sending him beats and hopefully something will stick. Me and him are real particular. If we do something, it has to be the best shit ever. We're still trying.
You and DJ Shadow have done some great things in the past. How is it working with him?
Intense! I'm really particular and really focused on details, and so is he, so when we get together, it's painful. (laughs) We really, really, really microscopically look at what we do and make sure it's really tight. I love it, but it is really hard work. It's like going to boot camp for beats. We do our homework and we sit there and study, study, study. It's dope. It definitely pays off.
Are you guys going to do some more work in the future?
Yeah. We're talking about it. He has his album coming out later in the year. We're trying to have some fun again so we'll see what happens.
You've racked up the miles on the road. How important is the live show to you?
Real important. I grew up doing shows and I try to make it captivating and not just some bullshit. I try to make it something you can dance to because I am a DJ. There's a fine line between DJ'ing being a spectator sport and the moment when I'm not even there, when you turn away from me and you don't even feel my presence. When I do the beat-juggling, I want you to pay attention to it. There's an organic aspect that you can groove to, even if there is no show going on. It really encompasses the audio and visual perception. It's different when it's just me and no MC's. When it's like that, I try to get more conceptual and make it more interactive for the audience. I try to make it more captivating which is difficult to do. It's easier when there's Numark or DJ Shadow. I try not to have a big visual screen behind me because it takes people's attention away from what I want people to focus on, which is me. I try to make it as entertaining as possible. So far it's been ok.
Is the DJ art dying out?
No. I think people aren't as excited about the DJ as an artist as they were a few years ago with Q-Bert and all that. In some sense I think it's hella cool that people have opened their mind up to the DJ. I think people are still open to it, but you have to find a way to balance bringing great music with a great set. If you do that, people will come.
Why are people losing interest in turntablists?
It didn't really die out, but it became less in the public eye. Breakdancing never died in the late '80's, it just wasn't covered as much by the media. It's still there and there's still a following for it. It's the same with the DJ's. All the same DJ's are still out there doing it and they're still amazing and they're still doing some of the craziest things you could ever see. They're just not selling out arenas. They're still out there. I don't like to say it died out, it's just hibernating.
How much time do you spend practicing?
Not much. I spend quite a bit of time on selecting records and making music. I don't spend a lot of time trying to perfect a scratch. It's not that often that I practice. I probably spend three to four hours a week practicing where I used to spend four hours a day practicing. It's hard to do everything, from making beats, buying records… you have to balance it out. This year I'm buying records where last year I was making music. I'll have to start practicing soon because I'm going on the road.
What advice do you have for young turntablists out there?
Pay attention to new things and don't be a follower. Be a trendsetter and don't be afraid to do something new and everything will be cool.
What do you want to say to everybody?
Get ready for something's that critical of our times and listen to the subliminal messages. Don't be afraid of them. There may be something there that you don't see. Other than that, have a good time. And thanks for being patient and paying attention to all the subtleties.
By Brian Kayser
![[img=http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/2521/p119631050.jpg]](http://img709.imageshack.us/i/p119631050.jpg/){kind=link}