Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 04/01/2008
After a dozen years of releasing unique beats, warped
turntablist constructions, and
hip-hop that's subterranean yet somehow connected to the genre's golden age, Japanese turntablist and producer
DJ Krush released two remixed best-of CDs -- one with vocal cuts, one with instrumentals -- that offer a snapshot of his career for newcomers while giving longtime fans some new angles on tracks they've most likely devoured by now. Some numbers are drastically remixed and some are lightly dusted, but overall it seems he worked really hard on making both volumes of
Stepping Stones hang together, quite the accomplishment considering any
Krush construction can pull from any number of genres on its own. As on the
Lyricism disc, the new touches he has put on these tracks are dark and detached. While the team-up with his American counterpart
DJ Shadow is a fascinating, choreographed stumble through
film music,
cocktail jazz, and ominous
electronica, it's the otherworldly folding
Krush does to pianist
Ken Shima's melodies that makes
"Stormy Cloud" one of the most rewarding tracks on the whole collection. Fan favorite
"Kemuri" gets a light reworking that softens some of its punch, making this formerly beatbox-driven track sound sinister and lurking in the corners. The remixes flow perfectly from one to the next, and while
Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best (Soundscapes) is a success, it's best to skip this single-disc Japanese release and look for the American two-CD set that combines this disc with its vocal counterpart,
Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best (Lyricism). ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
;)
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