sounds

Illegal Art Mp3 Compilation Curated by DJ Empirical

Posted by stephen on 2004-12-01
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UPDATE: The hyperlinks to the illegalart site are dead, so I’ve replaced the direct link with one to the wayback machine.

In December 2004, I curated an online mp3 compilation (click through to download) for the incredible illegal art records. I tried to make my choices quite eclectic, and to include many acts from around the world, with a special spotlight on my fellow Cincinnatians.

Here’s the tracklisting:

  • 01. Maja Ratkje: Intro (4:20)
  • 02. DJ DQ: Where the Sidewalk Begins, Part 1 (4:59)
  • 03. Enduser: Dizzee (3:46)
  • 04. Burning Star Core: A Brighter Summer Day (15:57)
  • 05. People Like Us: Stifled Love (5:17)
  • 06. Evolution Control Committee: Bred, White and Woo (3:26)
  • 07. Fudgie & Fufu: God Bless America, Especially Florida & Texas (Dissentcinnati Edit) (2:11)
  • 08. Kevin Moore: Intro / It Goes Something Like This (7:55)
  • 09. Mochipet: Yes vs. Nomeansno (4:29)
  • 10. Secret Cheifs 3: Jabalqa/Jabarsa (Blærg Remix) (6:24)
  • 11. Chuck Palahniuk: Choke, Part 01 (4:59)
  • 12. Xentrix: Ghostbusters (2:40)
  • 13. Pantera: Metal Magic (4:17)
  • Bonus Track: The Black Fives: Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (36:17)

Theoretically, the numbered tracks should all fit on an audio cd, if you were to want to do that. The bonus track, of course, will have to go on a separate disc.

DJ Empirical, “Empirical Excerpt (live 2004-10-30)”

Posted by stephen on 2004-10-30
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download: DJ Empirical, “Empirical Excerpt (live)”
30 oct 2004

dj empirical, halloween eve @ exbe showcase clevelandThis is just under 10 minutes of my performance at the ExBe Showcase in Cleveland. I was plagued with technical difficulties for the first half of the show, as I remember, and you can tell from this snippet: the right channel of one of my decks was not coming through.

The tracklist on this is essentially two mashups: firstly a Venetian Snares track (something from Songs About My Cats) blended with a bit of The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame”, and then into some exercise record, which blends into something from (I believe) Original Hamster.

That show was particularly special for me, because John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask stopped into the venue to play a few songs. It was the weekend before Election Day, and they were traveling around Ohio (a swing state) to try to just get out the vote. I was (and still am!) a huge fan of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, so I was incredibly excited not only to see them, but to share a bill with them, however accidental.

I was busy playing when they were walking around talking to people, but I did manage to get one pic with John Cameron Mitchell (too bad I look silly as hell).

2004-10-30: ExBe Showcase

The Black Fives, Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (2004-10-16)

Posted by stephen on 2004-10-16
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download: The Black Fives, Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (2004)
16 oct 2004

This live set dates from 2004, at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 in Cleveland, OH. At this point I (as Donald Spivak, or schädel) had only just joined the band, which until then had been pretty much what you hear in this set: dark electronic beats with added noise. Essentially all the beats and music in this set, other than a bit of synth stuff I played off the cuff, is Gabe (a.k.a. Harold Knockworthy)’s stuff. The noise and spoken stuff in this set is both of us.

Not long after this, these “songs”, the beats & music at least, got pulled into his Seeping Kind project, leaving The Black Fives as an improv ambient noise band. Recycled Rainbow is now an outdoor experimental music-type festival. At the time we played, it was in Every Man’s house. The event had a theme of “Classic Literature”, so I read bits of the Marquis de Sade’s Justine into a baby monitor.

DJ Empirical, Mix for Fashion Show (2004-08-28)

Posted by stephen on 2004-08-28
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download: DJ Empirical, Mix for Fashion Show, Part 1 2 3
28 aug 2004

This was a mix done in Sony Acid for a fashion show in downtown Cincinnati. I would have just done a live mix, but they wanted literally a different song for every girl/outfit (about 45 seconds each), and wanted things to gradually speed up over the course of the show. That would have been well beyond my means in those pre-Serato days, so I spent some time doing it all in advance. There were to be three catwalk segments of 15 minutes each, thus the three parts. Each time you hear a new song, imagine a new girl walking out.

Sorry, no track list on this one. The music is a good mix of stuff, from house music to 80s dance, with quite a few stops in between.

The Black Fives CD Release, 2004-03-07

Posted by stephen on 2004-03-07
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download: The Black Fives CD Release
07 mar 2004

The Black Fives released the Solid Phase EP in March 2004, and to celebrate the occasion held a cd release party at Mullane’s in downtown Cincinnati.

This half hour recording holds the very short (~7 minute) set of noise from The Black Fives, with DJ Empirical adding beats, samples, and scratching. After that, DJ Empirical continues to play for a time, interrupted by a weird keyboard/vocal piece by John Caldwell. Near the end of the mp3 appear the members of the Rhyme Swing Embassy.

As a point of note, this set predates the involvement of schädel in The Black Fives, as it was still a solo project at the time.

The Black Fives, “Less Than Three (@}–,–‘– mix)”

Posted by stephen on 2004-03-07
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download: The Black Fives, “Less Than Three (@}–,–‘– mix by schädel)”
mar 2004

This is a track from the very limited (23 copies!) e.p. by The Black Fives, released in 2004 with a handmade cover. At the time, The Black Fives was still a solo project, with schädel (a.k.a. Donald Spivak, a.k.a. DJ Empirical) still some time away from becoming a member.

The spoken samples come from the audio part of an adult education filmstrip. Scratches by DJ Empirical.

DJ Empirical, “Push…” / “Lick Up” / “Good…”

Posted by stephen on 2002-03-01
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download: DJ Empirical, “Push This Party Started (Salt n Pepa vs. Pink)”
DJ Empirical, “Lick Up (Missy vs. Cameo)”
DJ Empirical, “Good to Be a Maneater (Hall & Oates vs. DJ Rap & Ganja Kru)”
circa 2002

Mashups were all the rage in the UK in 2001, right before I got turntables. However, I got wind of the whole thing through Snuggles, an audio-collage email list. Needless to say, not long after I got decks in early 2002, I had to try my hand at it.

These tracks were the most successful vinyl mashups I recorded.

Quahogs, Beavis and Butthead, Volume 1

Posted by stephen on 2001-06-06
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download: Quahogs, Beavis and Butthead, Volume 1
Part 1 2 3 4 5 6
circa 2001

Beavis and Butthead, Volume 1 was a glitch album executed live in one take, using a VHS tape of the show with the sound running through Audiomulch’s granulation, with periodic adjustment of the controls.

I would love for someone to marry this up with the video, as it really is quite interesting.