Big City Records, Manhattan, NYC

Mark B. interviews some of the stalwarts of the NYC Hip Hop community back in 2002 for a radio documentary.

Sampling and Hip Hop go hand in hand – classic breakbeats, holy grail samples, vocal snippets, library records, brazilian records the list goes on and in tandem with this is the  list of producers/djs/mcs that have made an impact on Hip Hop & Pop music over the last two decades using this method of music making.

Showbiz, Dr. Dre, Buckwild, BeatNuts,  Marley Marl, DJ Premier, Easy Moe Bee, Prince Paul, Q-Tip, Dilla, Madlib & Co.  have all used sampling as the special ingredient and backbone to separate their sound from the rest but it also implies a deep understanding and appreciation of digging as part of their creative process.

Then there are the likes of David Holmes, Massive Attack, The Prodigy et al who use the same principles for sampling but their music usurps the average Hip Hop listener and brings sampling to a much larger audience, whether the audience realize it or not.

In the late 1980s breaks, chops and loops were lifted straight off the record with little or no treatment but ever since the Gilbert O Sullivan v Biz Markie episode the likes of DJ Premier began to chop up a sample a bit more, replay it, compress it, pitch it up etc.. (remember his work on Full Clip/Impeach The President – dope!)  so it was almost impossible to recognise the sample unless you were in the know or  had a great ear through already being a DJ or producer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In short, there is nothing quite like an old sample being lifted out of its original recording context and made relevant to the sound of today or a period long after it was originally recorded.

If you have a few minutes to spare listen to this excellent time capsule with New York’s  fraternity of dj/producers/vinyl dealers talking to fellow producer Mark B. from his Black Market Breaks series.

To celebrate the realunch of our website www.choicecuts.com we are delighted to present to you an exclusive mix by legendary cut and paste wizard and remixer orginator Steinski.  We’re big fans of this guy and for those of you who don’t know Steinski is probably one of the most influential remix artists in Hip-Hop’s vibrant history.

With partner Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco; a prince) he co-produced the series of records known as The Lessons: The Payoff Mix, Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix), Lesson 3 (The History Of Hiphop) for the Tommy Boy label. These analog tape cut-and-paste collages, still widely bootlegged (and wildly illegal), are generally acknowledged as three of the most influential works in the world of hiphop and dance music production. Cited as defintive influences by DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, and Fatboy Slim, among others.

Add to this the fact that Steinski is one of New York’s most sought-after advertising copy writers and it’s easy to see there is a mind behind all this musical greatness!

We’ve got Steinski playing in Dublin and Galway this April (2010) so head over to the events section for more info!

Steinski ChoiceCuts.Com Relaunch Mix by ChoiceCuts

Anohter project he is involved in it at present is with ‘Gonjasufi’ along with fellow brainfeeder label mate Flying Lotus, check the video out below…

Click here to view the embedded video.

How a nice Jewish boy from the suburbs became one of the most influential producers in hiphop, sampling, and cut & paste.

Dropped out of 2 colleges (Temple U, Franconia College), never went back. Worked as an advertising copywriter for 6 years – Polaroid, Volkswagen, Atari, etc. Taught copywriting at The School Of Visual Arts. Spent all disposable income on records. Promoted and DJ’ed dances in Brooklyn, hung out at early downtown Manhattan hiphop clubs; Negril, the Roxy. Quit advertising.

With partner Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco; a prince), co-produced the series of records known as The Lessons: The Payoff Mix, Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix), Lesson 3 (The History Of Hiphop) for the Tommy Boy label. These analog tape cut-and-paste collages, still widely bootlegged (and wildly illegal), are generally acknowledged as three of the most influential works in the world of hiphop and dance music production. Cited as defintive influences by DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, and Fatboy Slim, among others. Freelanced as creative consultant to MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, Showtime, The Movie Channel. Produced TV commercials. Spent all disposable income on records and women.

As a solo producer, crafted The Motorcade Sped On, turning historic broadcasts of the Kennedy assasination into a hiphop record. The NME (British music magazine) gave away a quarter-million copies of the song as a Flexidisc stapled to the cover of the magazine.

Produced We’ll Be Right Back for Island Records. Music and video of this advertising satire were licensed to Ovaltine UK for television advertising for 6 months. Go figure.

Solo productions for Ninjatune include It’s Up To You and I’m Wild About That Thing, a satire on sex licensed to Pretty Polly Bras (UK) for TV advertising campaign. Go figure.

Reunited with Double Dee (a prince) after 10 years to produce Jazz for Tommy Boy’s 10th Anniversary. Also illegal, also bootlegged.

Other recordings include:
Numerous 12′ remixes and collages (available upon request),
Remix of Relax (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) for the film Zoolander,
Burning Out Of Control, an album length mix of the Sugarhill Records catalogue for the Antidote label (UK)
12? collage Ain’t No Thing for the Stone’s Throw release of The Third Unheard (Connecticut Rap) compilation.
Nothing To Fear, a mix CD reviewed extensively and favorably by Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, URB, Salon.com, Metro, The Wire and Hiphop Connection.

Composed and produced dozens of soundtracks for various TV and radio commercials and industrial films. Client list on request. Press available: interviews with The Village Voice, Urb, The Wire, NME, Spin, numerous other publications.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Caustic cloud creeps up from the cracks. This darkness chops tree trunks to stumps and smothers soft sounds in murderous mist. The bloodthirsty form rises, wrapping its tendrils around the throats of pop-minded punks. By dusting the dumb this murderer ushers in soaring sounds. The Gaslamp Killer slashes to save.

SLASH – The Gaslamp Killer slashes to save.

First spotted stalking the streets of San Diego this serial sound slayer has spread wide. Dues paid with sweat have paid off. From homemade crushed beat mixtapes to glossy magazine pages the Gaslamp Killer has never altered course. He brings the dirtiest and deepest dynamite into being with dedication and discipline.

THE HEAT – A GLK dj set is an experience in the ultra-unexpected

The Gaslamp Killer is a raw revolutionary who sets every moment on shatter. A GLK dj set is an experience in the ultra-unexpected. Wrecking the decks like Animal minus the soft Muppet facade, Gaslamp is a tornado of exploding hair and energy. His shaking head is the cap on a volcano bursting with passion for blasting. In these high heat moments he meshes international mystery music with the grimiest beats in existence. Gaslamp’s psychedelic stew shines supreme in dim chambers with big bass.

RAW – His explosive energy keeps electrified ears eager for more

The Gaslamp Killer master mixes have evolved into original music collaborations with his posse MHE and frequent vocal collaborator Sumach. Gaslamp’s progressive heat seeking sounds are being sought by beat freaks from every corner. His explosive energy keeps electrified ears eager for more and more x more and more. The Gaslamp Killer’s ruthless focus is on high. This murderer continues breeding brightness by evaporating boring beats.

We have Gaslamp Killer playing in Dublin with DJ Scope so if you dig this mix you can catch him live in Dublin behind the turntables on April 24th 2009 – more info here

Steve Stein a.k.a Steinski is a hip-hop producer, advertising exec, copywriter and hiphop luminary who achieved notoriety in the early 1980s for a series of underground hip-hop sample-based collages known as the Lessons. So influential were these records in the cut-and-paste approach to instrumental hiphop production you can find a special shout out to Steve on the inside cover of DJ Shadow’s ‘Entroducing’.

Add to this the fact that his Lessons records (produced with creative partner Double Dee) played a major part in bringing Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow together for the first time (Both artists made records titled Lesson 4 in tribute to Steinski – At the time, Cut Chemist was apparently unaware of the existence of Shadow’s similarly-titled “Lesson 4″ from two years earlier; the two would later collaborate on several “Live Lessons”) and it’s obvious this man has played his part in the history and further development of HipHop.

Steve has played at various ChoiceCuts events over the years and was also a headlining guest at Sweettalk in 2008 – This is why we are delighted to have this unreleased, exclusive cut and paste bomb entitled ‘Mindbender‘ available for download courtesy of Mr. Stein himself:

Steinski – Mindbender by ChoiceCuts

By the way, Steve has released his 23-year retrospective double CD titled ‘What Does It All Mean‘ on Illegal Art (more info here) which you should check out – and if that ain’t enough Steinski for you then get over to his blog (www.steinski.net) for biting satire, engaging politikin’ and a peak inside the world of the Stein)…