Dj Spooky
Under The Influence

A premonitory work, a pulsating and multifaceted sound installation as current as ever in a club as well as in an influential contemporary art gallery.

Paul D. Miller is, first and foremost, one of the most fertile and active minds of the New York avant-garde; he writes daring articles and essays for various magazines, he himself is co-editor of Artbyte, organizes nights in Manhattan's underground venues, produces records and participates in seminars and artistic events commissioned by museums such as the Whitney or the Architecture Biennale. If there is a figure that embodies the restless and tortured spirit of today's New York, it is DJ Spooky, and the album in question is a brilliant confirmation.

In the vast sea of "compilations" of buddha bar, seaside cafes, and other seasonal frivolities, "Under The Influence" rises like a fearsome Golem that feeds, in some cases, on the very artists so well represented on the shelves dedicated to compilations.
The splendid intro of Spooky's cd/dj set is, in fact, "Sound," a hypnotic instrumental by Moby mixed with the liquid sounds of "Papua New Guinea" by the Future Sound of London. The rhythms remain suspended in anticipation of the memorable bassline of "3: 7: 8" by Emergency Broadcast Network, the primary signal of a barrage of accelerated dub tracks with a backdrop of war sirens, speeding trains, and a widespread sense of danger.
The rhythm increases, and Dj Spooky proves to be a skilled turntable surgeon when he cuts and stitches in the sonic apocalypse of basses and drums by Carl Craig, Paradox, Hive, State of Bengal, and Sakamoto remixed in turn by Talvin Singh.
After the chaos follows the search for a sense of belonging in the form of provocative New York-style hip hop. Phoenix Orion, KutMasta, Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys are some of the road and stage companions mixed in the long central part of the album amidst broken and reassembled rhythms without interruption. Sense of widespread uncertainty.
From the verbal ruins of Michael Franti ("Rock the Nation") rises implacably the massive sound of "Get Your Snack," the album's peak, with Amon Tobin immersed in Spooky's centrifuge.
The next two tracks lower the pressure and create that ideal sick atmosphere to experience a final sequence that touches the sublime. The prophetic voice of Saul Williams dominates in "Twice the first time" with the violin/Cassandra eventually dissolved into the guitar of Thurston Moore, protagonist of the instrumental "Tremens" by Sonic Youth, preceding the final dub of After Echo.

Twenty-seven pieces form this mutable sound installation to listen to, listen to again, and preserve as a precious work of art synchronized with our time.