There has been a resurgence of the humble mixtape over the last few years, DJs and producers assembling eclectic flows showcasing the musical influences that excite them. Buddy Peace has always taken the mixtape to the next level. I first discovered him after the release of “Good Grief’ and “A Crew Called Self’, the later being released on Boomkat’s Select Mixtape series, and having more than a passing interest in the format myself, I was astounded by the track selection, mixing skills and the thymic qualities of his mixes. Together with Carlo (Bully Records), released last years The Commonwealth Kids, raising the bar even higher, creating an upbeat mix of old school favourites and new school trickery, this only confounded that Buddy Peace was someone to watch, smudging and pushing the boundaries of mixology beyond the norm.
So when Buddy Peace finally released his most ambitious mix recently, copies were snapped up, especially as only 300 copies were made. The mix is something to behold, showcasing Buddy’ love of indie rock, as well as his passion for hip hop, taking us on a journey “of broken hearts and block parties, unfaithful guitars and dusty drums’, summing up the mix perfectly. This is more than a mix of tracks, it has been constructed with over 100 songs in under an hour, the samples and beats have been sliced, chopped, and remixed using turntables and an MPC, creating something entirely new from these fragments, yet staying faithful to hip hop production techniques. If you’re not familiar with Buddy Peace, its time for you to investigate further, there’ no other DJ/producer out there that constructs mixes of this calibre and originality.
More information can be obtained by visiting http://www.2600recordings.com/home.htm, and http://www.myspace.com/buddypeace, and if you want to sample some of the songs that Buddy Peace used in the mix, a podcast is available to download for free from http://www.3barfire.com/index.php/Music/Buddy-Peace-Deer-Blood-Falls.html. By the time this goes to print there will be very few copies left, so act fast, don’ sleep!
Wayne Stronell
