Lucas Macfadden, otherwise known as "Cut Chemist" (and formerly part of the underground hip-hop group Jurassic 5), has embarked on a solo turntable project that promises to dazzle some while sedating others.
His debut effort, "The Audience is Listening," is a collection of beats that are so complex that they often teeter on the brink of avant-garde obscurity.
Most of the tracks are arranged with samples or pre-recorded sound clips. As his name hints, Cut Chemist takes these snippets and aptly cuts them to flow over steady, often highly percussive, beats.
The first track, "Motivational Speaker" could very well disorient the listener with turntable scratching and a plethora of sampled spurts that include the banjo, brass and the organ.
"The Garden" is the album's catchiest track that features the sample of a Brazilian-type pop song set to a hip bossa nova beat. This track is the most easily accessible to listeners, likely because of its assimilation to mainstream.
However, Cut Chemist's hip-hop-for-the-future is difficult to listen to straight through. Unless listeners are using the album as background music, the intricate beats tend to be too much to tolerate for more than three or four tracks at a time. Only a few of the tracks feature any actual rapping.
"Spat" showcases a sample recording of "Tribal Jam" performed by X Clan, while "Storm," featuring Edan, brings back some old school hip hop energy.
Check out "The Audience is Listening Theme," the album's closing track, in the new Apple iPod Nano commercial.
"The Audience is Listening" demonstrates turntable skills and a musicianship that shows promise for Cut Chemist's solo career. The lack of rhyming on the album may prove to be disillusioning to fans of the lyric-heavy Jurassic 5, but those with an open mind will appreciate this innovative spin on classic hip-hop.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
