Saturday, October 18, 2008

MashAnthology (2004-2006) Double LP



NOTICE: NEW IMPROVED DELUXE VERSION of this Album AVAILABLE HERE:
http://djnoti.blogspot.com/2012/05/collected-mashups-vol-i-mashanthology.html

This is the complete collection of DJ not-I blends/mash-ups/bootleg remixes produced in 2004-2006, finally compiled as a double album.

Featuring novel fusions, lots of attitude, D.I.Y. production values and boundless naive enthusiasm, MashAnthology epitomizes my early approach to mixing and mashing as well as my unique take on hip-hop.

The term "anthology", usually reserved for compilations of works by various authors, was consciously chosen to reflect the nature of mash-up making. A couple of tracks have been remastered for the album, but most of them have been preserved in all their (occasionally ragged) glory.

Since 2006, I've branched out to mix and mash a number of genres beyond hip-hop (most notably on the recent Shinobi EP), and my production values have undoubtedly improved. But I'm still quite proud of this "early work". Always aiming at timelessness and "sayin' something", rather than the latest pop fad, I've also been pleased and surprised to see some of these tunes become quite popular indeed.

MashAnthology includes the internet hits Feel All Apologies, Shimmember Me, G'z Up Funk, Spin Dis 1 Ting Round and In the Ghetto Tonight as well as three previously unreleased mash-ups (available below as single tracks). You can also preview and/or download all of the individual tracks on the blog.

I hope you enjoy this collection. And stay tuned as this blog expands to the present with more tunes, compilations and goodies. Thank you for your support.

Love, ~I

Downloads (.zip files include complete album and singles art):


NOTICE: NEW IMPROVED DELUXE VERSION of this Album AVAILABLE HERE:
http://djnoti.blogspot.com/2012/05/collected-mashups-vol-i-mashanthology.html



Tracklist:

DJ not-I
MashAnthology (collected bootleg remixes: 2004-2006)

Disc One
1. Honshirabe Waltz (Kohachiro Miyata vs. Max Roach)
2. Heart-Shaped Sky (Blackalicious vs. Nirvana)
3. Feel All Apologies (Blackalicious vs. Nirvana)
4. Shimmember Me (Ol Dirty Bastard vs. Blue Boy)
5. Pollution 500 (Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna vs. FunDaMental)
6. Chess Without Sobriety (Wu-Tang Clan & Eminem vs. Tanita Tikaram)
7. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Goodie Mob vs. Peter Gabriel) +
8. Times 2005 - Katrina Aftermath (Ray Nagin & Reporters Gone Wild vs. Pr*nce) +
9. WMD - Soldiers' Memorial (The Perceptionists vs. Eminem vs. Martika)
10. Download Planet (Sway vs. Leftfield)
11. I'm Jux Twisted (Lyrics Born vs. System of a Down vs. KoRn feat. Dave Grohl) *
12. If I Hail (Dead Prez & Tupac vs. Cedric Im Brooks & The Light of Saba) *
13. Temptation in the Bathroom (Swollen Members & Perverted Monks vs. The Beat)

Disc Two
14. G'z Up Funk (Tony Touch & Doo Wop vs. The Meters)
15. Touch It Cigrik (Busta Rhymes vs. Mogollar)
16. Early Journey (M-1 & Sticman vs. Squarepusher)
17. Fucked Up, Right Now (KRS-One vs. Fatboy Slim)
18. Spin Dis 1 Ting Round (Dynamite MC & The Nextmen vs. Amerie vs. Missy) *
19. Can I Engel Like That (Pharrell & Gwen Stefani vs. Rammstein)
20. Where Eagles Have Been Lost (Cool Calm Pete vs. Wolfmother)
21. Think Freedom (Paris & Dead Prez vs. Aretha Franklin)
22. Axel F Plays Dumb (Esoteric vs. Harold Faltermeyer)
23. In The Ghetto Tonight (Eric B. & Rakim vs. Phil Collins)
24. Never Call You Bitch Again - Evolution (Tupac vs. Cinematic Orchestra)
25. Old School, Close & Slow (Tupac vs. Pr*nce)
26. Freak Affection (Missy Elliott vs. Joan Armatrading) +

+ previously unreleased, * remastered, Produced by DJ not-I @ Mexikotrax
Vienna, Austria, 2004-2006, Additional Production, 2008
Photos & cover art by klaudiagottwald.com
For promotional use only!

+ previously unreleased tracks:








Friday, October 17, 2008

Old School, Close & Slow (Tupac vs. Pr*nce)



This is the B-side of the Tupac Shakur Memorial Two-Pack and it blends 2Pac's "Old School" with Pr*nce's classic "Close and Slow" featuring several old school samples, especially Eric B. & Rakim's "I Ain't No Joke".

Youtube slide-show by Phurdrick



Old School, Close & Slow (Tupac vs. Pr*nce) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by not-I



Never Call You Bitch Again (Tupac vs. Cinematic Orchestra)



The A-side of the Tupac Shakur Memorial Two-Pack, this track mashes 2Pac's "Never Call You Bitch Again" with the retro-seminal sounds of Cinematic Orchestra's "Evolution" featuring Fontella Bass.

As featured on WoBcast and Mashstix

Never Call You Bitch Again (Tupac Shakur vs. Cinematic Orchestra feat. Fontella Bass) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by not-I



In the Ghetto Tonight (Eric B. & Rakim vs. Phil Collins)



Produced for the GYBO Phil Collins Challenge.

Elements:
Eric B. & Rakim: "In The Ghetto" (drumapella)
Phil Collins: "In The Air Tonight" ('88 remix)

This dude does some seriously solid mash-ups. - DDoff Daily

In the Ghetto Tonight (Eric B. & Rakim vs. Phil Collins) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



Axel F Plays Dumb (Esoteric vs. Harold Faltermeyer)



Eso meets Axel F in some sample-laden stupid silly dumb fun!

Blends:
7L & Esoteric "Play Dumb" (acapella)
Harold Faltermeyer "Axel F"
numerous spoken samples including: George W. Bush, Judge Judy, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and many more.

Axel F Plays Dumb (Esoteric vs. Harold Faltermeyer) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



Where Eagles Have Been Lost (Cool Calm Pete vs. Wolfmother)



The second of two mixes for the GYBO T in the Park Challenge 2006, this combines Cool Calm Pete's "Lost" with Wolfmother's "Where Eagles Have Been".

Despite its scrappy ghetto D.I.Y. production values, this track gained a large hearing via Mashuptown.

Where Eagles Have Been Lost (Cool Calm Pete vs. Wolfmother) Download



Alternative DL link



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by not-I, 2008



Thursday, October 16, 2008

Can I Engel Like That? (Pharrell & Gwen Stefani vs. Rammstein)



The first of two tracks created for the GYBO T In The Park Challenge 2006, this one blends the vocals of Pharrell's "Can I Have It Like That" featuring Gwen Stefani with a D.I.Y. instrumental of Rammstein's goth/rock/nu-metal classic "Engel" to form a rock/hip-hop monster inspired by the rhythm of the original backing. Also includes vocal snippets of Pharrell's "Angel".

As spun at DJ Morgoth's Mash Up Your Boots party in Berlin.

Can I Engel Like That? (Pharrell & Gwen Stefani vs. Rammstein) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by not-I, 2008



Spin Dis 1 Ting Round (Dynamite MC & Nextmen vs. Amerie vs. Missy vs. Cheech & Chong)



This is a song about sharing!

Elements blended:

The Nextmen: Spin It Round feat. Dynamite MC (acapella & instrumental)
Missy Elliott: Pass That Dutch (acapella)
Amerie: One Thing (Phoreyz rerub & instrumental)
Cheech & Chong: Up In Smoke DVD

As featured on the legendary Smash Mix 103 - 4:20 Edition by DJ Paul V.

Youtube slide-show by Phurdrick:



Spin Dis 1 Ting Round (Dynamite MC & Nextmen vs. Amerie vs. Missy Elliott vs. Cheech & Chong) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



F*cked Up, Right Now (KRS One vs. Fatboy Slim)



Made for the GYBO Fatboy Slim Challenge, this track combines KRS One's edifying "F*cked Up" with the decelerated beats of Fatboy Slim's "Right Here, Right Now" with an additional verse from the Lyrics Born "Pack Up" remix and beats courtesy of Mark the 45 King.

F*cked Up, Right Now (KRS One vs. Fatboy Slim) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by not-I, 2008



Early Journey (M-1 & Sticman vs. Squarepusher)



Another experiment, this one blends the conscious hardcore hip-hop of the two members of Dead Prez with the rave pastiche of eclectic electronic "drill'n'bass" mastermind Squarepusher.

Featuring the voices of local feathered friends, the vinyl's scratchy, the sound is ghetto, but I liked this enough to dedicate it to DJ Earlybird.

Early Journey (M-1 & Sticman vs. Squarepusher) Download

Alternative DL link



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



G'z Up Funk (Tony Touch & Doo Wop vs. The Meters)



This mixes the Puerto Rican flavored hip-hop of Tony Touch and Doo Wop with the classic old-school funk of The Meters.

Deceptively straight-forward and natural-sounding, it took some chopping and moving to get the raps to flow with the liquid groove of the backing.

Featured on Mashuptown.com, this little ditty has gotten a lot of love in the past couple years.

Been groovin' on DJ not-I recently and had to give him some love today. Check out Tony Touch feat Doo Wop vs. G'z Up (acappella) and The Meters - Funky Miracle. Simple funky A+B Hip Hop pleasure. Keep it real. - mashuptown

G'z Up Funk (Tony Touch & Doo Wop vs. The Meters) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



Touch It Cigrik (Busta Rhymes vs. Mogollar)



A return to the world beat vibes of Pollution 500, this was also an experiment in sound.

I took the rap from Busta's hit "Touch It" and mixed with some heavy old-school world funk courtesy of Mogollar, a still-active psychedelic, funk/rock/jazz/world band from Turkey.

While the main loops are sampled from the song "Cigrik" (see the cover for proper Turkish spelling), I sampled and manipulated loops from several other songs off Mogallar's Anadolu Pop album to get the additional sub-bass and percussion effects.

I'm very happy to report that this tune has been spun on Turkish radio.

Touch It Cigrik (Busta Rhymes vs. Mogollar) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald



Temptation in the Bathroom (Swollen Members & Perverted Monks vs. The Beat)



Blending hip-hop, dub and ska with a little bit of Squeeze, this was produced for the GYBO Ska Challenge.

The elements are:
Swollen Members: "Temptation";
Perverted Monks: "Feel This";
The (English) Beat: "Mirror in the Bathroom";
Squeeze: "Tempted".

As featured on "Like, Coolness" with DJ Petrushka.

(Feelin') Temptation in the Bathroom (Swollen Members & Perverted Monks vs. The Beat) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(produced in 2006, cover by not-I, 2008)



Tuesday, June 24, 2008

If I Hail (Dead Prez vs. Tupac vs. Cedric Im Brooks & The Light of Saba)



This mellow mix was made to chill out after the raucous fun of i'M juX tWiSteD.

It blends the conscious and encouraging lyrics of Dead Prez's "If I Fail" with the soothing spirituality of Cedric Im Brooks' reggae-flavored cover of Horace Silver's jazz standard "Song for my Father".

Realizing this needed something special, and taking a cue from DP's shout-outs, i also added a verse from Tupac's "Hail Mary" and dubbed it up with some spacey delay, turning this mix into the first of my Tupac tributes.

If I Hail (Song for my Father) (Dead Prez & Tupac Shakur vs. Cedric Im Brooks & The Light of Saba) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(produced in 2006, cover art by Klaudia Gottwald)



Saturday, April 5, 2008

i'M juX tWiSteD (Lyrics Born vs. SOAD, KoRn & Dave Grohl)



This track was produced for a GYBO hip-hop vs. rock challenge and its happy intention was to mop the floor with the competition.

Taking the hilariously over-the-top lyrics of Lyrics Born's "I'm Just Raw" as a starting point, i chopped up and manipulated loops from System of a Down's thrash classic, "X" over a drum loop lifted from Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice". Noticing it was in the same key, i added the main riff and breaks from KoRn's "Twisted Transistor".

Unfortunately, i finished the track too late to submit it to the challenge, but it still got some love in other places, like France and Japan.

i'M juX tWiSteD (Lyrics Born vs. System of a Down & KoRn, featuring Dave Grohl) Download






As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(track produced in 2006, cover in 2008)



Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Download Planet (Sway vs. Leftfield)



This was my first full-on electronic mash-up and blends the smart grime/hip-hop stylings of UK rapper and producer Sway with the fat hammering dance of Leftfield's classic "Phat Planet".

First posted on GYBO, this got spun on XFM Scotland by the great McSleazy.

"Download Planet" was also featured in Soobrosa's eclectic electric Peter K Made Me Do It mix, on Cuts&Mouse Radio, and in the TCRE SoundClash.

Figuring this one might deserve a bump and a bit more shine, especially in light of the lyrics (more relevant than ever), and Sway offering his new mixtape as a free download, i've slapped together a little video for Youtube.

Safe!



Download Planet (Sway vs. Leftfield) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

Bootleg mash-up & cover: 2006; Video: 2008.



Sunday, March 2, 2008

WMD (Perceptionists vs. Eminem)



This was the first of several overtly political mash-ups i've done and blends The Perceptionists' "Memorial Day" with the instrumental to Eminem's "Like Toy Soldiers".

The Perceptionists' lyrics take the perspective of two soldiers in Iraq, while "Like Toy Soldiers" liberally samples Martika's tune of nearly the same name. For this mix, i also sampled statements by George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld as well as a recording of a live firefight in Iraq.

A bit on the 'controversial' side at the time, this tune did receive some blogging and radio airplay.

WMD (Soldiers' Memorial) (The Perceptionists vs. Eminem) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

mash-up (2005) and cover (2008) by not-I



Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Chess Without Sobriety (Wu-Tang & Eminem vs. Tanita Tikaram)



This one mixes the hard-core hip-hop of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan with some of the more goofballish stylings of Eminem with a dark 80s classic by Tanita Tikaram.

The juxtaposed tunes are, respectively, "Da Mystery of Chessboxing", "Without Me", and "Twist In My Sobriety". i also programmed and added some 'dancefloor' beats (i guess i was trying to be 'pop').

This received a mention on the personal blog of The Observer's chief leader writer. According to bastard-pop DJ Micky Maaaas, this one is quite popular in Germany, and still continues to get some worldwide shine.

Here's a little video i recently put together to accompany this track:



Peace & stay sober,
~I

Chess Without Sobriety (Wu-Tang Clan & Eminem vs. Tanita Tikaram) Download






As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(track & cover by not-I, 2005, video by not-I, 2008)



Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Pollution 500 (Ghostface Killah vs. FunDaMental)



For this track, i delved into my collection of what is sometimes called world music and came up with "Pollution 500", a mash-up that blends Ghostface Killah's classic "Daytona 500" (featuring Raekwon and Cappadonna) with Fun-Da-Mental's "Pollution", itself a mix of Asian-U.K. electronica and the soaring Qawwali song of Rizwan and Muazzam Qawwali.

"Pollution 500" represents a genre of blends/mash-ups/remixes that i would often (and continue to) return to, and i dare say it sets much of my work apart from the typical pop vs. pop A+Bs characteristic of much of the current mash-up 'scene'.

It was never my intention to be 'popular'. I simply mix together music i love to form new tracks i want to hear. If that happens to strike a chord with heads like Ankai or BristleKRS, so much the better!

Peace be with you!
~I

Pollution 500 (Ghostface Killah vs. FunDaMental) Download






As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(track produced in 2005, cover by not-I, 2008, featuring Ottoman calligraphy)



Saturday, February 23, 2008

Shimmember Me (ODB vs. Blue Boy)



R.I.P. O.D.B.!

This came about while i was messing around on the decks with a 12" maxi of Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and Blue Boy's Scattered Emotions EP, specifically the classic club hit "Remember Me", which samples Marlena Shaw's "Woman of the Ghetto" (that's her behind ODB on the cover above).

As ODB had passed away only months before, it quickly became clear that this was going to be a tribute blend. So i sampled his memorable Grammy rant and added some shout-outs. The result was "Shimmember Me", and the rest is, well - it became quite a popular tune indeed.

Still featured at The Rub, where it got its start back in 2005, it got massively mentioned and disseminated, was spun everywhere from Swedish radio to New Zealand clubs, made it onto top podcasts, such as Bristle's Bootleg Show and the TCRE SoundClash, blogs like Death from Below, and just generally blew up. Recent bumps include this mention on Souled On.

Love, Peace, and RIP ODB!

Shimmember Me (Ol Dirty Bastard vs. Blue Boy) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

(cover art by Klaudia Gottwald)



Feel All Apologies (Blackalicious vs. Nirvana)



This was intended as the 'B-side' to this one, but of the two, it became the 'hit' by default.

Again mixing Blackalicious with Nirvana, this time using "Feel That Way" and "All Apologies", and featuring a slowed-down drum loop sampled from D&B outfit Origin Unknown as well as some of my bass guitar, this became a bit of a classic of its own volition (not mine).

After having been initially posted on my homepage in 2005, with no hype and few hits, i stuck it up on GYBO at the beginning of 2006, and was pleasantly surprised to see it soon featured on Mashuptown, and then on VH1's Dose of the Best Music Ever.

Massive exposure (in my experience) followed, including radio airplay, podcasting, and further blogging, e.g.
The Who Boys Show 16, Halfpie Mash Wednesday, Sirius satellite radio, and as far afield as here! (Even if somewhere along the line, an inattentive soul mistyped a much-distributed copy as being by "DJ nit-I").

"Feel All Apologies" was also listed as one of:
Culture Bully's Favorite Mash-Ups of 2006:

Literally hundreds of mashes attempt to interject some freshness into Nirvana however most find themselves far too busy. The oversimplified loop of “I Feel All Apologies” allows the mash an unglamorous headliner to shine over top it, allowing both acts to flourish. Neither too much nor too little Nirvana, but just enough to make you feel that way.

And of course, there's the fine (and ever-popular) video mash-up produced by Chrysler 76:



i'm sanguine that this positive little tune i initially thought boring continues to touch so many people (and in the meantime, i've grown quite fond of it too) - just goes to once again show that the 'not' can be more relevant than the 'I'.

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.

Feel All Apologies (Blackalicious vs. Nirvana) Download





As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

And by request of a couple radio stations and private peeps, a special hi-fi edition (.wav file) is available here.

(cover by Klaudia Gottwald)

Peace!

~I



Friday, February 22, 2008

Heart-Shaped Sky (Blackalicious vs. Nirvana feat. Stevie Wonder)

After picking up The Rub's Remixes Vol. 2 "Weird Sh*t" and spinning it many a time (especially Mark Ronson's remix of Outkast vs. Franz Ferdinand, "Bombs Over Scotland", i finally became aware of the mash-up (or blend) phenomenon and decided to try my hand at mixing some of the hip-hop acapellas i had on vinyl with music of other genres from the rest of my collection.

While accordingly messing around, i ended up with "Heart-Shaped Sky", which mixes California hip-hop outfit Blackalicious' "Sky is Falling" with Nirvana's "Heart-shaped Box". It also features drum-loops sampled from Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" and "Living for the City" (i'm a huge fan of all these people). i also added some additional bass guitar, and i suppose this was my first proper mash-up.

i intended "Heart-Shaped Sky" to be the 'A-side' to a two-sided blend/mash-up 'single', but the 'B-side' (originally an after-thought) turned out to be much more popular (it still is).

Nevertheless, this was briefly hosted on The Rub, received quite a lot of airplay on KRCL - radio free Utah, and made it onto BristleKRS' Bootleg Show.

Hope you enjoy what i initially thought was the better of a twin blend (i seem to have been wrong):

Heart-Shaped Sky (Blackalicous vs. Nirvana feat. Stevie Wonder) Download



As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!

UPDATE: GonzoJam recently made not one, but two Anime videos for this tune:









Proto-mash-ups (2004)

After i had been DJing for a while, i started making promotional demo-CDs (as a DJ is apt to do to get more gigs). i had been making mixtapes for ages, as well as doing occasional live blends, but i felt CDs called for a bit more professionalism, so i decided to add two signature mixes at the beginning and end of the demo. At this point, i was blissfully unaware of 'mash-ups'. i'm sure i had already heard quite a few, but i just considered them to be the kind of mixes that DJs naturally do (in the hip-hop community, they've been called 'blends' for quite a while, but that's another story).

The first was recorded live at a cafe gig on two turntables. It mixes the shakuhachi flute of Kohachiro Miyata with the drums of jazz legend Max Roach. I called it "Honshirabe Waltz". DJ Earlybird a.k.a. Uganda, who i would meet much later at GYBO, described it "like dancing drunk in a rice field". Needless to say, it's quite abstract, and the cafe-owner thought i was bit nuts by starting my set with it.

The second proto-mash-up mixes US3's famous Herbie Hancock-sampling tune "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)" with bits of John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, and a little snippet of Kohachiro Miyata, as well as a voice-over by yours truly. This one was done on the PC with an early version of Acid Pro, which i had already used for making original tracks. Hence, although my first efforts were primitive, i had already entered the world of mash-ups without knowing it. Enjoy the Beginner's Mind!

Gasshô,
~I

Honshirabe Waltz (Kohachiro Miyata vs. Max Roach) Download *
& Cantaloconi (US3 vs. John Coltrane vs. Eric Dolphy)




(cover by Klaudia Gottwald)


* As featured on the MashAnthology double LP!



Welcome to not-I's blog!

Hi there, and welcome to official blog of not-I a.k.a. DJ not-I a.k.a. Knoteye a.k.a. Torabisu a.k.a. Travis a.k.a. Sôhan a.k.a. The Sôhei!

As the advantages of blogging things are numerous (permalinks, subscriptions, comments, etc.) i've decided to set up this page as an alternative home for my various projects, including (and, perhaps, especially) my blends/bootlegs/mash-ups/remixes, or whatever you want to call them.

The blog format also allows me to easily include further info, links, and little stories to accompany the entries, which may or may not be of interest to you.

But you know all that already. So, without further ado, i'd like to begin with recapitulating the history of my mash-up-making. This might take a while, as i'm starting with 2004, but hey, that's what i get for being a latecomer to blogorama. My newer stuff (quite a lot) is available at not-i.com.

Thank you for your interest.

Peace!

~I