Trevor Jackson
Originally an album sleeve designer, Trevor Jackson was inspired by his clubbing experiences in the UK to start mixing. His first DJ experience consisted of ‘playing pause button mix tapes on a bus to summer camp.’ Following this humble beginning, he joined a hip hop group, formed his own record label and became so recognized for his talents among the majors that he was hired to work with such acts as Massive Attack and U2. Trevor started DJing in 1996 and has a record collection of 30,000.Jackson’s selections for I Like It include “Baby I Love You So” by Colourbox – a cover of an old reggae track by Augustus Pablo, with a deep and steady baseline, echoing keyboard pulses, and gunshot samples, and “Jealousy and Lies” by Julian Jonah – a droning spoken word testimonial about confusion, over a simple 80’s electro composition complete with synth hand claps.
His final selection is “Echo of The Frozen Faces” by Propaganda, a group that gave Jackson great inspiration. His choices give the listener a variety of experiences in electronic music, but all with a relaxed, loungy feel.
Pole
Pole, aka Stefan Betke, is a musician, remixer, producer and label owner. He is a DJ as well as a live performer, producing unique compositions with turntables, CD players, and a laptop. When he DJ’s he plays mostly experimental hip hop and electronica.Pole’s first selection is the most baffling one on this CD. “Monster Magee, King of The Seas” by David Thomas is described by Pole as ‘simply unbelievable beautiful’. To me, it’s a twisted soundtrack to a children’s show with a drunken mascot for a host. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I listen to its slow-mo distorted lyrics and accordion melody. His next selection is a really catchy hip-hop track that samples the Mission Impossible theme. “Do The Dugs Dig” by The Goats is a track you could break dance to while wearing your ‘Fuck George Bush’ t-shirt.
His final selection is what he calls ‘modern electronic hip hop fusion at its best’. “Crasping Claw” by Headset starts with a female rapping in Japanese over an intricate electronic beat collage, followed by an echoing traditional-Yankee-accented male rapper. Aside from the first selection, Pole’s hip-hop and electronic influences come through in these tracks.
Richard Dorfmeister
Richard Dorfmeister’s selections are some of my favorites on this CD. He is part of Vienna’s famous duo, Kruder & Dorfmeister, who have remixed the likes of Depeche Mode and Madonna. Their sound is described as ‘Latin, dub, hip hop, drum ‘n’ bass and down tempo beats.’Richard’s first selection “The Air From Other Planets” by Friedrich Gulda, is a terribly beautiful piano piece that seems to stick out like a sore thumb on this largely electronic collection of tracks. I first listened to it while gazing out the window of a ferry between Salt Spring and Tsawassen and I remember thinking ‘this is the reason why I love creating and experiencing art’. It was perfect.
His next pick “African Queen” by Allez Allez has an almost bossa nova feel, with bongos and deep chanting voices. “Shikako Maru Ten” by CAN, Richard’s final selection, reminds me of Beck. It’s only two minutes long but it’s a cute song.
Trickski
Trickski is a trio of DJ’s from Poland who have been on the scene since 1997. Their first selection “Let’s Start All Over” by Walt J is described as ‘a pure old school Detroit tune’. It’s a very raw electronic track that sounds like Madonna could have sampled it during her Vogue stage.“Just Don’t Stop The Dance” by Elbee Bad is just a little too repetitive and not interesting for my liking. It’s just a guy whispering about not stopping the dance over a rumpumpum kind of drum machine beat.
And last but not least, “Hydraulic Pump” by the legendary P-Funk Allstars. It’s a pretty friggin' cool track that sounds like disco meets Mario brothers with waves made of handclaps lapping in the distance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this CD, even with its quirky little bits. It really is an eclectic mix of music from a variety of eras. And it’s cool to see what the guys who are always taking your requests enjoy listening to on their own free time.
