Way back
around the turn of the century, DJs Z-Trip and P had an idea: Instead of
banging out yet another mix CD packed with the latest and greatest in
underground hip-hop, they opted to have a little fun.
Utilizing their unassailable turntable prowess, they matched up a panorama of
disparate hits straight from vinyl to create mad musical juxtapositions.
Opening with a version of Glenn Campbell’s ’70s country-pop nugget “Rhinestone
Cowboy” turbocharged with an electro breakbeat, the duo ran through a litany of
unusual suspects—from ’70s classic rockers Kansas to Madonna to Newcleus to
Bruce Hornsby and the Range—and created quite possibly the most influential mix
CD of all time. “Uneasy Listening Vol. 1” went from a limited-edition release
made just for the fun of it to a perpetually bootlegged and traded phenomenon
that all but created the mash-up sound still raging in clubs today. (The album
is now free on Z-Trip's official website).
“Technology has changed the game so much since then” he says by cell phone from
the road, temporarily locked inside an unfamiliar rental car. “I was a bit
hesitant to switch from vinyl to Serato, and it took me a couple of months to
really get comfortable with it” he admits in regards to the software
program that has revolutionized DJ-ing. “But once I did, it got me excited
about spinning all over again.”
He also admits that these technological advances have come with a downside.
“It’s allowed anybody to become what
I call a ‘microwave DJ,’ he laughs. “It’s so easy to simply download other
people’s mixes, go up there and play ‘em like they’re hot, versus actually
mixing. There aren’t too many jocks right now out there really pushing the art
of mixing. It’s just a crazy time. What used to define DJs was how big your
record collection was, or how deep you dug to find something. Now you can have
tons of tracks at the click of a button.”
Z-Trip is a DJ who made his name by
staying true to the original ethos of the game: Work hard, stay humble, and
always rock the party. He's one of the few DJs that can turn out absolutely
any audience put him in front of him, and his DJ dexterity has landed him gigs
playing everywhere from the massive Bonnaroo festival to opening for the
Rolling Stones. His populist approach to the turntables finds him unafraid to
drop any and every track that will make bodies move. He’s also old-school in
his use of the microphone, hyping crowds up with his wry asides and gregarious
sense of humor. (There’s an amazing clip on YouTube where he turns a Bonnaroo
crowd into a giant birthday cake to the strains of "Dust in the Wind"
that must be seen to be believed.).
Now almost a decade after he and DJ
P revolutionized the game with "Uneasy Listening Vol. 1," Z-Trip can
only marvel at the wild world of mash-ups.
"I don't want to proclaim
myself as the guy that created it," he muses in regards to the mash-up phenomenon he's often blamed for kick-starting. "And
to be a huge part of that movement was great and wonderful, but now, almost ten
years later, to see mash-up parties and everything just seems kind of...dumb
and redundant. For us, it was never about being a certain kind of DJ. It was
about mixing, in as many interesting ways as possible."
Given this new DJ world of computer
software and post-mash-up musical blenders like Girl Talk, isn't it time that
Z-Trip and DJ P reconvene with "Uneasy Listening Vol. 2"?
"Actually, P and I have been talking about that idea for awhile," he
spills. "Oddly enough, the only thing really holding us back is that P
still spins on vinyl," he chuckles, finally freed from his
rental car prison by an employee on the lot. "He recently got the program,
so I'm just waiting for him to get up to speed with it. Once he does, watch
out."
To ensure
that he's still pushing his DJ sets into the sonic stratosphere, Z-Trip is now
bringing along drummer Pete McNeil, who'll bash along with him while he spins.
"Yeah, especially on this tour, playing with acts like MSTRKRFT that are
such a part of the current electro scene, I want to really show the just how
far we as DJs can go."
Z-Trip, you are my hero.
Scott T. Sterling is Music editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
