Red Int / Red Ink
2006
Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best
About This Album
After a dozen years of releasing unique beats, warped turntablist constructions, and hip-hop that's subterranean yet somehow connected to the genre's golden age, Japanese turntablist and producer DJ Krush released a remixed "best of" that offers a snapshot of his career for newcomers while giving longtime fans some new angels on tracks they've most likely devoured by now. Some numbers are drastically remixed, some are lightly dusted, but overall it seems he worked really hard on making Stepping Stones flow and hang together, quite the accomplishment considering any Krush construction can pull from any number of genres on its own. The double CD -- which was originally released as two separate CDs in Japan -- is divided into a "Lyricism" disc, which features the producer with one risk-taking vocalist after another, and a "Soundscapes" disc focusing on the instrumental side of the man, with appearances by his American counterpart DJ Shadow and pianist Ken Shima. While the Shadow team-up is a fascinating, choreographed stumble through film music, cocktail jazz, and ominous electronica, it's the otherworldly folding Krush does to Shima's piano that makes "Stormy Cloud" one of the most rewarding tracks on the whole collection.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1 and 5)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 3,4,5,6,7,8,11,12 and 13)

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