The Token Jazz Hour - Mixed by Bowls


A lot of uncovered ground here in terms of the jazzier joints sampled by Dilla, all mixed live and from 100% vinyl.


11 comments:

Eric Nord said...

Nice selections, in spite of the buzzkilling station IDs.

DJ Ian Head said...

my thoughts exactly.

Bowls said...

Thanks for posting this one, Pipo. Always an honor to be featured on your site.

A few things about the mix:

This is my first mix using Serato. All of the tracks were ripped from my crates - like the Fake Blood mixes, I don't have doubles of a lot of these and I'm not in the business of cue-burning my wax anymore. All original pressings and all that, but yeah. I'm really digging the possibilities that Serato brings to the table, especially when you're spinning rips of your own records.

The "station IDs" and skits are from the Stevens & Grdnic - Somewhere Over The Radio LP, which Dilla used extensively on the 2002 batches. Apologies if it's a buzzkill. The whole idea was to make it a live radio mix, excessive drops and all.

The 320kbps Mediafire DL can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/?l63my21on5u3qhi

Thanks again and RIP Dilla

pipomixes said...

I think the radio drop thing is a matter of taste. Personally, I like it because it reinforces the theme that it is an actual mix. It's not like you used Flex's bomb or anything. Also, the seamlessness in which the tracks were mixed was very much noticed. Props.

Anonymous said...

Great Jazz! love the radio snippets and all... gives a sense of a journey...

Big ups on the artwork as well...

-bird

Anonymous said...

every good mix has a signature.. the radio id is a great one...

Eric Nord said...

Don't get me wrong... it's a great mix. Hell, I'm on my third listen. But that woman's "Token Jazz Hour, The Token Jazz Hour" ID is completely at odds with the music, as it interrupts an otherwise smooth flow. Yes, it doesn't complement the music, it INTERRUPTS. That perky voice is about as welcome as a 6am alarm buzzer after a heavy night of drinking. I'm not against the concept of drops. It's all about HOW it's done. Honestly, at first I thought the ID was a computer-generated voice. Truly, it's that bad.

Need examples of good drops?...

1. "I know you're gonna dig this"
2. "Ooooh, the music just turns me on."
3. "I am the magnificent!"

But what it really boils down to is using THE RIGHT VOICE at THE RIGHT TIME in the mix. Check out how Morse Code used those short, sweet "Fusion, fusion, fusion..." drops. Or how about Benji B, who uses sound effects, rather than voices to personalize his mixes. Actually, you also use some sound effects on this mix too, so props for that. :-) Actually, some of the drops are perfectly decent. It's really just that one, awful drop that kills the buzz with its stiff perkiness.

This mix is still pretty good, and I'm gonna post it on 500 Mixes. But you might consider using less jarring drops in the future, If you do, I promise it will get more plays and more positive reactions.

Bowls said...

Thanks for the response, Eric Nord. I wish I could send you the "clean version," but this was recorded live to minidisc in one take - hitting the "Token Jazz Hour" drops on my 303 and all.

The Joeski Love and Eddie Harris drops are also tributes to Dilla. Glad those didn't take away from your listening experience.

The "bubbling" sound effect has been my signature for years now. I'll mail a prize to anyone who can name the source of that one.

Let me know when/if you post this to 500 Mixes - it'd be MUCH appreciated. And know that the "Token Jazz Hour" drops will never be used again.....unless the people want to hear Part II (which is already recorded and sitting on my hard drive). Peace!

Eric Nord said...

You're a good sport. It's definitely impressive for a live mix. I just put it up on the 500 Mixes Jazz chart. Keep us posted on Part II.

Anonymous said...

Can you give me a hint as to was piano song is playing at the 22:48 mark? It's kind of hard to hear with the radio skit on top. Thanks!

pipomixes said...

Bro what's the sample at 23 minutes !? It's track 34 off of another batch .. It's a piano solo what's the sample please ?