Features &
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Chocolate Weasel
DJ Cam
DJ Method One
DJ Stratus
DJ 3D
Dwindle
Ed Rush
Electronica
Frank Lloyd Wright's California
Ganger
Gapeseed
Her Space Holiday
Holiday Flyer
ICU
Jungle Defined
Kim Salmon
King Rhythm
Laika
Latin Playboys
Lounge Lizards
Mark Robinson
Mixtapes
Monochrome
Most Secret Method
Music Appreciation 101
Pressure Drop
Terrastock II
Third Eye Foundation

X-ecutioners X-pressions CD
Documenting the turntablist phenom has become much more of a difficult premise than trying to outline the cultural reasoning behind the return of the Volkswagen Bug. Like Alexander Calder's wire sculptures, the creations, (artifacts, if you indulge me) created by the X-ecutioners hang suspended magically in mid-air. The audio sculptures carved by stylli, tone arm, (the dexterity of a magician's) fingertips on plastic and tight grips on crossfaders vibrate and shimmy in a three dimensional spaces. Sometimes tracks are curiously held aloft like mobiles, while still others have foundations, or bases that propel them upward. These end-products of imaginations startle and amaze me. The X-ecutioners collective (known prior to legal maneuvering as the X-Men) comprised of Mista Sinista, Rob Swift, Roc Raida and Total Eclipsed is assisted by some truly gifted R&B and rap vocalists that add spice to the steaming hiphop broth. This stewing brew of cuts, scratches, beats, rhymes, and breaks overflows with caged-wit while ironically demanding your serious undivided attention. X-ecutioners make more demands on the listener than trad hip hop. They put the needle on the record, and rock it back 'n' forth with deft precision. Essential musicology. (Asphodel/Audio Soul PO Box 51 Chelsea Station NYC 10113-0051) - Keith York

Xpresso Flocabulary CD
Flocabulary ‘s ingredients: deep jeep-beats, twisted South-Bay rhymes boosted by psychotic sequencer action. Hip-hop’s trad definitions are toyed with endlessly throughout this 18-track project, most notably on “Mushrooms” where vocal samples replace Xpresso in an early dawn desert party vibe. Erasing the urban drama of hip-hop, in its place constructing a twisted quick-footed head-trip, Xpresso expands his mind on your stereo. Next thing you know, an hour has passed and your stoned on his complex vibe (both musically and lyrically). (Journees/Shotcallers POB 2531 Cupertino, CA 95015) – Keith York

XTC Wasp Star CD
Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding are back as the non-touring, recording-studio-only autographing duo that once was the mighty Brit post-punk pop band. Despite their late-career hermit-like existence (for pop stars that is), XTC have punched out a comparable work to their milestones Skylarking and English Settlement. Straight-forward 4/4 pop melody orchestration and catchy ("sticky") lyrics about women and love ("I'm the Man Who Murdered Love", "Church of Women" etc.) comprise much of the album that fails to harbor a clunker from the lame-comeback-police. Excellent. (TVT/Idea 23 E. 4th St. NYC 10003) – Keith York