Back in 1997, you would have considered yourself fortunate if you had even heard this mix. Its hard to deny that point in time as a pivotal one as DJs were really starting to break into the public music consciousness, and then go on a comeback run that would have turntables outselling guitars in Japan a few years later. At apex of that shift was Q Bert and the Invisible Skratch Piklz, who were the wacky gods to all DJs taking the art of skratching to a level no one had thought possible. Simulatenously DJ Shadow became the benchmark in instrumental hiphop when at the end of 1996 MoWax released his first album, Endtroducing, and followed up with an album of his singles, Preemptive Strike. Put together like the wet dream of some hiphop/dj stoner sitting in his bedroom saying, “What if Q Bert made a mix of DJ Shadow?” and hearing the world shudder and tremble at the idea… this rare and hard to get mix became instantly infamous world wide. Most people would have to wait until 1999 and napster that shit to get a listen.
Today this mix might not seem all that great, considering the advancements that even Q Bert has made in the 10+ years since its conception, and the somewhat dated sounds of Shadows tracks (still classic). However, don’t be fooled, this is where your Birdy Nam Nam type guys came from… so give respect where its due.
Q Bert – Camel Bobsled Race (download)
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Write a comment