FATHOMLESS - DJ Faust, Shortee Craze
Released
September 1998 (out of print)
Vinyl EP
Catalog
# : BHH2016
This limited edition vinyl
only release features two pieces from the Man of Myth album ("Mind Over Matter"
& "Broken Joints"), as well as five incredible new recorded pieces
"Conundrum", "Farrago", "My Turn", "What It
Means", and "Ironic, Isn't It". Features 3 time DMC Champion DJ
Craze and Shortee. A rare limited promo only CD run of 500 copies also exist.
"FATHOMLESS" CHARTS
NEW TERRITORY
Ironically some of the most
innovative and creative hip-hop records being made these days are outside the
industry's rigid confines of what's supposedly "rap" or "hip- hop." Case in point
is the new progressive turntablist collaborative effort from DJs Faust, Shortee
& Craze; "Fathomless." Released by Bomb Hip-Hop Records, the pioneering label
that released such critically acclaimed - albeit ahead of their time -"Return
Of The DJ" turntablist collections and also DJ Faust's solo debut "Man Or Myth?,"
the limited edition (vinyl only) seven song EP "Fathomless" is too complex to
be simply labeled "rap" or "hip-hop." Yet it's closer to the genre, especially
in terms of song structure and production, than the hundreds of watered down,
smoothed out r&b based tracks with poppy rappers slapped on top, that sadly pass
as "hip-hop music" these days. With a variety of sounds that range from hard in-your-face,
scratch-happy, chemical beats, to commanding drum 'n' bass speaker shaking, to
trippy down-tempo tracks seductively layered with subdued scratching (eg: "Conundrum")
"Fathomless" goes where no turntablist release has gone before. Particularly noteworthy
is the inspired drum 'n' bass laced "Farrago" that's destined to get any dance
floor sweating like a muthafucka while "Broken Joints" starts out at a medium
hip-hop flavored pace before kicking in with wild fiery abandon. On this track
DJ Faust scratches Zapp's "More Bounce To The Ounce" and goes crazy with wild
freakish wrist movements on the turntables as he mixes in snippets of such hip-hop
favorites as Funky Four's "It's the Joint." Equally diverse and pleasing are "Mind
Over Matter" and "My Turn" - both of which deliver the goods in full force. Like
much of "Fathomless" the track "What It Means," (with all three DJs), which ranges
in styles including a head bobbing scratched hip-hop beat and a myriad of cool
found sounds including Audio Two ("What more can I say..."), a cool drum 'n' bass
segment (performed all by hand, no samplers) and a beefed up deep based dancehall
groove, is simply beyond categorization. The quality EP's closing track "Ironic,
Isn't It?" packs a hypnotic beat, laced with laughter underneath, while female
DJ Shortee profoundly states "Isn't it ironic? We are creating music of the future
out of something so primitive." Although "Fathomless," with its pioneering displays
of progressive turntablism by DJs Faust, Shortee & Craze, is closer to hip-hop
than most releases these days, many folks just won't know what to call it. Ironic
isn't it?
EP Track Listing
SIDE A
1. Conundrum
2. Farrago
3. Broken Joints
4. Mind Over Matter
SIDE B
5. My Turn
6. What It Means
7. Ironic, Isn't It?