DJ Quest
Questside (untold tales)

LABEL: Hip Hop Slam
RELEASE #: 21
RELEASE DATE: March, 2001
CATALOG #: HHS-027
FORMAT: CD

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Questide from the world famous DJ Quest, the veteran Bay Area DJ who is equally known for his solo work and his membership of both the Bullet Proof Space Travelers and Live Human. Questside, in addition to solo tracks, showcases collaborations with members of these two groups plus other artists, both brand new and spanning the past eight years: all of which have never been heard before. What makes Quest unique is his versatile and often unusual approach to turntable manipulation. "I like to do scratches that don't sound like scratches," he says.

Born in El Salvador DJ Quest moved with his family at age ten to San Francisco's Mission district where he still lives. In the mid-eighties as a teenager he got his first set of turntables and started DJ'ing. In '88 he met up with local DJ 2 Fresh who introduced him to another neighborhood DJ Eddie Def. Soonafter he and Eddie teamed up with to perform four turntable scratch mixes at parties around town. In 1991 the two became three when they were joined by Daly City's DJ Cue (the beatmaster) and became the Bullet Proof Scratch Hamsters (BPSH) who recorded the pioneering Hamster Breaks Vol. I in '92 (released in '93).

During the first half of the nineties Quest was also busy entering countless DJ battles (listed below) of which he won over half. By the time of his DJ crew's second Hamster Break album in '96 the BPSH had changed their name to the Space Travelers. Last year they altered it again to become the Bullet Proof Space Travelers with the lineup currently including Quest, Eddie Def, DJ Cue, Marz, Richness, & Eddie K. As such they released the album Built To Last (Stray) in early 2001. The track "1000 Proof Bass" was originally intended for that album.
In late '96 Quest further expanded his musical horizons by teaming up with Albert Mathias (percussion) and Andrew Kushin (contra bass) to form the experimental jazz/hip hop group Live Human. Unlike most groups then or even now Live Human refused to relegate the DJ to doing the odd scratch in the chorus but instead made the turntables as integral a part of the trio's mix as the bass or drums. "An effortlessly eclectic collective whose instrumental jams take in the rawest elements of hip hop, funk, jazz and punk noise to create a beautiful, free-ranging groove all their own," praised Britain's NME music magazine of the group.
In 1997 Live Human released their limited edition, vinyl-only debut album. The following year they recorded the album Monostereosis (Fat Cat & Hip Hop Slam) and in 2000 released Elefish Jellyphant, their first of three albums for Matador Records. This album got voted one of the top 50 albums (#13) of the year by Alternative Press who wrote that, "Live Human advanced hip hop and jazz several steps into the future." Note that the never before released Live Human tracks on this album are taken from two separate 1998 studio sessions. "Interlude" was recorded on January 23rd at Planet X in San Francisco while "Fish'n'Chips" was taken from an August 18th session at the Garden Studios in London, England.

One of this album's surprises is the never before released 1997 Space Travelers' track "9.9" which features Eddie Def on electric guitar & scratches, Cue on beats, and Quest on cuts & violin. "I can't play violin. I was just tweaking & manipulating it for effects," insists Quest of the session that, "came about when Cue invited us over to his studio and said just bring some instruments along." 1998's "It Was Night" was a similar impromptu studio session when DJ Disk stopped by Quest's home studio. This dirt-style improv session, which "came together off a loop of a beat that we kept adding sounds to," was recorded (complete with hiss) on a basic four track.

The similarly themed "Arabreaks I, II, & III" were recorded by Quest over an eight year period in 1993, 1997, and 2001 respectively. Also tracing a theme is "Moments (Pt II)" and its predecessor "Moments in Distortion (Pt I)" recorded four years previously. "At first I was trying to recreate the original but then it (Moments II) took off in its own direction," comments Quest.

Meanwhile "Shout" was produced right after Quest got back from participating in the NMS Superman Battle in New York in 1994 while he and DJ Cue co-produced "Waybacndamix" the previous year. Quest and 2 Fresh first began on the track "Code 48" in 1996 but left it unfinished until earlier this year. Another longtime partner and collaborator of Quest's is Eddie K who is best known for his rap/emcee skills ("1000 Proof Bass ") but is an equally adept producer/beat maker as displayed on "Slow & Sick" and on "Bulletproof Traveler (Treble Lord)" which he co-produced with Quest.

Without a doubt DJ Quest, who is featured in the new Doug Pray directed documentary Scratch, is one of today's most talented and versatile turntable artists and one who will be around for many years to come.

Various Artists
Turntables By The Bay Vol. 2

LABEL: Hip Hop Slam
RELEASE #: 22
RELEASE DATE: May, 2001
CATALOG #: HHS-022
FORMAT: Vinyl LP

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Turntables By The Bay Vol. 2—is the second vinyl release in the Bay Area DJs compilation series. This nine-track vinyl volume, spanning five years (1996-2001) of Bay Area DJ history, features both live & studio recordings, some brand new & some previously released tracks: all available on vinyl for the first time ever. Kicking things off is the 2001 recording "West Coast Darkside Anthem" from DJs Ngobility, Replay, and GWrex of San Jose's famous Finger Bangerz crew who, since their formation in October 1998, have won numerous local battles plus the ITF (International Turntablist Federation) Western Hemisphere title. Co-produced by all three with mastering by Ngobility this track was recorded at Beat KO Studios (For information on the group members' other releases: ngobility@hotmail.com).

Another brand new recording is "Revenge Of The Nerd" from DJ Relm, the Daly City turntable artist who began DJ'ing in 1995 and whose DJ battle victories include the 1999 ITF USA championship. In '96 Relm along with partner DJ Streak formed the Supernatural Turntable Artists (other members include DJs Swift Rock, Doc Rice, and Deus). Last year Relm left the DJ group to pursue such solo projects as his debut break album Naked Girl Breaks Presents... Leave It To Beaver.

The Invisibl Skratch Pilklz track "Word Cut Skratch" is a live turntablist recording from The Shiggar Fraggar Show! Vol. 5 from May 1996 when the DJ supergroup's lineup was Qbert, Shortkut, Disk, Mixmaster Mike, & Apollo. (For all the latest information on the DJs once known as Piklz or Qbert's animated movie check www.skratchcon.com or www.wavetwisters.com).

One time Skratch Piklz member DJ 8-Ball, winner of the 1992 West Coast DMC battle and the world champion 1993 NMS superman DJ battle in New York constructed the new song "The Poetry of War of the Flies" like a fighting video game, simultaneously drawing from both his battle DJ background and his video game battle expertise. "I visualize the flies fighting each other with each tone as a different fly," said the DJ who is renowned as a master manipulator of the tone.

"Tattooed Brain (Cello Shots)" is Raw B (beats & scratches) with Piki Chappell on cello and Luke Sick (courtesy of Miasmatic) on the intro freestyle. San Francisco's Raw B, one of the DJs on KUSF San Francisco's long running hip hop show Beat Sauce (along with DJs J-Boogie & Wisdom), is also a most prolific DJ/turntablist/producer who has performed with the likes of Paul Nice and L'Roneous . Meanwhile his impressive recording credentials include collaborations with Brougham (Warner), Smash Mouth (Interscope), Cue's Hip Hop Shop Vols. 1 & 2 (DogDay), Double Life (Raw Elements), and Street Reporters (Rugged Legend). (Info: djrawb@hotmail.com) Piki Chappell, who as well as playing cello, engineered & co-mixed this track at 3rd Ear Studios, is currently producing a record with San Francisco DJ Pollywog.

Eddie Def's "Inner Scratch Demons" originally appeared on Eddie Def's legendary Hemp Lords series and later on the 2000 CD release Open Your Mind (Wax People II). Taken from it's predecessor, Eddie's 1999 CD Wax People, is the appropriately titled track "Flare" by DJ Flare. Originally recorded in 1997, the lefty Flare did all the scratches on this track with his right hand. Recent recording projects from Flare include his contributions to Shiggar Fraggar 2000 and the highly recommended Pharaohs of Funk (Slit Wrist) CD with D-Styles.

DJ Quest, who along with DJs Eddie Def, Marz, Cue, Richness, & emcee Eddie K make up the Bullet Proof Space Travelers, delivers "Subconscious I" with his other band, Live Human. Featuring Albert Mathias on trap drums and Andrew Kushin on contra bass this track is taken from the trio's self-titled vinyl only 1997 debut album on Cosmic Records.

The Last Kreep
The Good Scratching Record

Vinyl Tool for Battle DJs
LABEL: Chip Shop Spam
RELEASE #: 23
RELEASE DATE: August, 2001
CATALOG #: HHS-033
FORMAT: Vinyl LP

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"A record is whatever the fuck you want it to be and this one is no exception," says the Last Kreep. "This record can be manipulated in any way since with records and turntables there are no rules. Options are almost endless in the art of scratching. This record's got verses, choruses, and breakdowns. As you know a lot of crews & solo DJs trade off sounds in measures of 4 to 8 bars so I went with that and 16 bar breakdowns. There's also basic loops for that OL SKOOL in the park party style... Hope you dig The Good Scratching Record.

Various Artists
Turntables By The Bay CD

LABEL: Hip Hop Slam
RELEASE #: 24
RELEASE DATE: August, 2001
CATALOG #: HHS-023
FORMAT: CD

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With twenty tracks including many of the world's best known scratch DJ's, Turntables By The Bay is proof that the San Francisco Bay Area is the epicenter of the current global scratch DJ, "turntablist" movement. This historic collection (1996-2001) compiles over an hour of the best of Bay Area DJs/producers: striking a nice balance between studio recordings and live sessions, the end result being the ultimate collector's guide to the Bay Area's thriving scratch DJ musical movement on one CD.

Included DJs — Songs:
DJ Stoic — "Bay Area Turntable Meltdown (Intro Mix)"
Invisibl Skratch Piklz — "Word Cut Skratch"
Tino Corp vs. Golden Chyld & Fuse-One — "Schizophrenic DJ (Left Hand Doesn't Know
          What The Right Hand is Scratching)"
Raw B feat. Piki Chappell & Luke Sick — "Tattooed Brain (Cello Shots)"
DJ Relm — "Revenge of the Nerd"
Peanut Butter Wolf & DJ Design — "Phonies"
The Groove Robbers feat. DJ Shadow — "Flashback"
89 Skratch Gangstaz — "Cut From Behind"
D-Styles & DJ Flare — "Turntable Circumcision"
Mixmaster Mike — "Battle For The Mind"
DJ Quest — "Quest Represent"
Finger Bangerz — "West Coast Darkside Anthem"
Eddie Def — "Bobbafette (The Last of the Gemini)"
QBert feat. Flare, D-Styles, & Yogafrog — "Invasion of the Octobots"
Live Human feat. DJ Quest — "Subconscious I"
DJ Stoic — "3PM Migraine"
DJ Marz — "City of Fork Yuen"
DJ Flare & homies feat. Kleva Kutz, Wrist Rocket, & C-Loc — "Scratch Party
           (Live in Toadman's Basement)"
Invisibl Skratch Piklz — "Insect Mind Numb"
DJ 8-Ball — "The Poetry of War of the Flies"

DJ's NOTE: many of the tracks on this CD also appear on the
similarly titled Turntables By The Bay three-volume vinyl series

Cat Five
Kataphonics

LABEL: Hip Hop Slam
RELEASE #: 25
RELEASE DATE: October, 2001
CATALOG #: HHS-028
FORMAT: CD

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Who or what the fuck is Cat Five? Answer: three things. A cat, a drug, and a new group. First and foremost Cat Five is the name of the bleary-eyed, blatantly blitzed, feline pictured on the cover of this CD. Although he can't play any instruments he (Cat Five) insists that he's the band's "fifth member" and claims that his voice is sampled on the opening track although he "gets no credit." One thing is certain though. He is constantly dosed on "Cat Five" blotter: the controversial new drug of choice at East Bay underground parties. This new locally manufactured chemical is described by experts as "a relatively safe and inexpensive, 100% pure & untraceable liquid-drug, like a combo of MDMA, LSD, and opium." But apparently unlike X or acid there is no negative comedown period from this new designer drug. Another distinction is that the high lasts exactly 74 minutes. And at $5 a hit it costs considerably less than other party drugs.

It is under the constant altered lysergic influence of this drug that the Cat named Five hears, blasting inside his small feline skull, the music of his four cohorts: Darkat, Tweak-Tech, Dr. Oliver, and Balanceman. "Our music controls how he feels," coughs Balanceman between bong hits. "We like over-modulation and shit which have, on occasionally unfortunately, made his little skull bleed.”

Alternately they like making seductive turntable & computer generated, collage-happy, deconstructed pop: something that prompted The Face magazine to dub Cat Five "A prime example of the Left Coast's new laptop music revolution." Responded the Cat named Five, "Fools be trippin! This ain't no goddam revolution. And if there was an actual revolution we'd miss it cause we sleep in too late. We just wanna make music and visuals and pirate radio and get loaded and do what the fuck we wanna do!"

Balanceman (beats, trumpet, etc.) formed the group Cat Five last year with Darkat (keyboards/piano/turntables), along with Dr. Oliver Klossoff (sample vocal overlay), and Tweak-Tech who has been assembling soundbots from his work bench in the Vulcan studio since he was a kitten. "The group evolved in part from the creation of vulcanradio.com, where we all kind of met and got together," says Dr Oliver Klossoff of the mixed media musical melding that travels each year to Burning Man to microbroadcast kataphonic emissions. "Cat Five is four channels mixed into one (5)... utilizing rhythmic patterns and colorful accents to design a visual experience," adds Tweak-Tech noting that in concert, computer generated visuals are an integral part of Cat Five's mix.

Balanceman, who released the critically acclaimed Well Balanced Meal (DeLuxe) in 1999 and was a member of pioneering mid-nineties East Bay drum'n'bass outfit H.S.O, has worked as a producer & engineer in various Bay Area studios for the past decade. Two years ago he first collaborated with turntable/computer manipulator Darkat who is also an accomplished visual artist. "As a painter I am particularly drawn to sacred imagery and imagery that defies boundaries, universal imagery such as geometry and mathematics, and occult symbolism," says Darkat who sees no boundaries between his music and his art. "My sound and my visual art relate in that they are both about reprocessing the media, taking imagery that we are exposed to on a daily level and somehow twisting it to expose the underlying intent behind the original message."

DJ Bre-ad of Exact-Science (www.exact-science.com) added cuts to tracks 2, 3, 6, 9, and 10