DJ Spooky's mix-album trawl through the deep, varied back catalog of Shadow Records is a great mix of laid-back breaks and hip-hop, populated by long-buried tracks from several scenes all over the world. (Granted, Shadow is as much a domestic distributor as it is a record label.)
Spooky's mixing is excellent; with deft transitions and great scratching (plus just a bit of post-production), he injects energy into blunted hip-hop from Sharpshooters and
DJ Cam, then ups the tempo with a great mini-set of drum'n'bass with highlights from
Jack Dangers (the
Meat Beat Manifesto main man) and
Cujo (aka
Amon Tobin).
Modern Mantra finally touches down with jazzy, experimental selections from
Goo ("The OG") and
Spaceways ("Requiem for Ra") and ends by stretching back to early-'90s ambient with Prototype 909 and a closer from
Moby's Ambient album of 1993.
DJ Spooky compensates for the lack of vocals by dropping a pair of ace
Aesop Rock tracks (the album's only outside licensing) and makes a smooth transition from post-millennium sound sculptor Russell Mills to the genesis of Shadow in the early-'90s ambient techno scene. ~ John Bush