Paul D. Miller, otherwise known by the awkward moniker DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, is a seriously bright and talented breakbeat artist who frequently annoys with his intellectual dilettantism, but seems constitutionally incapable of making an uninteresting record. This grab-bag of remixes finds him in collaboration with artists of similarly off-beat temperament, including
DJ Wally,
Sonic Youth's
Thurston Moore and members of the notorious
Dub Pistols.
DJ Wally's gently jungly take on "Peace in Zaire" is especially effective (it's more interesting than much of Wally's own work, frankly), though the ska-inflected
Dub Pistols mix is also excellent. "Rapper's Relight" is a strange, downtempo stew of found sound and ambient washes. "It' Nice Not to Lose Your Mind in '99" (in two versions) and "Dr. Satan's Echo Chamber" are both self-indulgent miniatures, while "Futureproof in Zaire" is essentially a tabla solo. Scattered? Messy? Unorganized? Absolutely. But this EP is still highly rewarding listening. ~ Rick Anderson