Planet Mu
Hellfish has made a career out ofwreaking havoc on classic rap tunes, often fusing entire vocal trackswith stomping, distorted four on the floor kick drums. A case in pointis album opener "U Don't Quit," during which he presents an entirelyunaltered old school hip-hop beat, only to transform it into athrobbing straight ahead 4/4 hardcore track at the 40 second mark.Transformations such as this are one of Hellfish's best tricks, as thesampled vocal that ties these two together makes the transition fromearly 80's to 2005 seem effortless, and ultimately places the music ina timeless dimension. One Man Sonic Attack Force benefits frombeing mostly comprised of new tracks and hard-to-find remixes, unlikehis previous Planet Mu CDs which have been mostly made up of tracksreleased on his own Deathchant label. Any track that gets the Hellfishremix treatment, such as Manu Le Malin's "Big Bald Fuck" and The SpeedFreak's "Iron Hand," instantly becomes of a piece with his originalcompositions, making the album a cohesive listen. While his tracksalmost always feature sampled dialogue and other embellishments, hisrapid-fire beat programming always remains the focus. The first minuteof "Iron Hand" features a man recounting countless crimes overinstantly recognizable chunks of Carl Douglas's "Kung Fu Fighting," butthis is merely an intro. For the remaining four minutes Hellfish getsdown to business, with bits of said disco hit used merely to accentbeats that pound away at lightning speed. The samples are silly but hisfierce, pummeling rhythms save the project from simply being anexercise in novelty. "Gettin' Paid 40r Doin' Shit" is brilliant in it'sabsurdity. Rumbling beats are interrupted by the voice of a manuttering the title in a way that sounds as if he is on the verge offalling asleep mid-sentence. The balance of ferociousness and fun iswhat makes this album such a pleasant listen. The rhythm-and-nonsenseapproach that Hellfish is an expert at is perfect for a futuristicdance party, albeit one at which the participants have boundless energyand are prepared to pogo all night at 180 BPM.samples:
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