DJ-Kicks

by Dean CarlsonBerlin's DJ-producer outfit has their say in the DJ-Kicks series and it's a muggy, city-strolling, claustrophobic tour through the band's modus operandi. Unlike many of the other labors in the DJ-Kicks line, Terranova manages to create a mix that stays away from both numbing ambient indifference as well as tedious "moody" slow beats. This sucker just grooves. Maybe it's because while many other Bristol-influenced musicians often fail to acknowledge the hip-hop in their trip-hop, Terranova never hides behind such a mistake. They lead listeners down streets pumping with underground rap outfits like Priest, the East Flatbush Project, and Peanut Butter Wolf. Take them to the nightclubs blaring with frenetic breakbeats by BFC or their own "Tokyo Tower." And like David Holmes' Bow Down to the Exit Sign, it all sounds like a local is guiding you through a bunch of dense street ambience, Japanese-tinged hip-hop, and porn-sampling jazz while occasionally playing some tape-recorded samples next to your ear. It's fun, in a cool, head-nodding sort of way. Which shows that Terranova knows how to walk the streets with not only a case full of good records, but with a strong sense of character as well.