Following in the footsteps of Dangermouse, London producer Bullion has taken his sample inspiration from two very different sources for this free remix album Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee. Now I am the first to admit that I was never really feelin' anything other than the idea of mixing two really disparate artists into a cohesive project. Dangermouse had a great "idea" but the actual music was largely uninteresting and unlistenable after the initial surprise. Many other so-called producers have attempted similar concoctions to varying degrees of success. Mostly the mixes are tepid at best. My favorite has been the JJ Brown mixes of Ludacris & The Jackson 5 and his upcoming Hall & Oates X Gym Class heroes mash-up.
Now along comes Bullion and he really delivers a stellar project for this (can I call it a burgeoning) genre. Using samples from the great 1966 Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds and J Dilla’s repetoire, Bullion has created something wholly unique and refreshing. It’s not a mashup album as he is at pains to point out, but it does mix samples from these two artists to great effect. The ultimate kudos must go to Bullion however, who spliced and diced these samples with his own superb production.
You can download the album for free on his MySpace page. Savour it and remember if you ever want to get a hip hop kid into the Beach Boys, this is where to start.
