Cut Chemist

Sound of the Police

(A Stable Sound)

Record Review by Patricio Maya

Most of Cut Chemist's previous albums are full of scratches, tempo roller-coasters and samplings from crazy sources like old radio ads or classic TV shows. All that lovely goofiness is nowhere to be found in his new album, Sound of the Police. Some fans might resent this. I kind of do, a little. After all, the postmodern pastiches he delivered in albums like The Audience is Listening satisfy the intellect as much as the ear. But then again, Sound of the Police, a mix of African and South American records, is a different kind of Cut Chemist album--starting with how it was made. 

Cut Chemist, who has been known to use several turntables at once, used a single turntable to make Sound of the Police. The album has two live tracks that last roughly 20 minutes each. "Live" in this sense means that the artist selected, cut, and put together each track in front of a live audience. 

The first track, "West Side," starts with a funky base and feverish trumpets before giving way to a jazzy piano and a myriad of subtle musical shifts. Long percussion sets create bridges between the track's African, Colombian and Brazilian episodes while highlighting musical connections.  The result is sultry, but so seamless you’d almost forget the normally flowery Cut Chemist was behind it. The second track, "East Side," is similar in approach, except that the electronic repetitions and scratches become slightly more playful. 

In Sound of the Police, Cut Chemist, whose real name is Lucas MacFadden, favors subtlety above ornaments. He even abstains from making any non-musical statements. Perhaps MacFadden, former member of cult rap group Jurassic 5 and Los Angeles Latin fusion band Ozomatli, is at a place in his career where he doesn't need to show off anymore. Or maybe he decided to take a more nuanced approach in Sound of the Police in order to let the beats and trumpets shine on their own. As a lover of rough musical artifice of the King Tubby style, I really hope that the latter and not the former is true. 

Even when less extravagant and less referential to old school hip-hop and pop-culture than earlier records, Sound of the Police remains a strong album. Given the technical limitations Cut Chemist imposed on himself, the outcome is surprisingly layered. All those layers form a complex musical monument to Pan-African music from one of the best turntablists around. Sure, Sound of the Police might not make you want to think, laugh or revolt, but it sure makes you want dance and look up African music. And that's more than enough. My only real complaint against Cut Chemist in this album is that he has not yet published a list of all the sampled records. Fans need to know.