with the celebrated return of dr. octagon (dan the automator, kool keith and dj qbert) in 2017 including their first-ever live performances fans are sure to keep gobbling up the space weirdness that first surfaced more than 20 years ago. get on down presents a unique picture disc, featuring the original octagon album artwork by the legendary artist pushead. the infamous doctor’s head and lower torso reach above and below the actual 45 rpm playing surface, as if trying to escape their two-dimensional status. on the a-side is a brand-new dr. octagon song, “octagon octagon,” which picks up where the original energy left off. it’s a dark and grooving glimpse into keith’s rubberband mind, jumping abstractly from line to line, chock full of equal partscharisma and dementia. on the flip is the song for which the group is most well-known, “blue flowers.” the version presented here is the amazing “prince paul’s so beautiful” remix, which first appeared on a mo wax 12” in the uk in late 1996. it was the first meeting of the two great production minds from different eras – dan the automator and prince paul would go on to collaborate many more times over the next decade, most notably as the group handsome boy modeling school. this is another great trophy for any self-respecting kool keith and dan the automator fan, combining the old and the new in triumphant fashion.

was haben dr. doom, rhythm x, dr. octagon, big willie, mr. gerbik oder black elvis gemeinsam? alles pseudonyme des hiphop-urgesteins kool keith. da kann man schon mal den Überblick verlieren, zumal der ultramagnetic mc s-mc sich auch noch in zahllosen kollaborationen verstrickt. einen künstlerischen höhepunkt erreichte er aber zweifellos als dr. octagon. und nun erscheint endlich moosebumps an exploration into modern day horripilation – das follow up album zum 1996 erschienen dr. octagonecologyst. zum ersten mal seit mehr als 20 jahren ist das dreamteam dan »the automator« nakamura, mc kool keith (keith thornton) und dj qbert (richard quitevis) wieder vereint.

i released the original 12inch volume of five fingers of death battle breaks way back in 1998, while i was living in oakland and then san francisco during a time of incredible movement and creativity within the suddenly exploding scratch dj scene. the term turntablist, coined by dj disk, had yet to really catch on outside of the bay area scratch fraternity. having recently moved to california from new york, pauls turntable aesthetics were strictly 80s east coast and was more concerned with catching doubles (beat juggling) and overall party rocking. in other words, the science of scratching was not something i was even contemplating.needless to say, i was completely amazed and overwhelmed with what djs like qbert, shortcut, apollo and mixmaster mike were doing. (paul nice)

stylus for ortofon qbert systems ...