CLICK HERE FOR MORE SXSW 2018 COVERAGE!
AUSTIN, TX- For most of our SXSW artist coverage, we’ll keep it relatively short and sweet. We have over 80 artists to cover, so cut us some slack! 😉 We’ll basically be formatting each post into two parts: (1) Why our contributor wanted to see this act and (2) what our contributor thought of the performance. Easy peasy. If you want to learn more about the act, make sure you click through to their social media links to get in the know. You won’t be disappointed!
******************************
Why I Wanted To See Cut Chemist: I put Cut Chemist on my schedule after discovering him through the official SXSW Spotify playlist. I’m a fan of old-school DJ who know how to spin and mix that vinyl like they are meant to be played. I wanted to catch this late night act and I was so glad I did.
What I Thought Of Cut Chemist’s Performance: I had no idea what Cut Chemist looked like in person, so when I saw a middle-aged hefty man in a baseball cap setting up some turntables on stage, I just thought he was one of the the SXSW volunteers; little did I know he was about to produce some of the best music I would hear all week.
He started the show with 70’s style instrumentals laid over a heavy bass-line that had my head bopping harder than a bobble-head on a jackhammer. He continued for the duration of the set to scratch and mix up old-school music that made people dance and bounce around like they were at an underground NYC club.
Cut Chemist addressed the crowd throughout the show giving some background about himself and his music describing it as “70’s trap.” For every song he played there was a video accompaniment that were in all honesty a bit strange, ranging from cartoons to old alien movie clips. Despite the peculiar on-screen images, it added to the show’s appeal and provided for some visual context to the music.
My favorite song turned out to be a remix he did of an Etheopian song with a heavy drum set and African sounds. I just thought it was an eccentric song to remix and yet he was able to do it in such an impressive way fusing the varying sounds from his soundboard and the original instrumentals.
I came away from Cut Chemist’s performance shaking my head at how dope it was. He’s one of the father’s of DJ scratching and remixing, and he most certainly showed it that night at Elysium during Day 2 of SXSW. Make sure to check in out when he’s in your neck of the woods.
Follow Cut Chemist on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SXSW 2018 COVERAGE!
