Chrissy Murderbot: Women’s Studies (Planet Mu, 5/9/11)
Chrissy Murderbot: “Bussin’ Down” (Feat. DJ Spinn)
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/01-chrissy_murderbot-bussin_down_ft._dj_spinn-bnp.mp3|titles=Chrissy Murderbot: “Bussin’ Down” (Feat. DJ Spinn)]After releasing a number of mixes, EPs, and LPs on his own label, Sleazetone, Chicago-based footwork/juke DJ Chrissy Murderbot (a.k.a. Chris Shively) is set to release his Planet Mu debut this May. The record, titled Women’s Studies, comes on the heels of a whirlwind year in which Shively released a mixtape every week for one full year (www.yearofmixtapes.blogspot.com). Here, he highlights his Women’s Studies collaborators with a collection of 10 choice tracks.
My Collaborators and Why I Love Them
By Chrissy Murderbot
On my new album, Women’s Studies, I work with a lot of guest vocalists, DJs, remixers, etc. A few times already, interviewers have asked me, “How did you find out about these people?” or “What made you choose this particular group of people to work with?” So I thought I’d take this opportunity to show you the songs that turned me onto all the great musicians who’ve contributed to my new LP.
1. Rubi Dan & The Heatwave: “Higher Heights”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/theheatwave-rubidan-higherheights.mp3|titles=Rubi Dan & The Heatwave: “Higher Heights”]Rubi Dan is a British MC who performs on dancehall records, UK garage records, grime records, and pretty much anything else you give him. This is a dancehall tune from 2008, produced by UK bashment crew The Heatwave. I met the guys from The Heatwave in 2005, and after I heard this tune, I asked them to put me in touch with Rubi Dan. We’ve made two tracks together so far: “New Juke Swing” and “Pelvic Floor,” both of which are on the new album. For the record, I’m really glad I can say I’ve released a tune called “Pelvic Floor.”
2. DJ C & MC Zulu: “Bodywork”
MC Zulu is a Panamanian-born Chicagoan dancehall vocalist, and another one from the “I can rhyme over ANY type of music” school of MCs. I first found out about him through DJ C (a Chicago DJ/producer who, incidentally, is the guy responsible for releasing the first record I ever put out). DJ C was working with Zulu on a lot of tunes around 2007-2008, around which time I ended up getting introduced to Zulu at Handlebar restaurant in Chicago. Every time we hang out, I find out some crazy new story from his past — like that he has a black belt in karate, or that he used to own an ice-cream parlor. He’s going to be on stage with me when I play at Pitchfork Music Festival this July, so come check that out if you can.
3. Mungo’s Hi-Fi & Brother Culture: “Barnstormer”
Mungo’s Hi-Fi is a reggae sound system from Glasgow, Scotland — which seems incongruous until you meet [the band members] and hear them play and see how respected they are in the reggae scene. They run what is, hands down, THE BEST sound system I have ever heard in my life, and they tour it around the UK and Europe, absolutely destroying crowds with their epic wall of bass cabinets. I met them when we played together in Bristol, UK. They co-wrote one of the tracks on my album (really, my version is a remix/re-work of their version). In fact, the tune features vocals from Warrior Queen, who we’ll get to next…
4. The Bug feat. Warrior Queen: “Poison Dart”
Warrior Queen is a Jamaican dancehall vocalist who splits her time between London and Kingston. Right now, there’s a real renaissance of female dancehall performers, many of whom come from the UK scene — Lady Chann, Ms. Dynamite, Timberlee, Cecile, Natalie Storm — and Warrior Queen is definitely one of the best. I guess I first heard this track in late 2007 / early 2008, when a lot of London MCs were playing it on dub plate. I started putting the word out to see who could put us in touch, and the guys from Mungo’s Hi-Fi connected us. She contributes vocals on two tracks on my new album, providing the female response to an album of booty anthems.
5. Johnny Moog: “Dope Love”
Johnny is an MC from Texas who exemplifies the syrupy drawl of that state’s hip-hop scene. I LOVE the way this guy sounds. One day a couple of years ago, Texan hip-hop organizer Prince Willy got in touch on Johnny’s behalf, asking me to do a remix for his track “Dope Love” (which still hasn’t come out!). That’s when I got the idea that Johnny and I should work on some tracks together. We’ve made a couple of tunes at this point, one of which is on the new album and features a verse from another Texas MC, Coool Dundee.
6. XRABIT & DMG$: “Party In My Pants”
[audio:http://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/08-xrabit_and_dmg-party_in_my_pants.mp3|titles=XRABIT & DMG$: “Party in my Pants]Coool Dundee is one half of DMG$ (aka Damaged Good$), and he’s another dude that Prince Willy provided the hookup on. Sometimes he reminds me of a hipster Too $hort, or if Mos Def had been a ghostwriter for Mac Dre. Really fun party rap with lyrics that have a lot of thought behind them. “Party In My Pants” is a really prescient commentary on European monetary policy. Just kidding! It’s about his wiener.
7. Lemonade: “Lifted” (Ghosts On Tape Remix)
OK, this one is convoluted. I know a kid from Kansas named Phillip Beretta (that’s not his real last name, but that’s what everybody knows him as). He now lives in Brooklyn with Alex from Lemonade. Phillip hooked me up with Alex to do a remix of one of Lemonade’s tracks, and around the same time, Ryan (aka Ghosts On Tape), from San Francisco, also remixed one of Lemonade’s tracks. Later, I find out that Ghosts on Tape knows a bunch of other folks that I know around the world (Subeena & Disco Shawn, for example). When the time came to pick out remixers for the single off this new album, he was one of the first guys that came to mind. The remix is really good and has been blowing up all over the Internets, so I’m pretty pleased with the way it all unfolded.
8. DJ Spinn: “Bounce N Break Yo Back”
DJ Spinn is one of the best footwork DJs there is, and has really done a lot to define the Chicago sound that’s blowing up internationally right now. He also kinda acts as a mentor to tons of local footwork kids. Every time I’m at his house, there’s loads of aspiring young dancers and producers over there hanging out and picking up lessons from one of the masters. I was a fan of his tracks before I met him, then we met through the scene here in Chicago, and that’s how we started working together. As I write this, I’m actually about to hop on a plane and tour Europe with him for the next month!
9. DJ Rashad & DJ Chi Boogie: “Ay Yo Yo!”
Rashad is a frequent collaborator with DJ Spinn, and he’s also another one of the guys about to come on tour with me. Out of the entire footwork scene, he’s perhaps the guy getting the most European press attention right now. I’ve been following his music since about 2004, but I met him a few years later, at the same time that I met DJ Spinn. He collaborated with Spinn to contribute one of the remixes for the single.
10. Monkey Steak: “Black Milk”
Monkey Steak is a Bristol/London-based duo consisting of Hanuman and Atki2. I met Atki2 at a Bristol gig in 2005, and I met Hanuman a couple of years later. Since then, they’ve become close friends as well as big movers in the UK bass scene. They make a lovely sort of house-garage-bashment hybrid, similar to UK funky but smashed up and shattered and reassembled into something completely unique. Atki2 was one of the first people to really aggressively promote “The Vibe is So Right” off the album, and so when it came time to find a remix for it, he was the obvious choice. The end result is SO GOOD!