Mercer Union’s Dirty New Year’s Eve Party featuring Hollertronix with DJs Tim Hecker , Long Duk Dong , will Munro and Jenny Veranda at Studio 99 (99 Sudbury), December 31. $25 advance, $30 door, $35 after midnight. www.mercerunion.org Rating: NNNNN
The novelty may have worn off Missy Elliott rhyming over AC/DC riffs, but wiseass north Philly DJs Diplodocus and Low Budget, aka Hollertronix, are giving the mash-up concept a whole new kick. As you can hear on their stoopid genius Hollertronix: Never Scared (Money Studies/Turntable Lab) mix disc, where weedy 80s electro-pop and cheesy new wave jams are irreverently cut with fully crunk Dirty South hiphop, Miami bass and sleazy Baltimore house, Diplo and Low Budget have stumbled onto a unique party-rockin’ hybrid with enormously wide appeal.
“It started off being like crunk music for white kids,” laughs Diplo from the Philadelphia pad he shares with thousands of records, “but now we’ve got all these thugs dancing to 80s new wave – it’s working both ways.
“I remember putting on this remix of the Cure’s Love Song with an extended intro and had all the ladies on the floor. Then dropped an a cappella version of OutKast’s Bombs Over Baghdad on top and had everyone in the place buggin’ out.
“When Robert Smith’s vocals came in on the chorus, all the thugs were totally feelin’ it. You’d be surprised what the playas are into.”
Evidently, there were no grand designs of creating a new soundtrack for racial unity when Diplo and Low Budget began putting on parties at the local Ukrainian Association Hall. In fact, the entire subculture clash concept happened largely by accident, arising out of a selfish desire to play the music they loved… and a little liquid inspiration.
“Our parties weren’t that popular initially because we didn’t play the songs people wanted to hear – it was just the stuff we liked. Because I’m from Mississippi and grew up in south Florida, I’m into all that Miami bass, New Orleans bounce and Southern-style hiphop. But I also like a lot of 80s pop and new wave, too, y’know, like New Order, ESG, Depeche Mode.
“I guess we had a bit too much to drink one night and started mixing Dirty South joints with the new wave stuff, and somehow it just worked. From then on, we started experimenting with crazier and crazier mixes, and people were getting into it.
“At each party you’d hear new Hollertronix inventions, and that’s still the way it is. There was a snowstorm here the other night, so I put on the Bangles’ Hazy Shade Of Winter and then tried mixing in the new Jay-Z joint Dirt On Your Shoulder, and it fit perfectly. People went crazy!”
Word of the Hollertronix insanity began to spread outside of Philadelphia with the release of their Never Scared mix disc, boasting head-turning couplings of the Eurythmics and Mississippi badass David Banner as well as Trina and New Order, patched together with bedroom turntablist finesse.
Their devious handiwork caught the attention of Ninja Tune (who’ll be releasing a Diplodocus solo disc on Big Dada in the new year “I want to create a whole new genre of music with each song,” he insists) as well as Kelis, who recorded the intro to the Never Scared mix disc follow-up, tentatively titled Might Getcha. Nelly just hired Hollertronix to rock a private party.
“We’re still bringing mad records with us every time we play, and just try to come up with weirder mixes. If the Hollertronix thing gets much more popular than it is right now, we may need to work out a set.” timp@nowtoronto.com
