Prefuse 73 Reads the Books

Prefuse 73 (Scott Herren), glitchy instrumental hip-hop producer turned indie superstar, remixes and reinterprets folk-tronica indie darlings The Books (most of the source material from their album Lemon of Pink).

The result: The Books’ banjo, strings, folksy cut-up/collage aesthetic in a textured, complex (but well-organized), head-nodding Prefuse 73 glitch-hop framework.

I‘m a big Prefuse 73 fan (well, his older stuff) and a big Books fan... so why is this boring?!? I by no means think this is "bad", it just fell short of my (high) expectations. But my own opinions aside, maybe you will like this better than me...? Certainly worth a listen.

Favorite Tracks: 2, 5
Quiet FCC on Track 6

- Captain Dee, July 2005


1. Short intro (0:09)
*2. This was featured on the new Prefuse album (Surrounded by Silence). Snappy beat, banjo-strumming loop, breathy vocal texture. Nice groove here. (2:30)
3. Audio collage (esp. the intro) vibe. Loopy off-kilter melody, sampled Spanish, guitar fuzz, hollow bangs. (2:35)
4. Interlude. Blippy, high-pitched noise over quiet pulsing banjo/strings. (0:56)
*5. Now we’re talking. Plodding, slow hip-hop beat. Blues-y banjo riffs, cut-up strings melody. Strikes me as a soundtrack for early century railroad construction or something. (5:20)
6. FCC: Almost indecipherable "fucking" at 2:17. Wooden/clapping beat, metallic clangs, layers of noise fuzz and oooh-ing vocal texture. (5:00)
7. Snare-heavy beat, clashing (almost off-key) melody. Drone-y. (2:31)
8. Same patchwork, fuzzy aesthetic. This time, full, crooning female vocals. Very dream-y vibe. (3:50)