Rob Swift Drops Beats on the Classics

Master wax-spinner defends his unalienable right to marry Mozart to Grandmaster Flash; classical music fans storm his compound in response. Free MP3 below.

By Blurt Staff

Turntablist Rob Swift (X-Men/X-ecutioners) is about to drop a boundary-pushing new release, The Architect, due Feb. 23 from Mike Patton's Ipecac label. We're advised the record reflects "his newfound love of classical music... as much in common with Mozart as it does with Grandmaster Flash. 

Wait - didn't we go through this back in the ‘80s already, with disco beats applied to classical music ("Hooked on Classics," "Classics on 45," etc.)?

At any rate, a quick glance at The Architect's track listing, below, reveals that Swift has created a conceptual piece of work.  Though mostly instrumental, the album is not a "concept album" but rather a series of compositions deliberately sequenced to form a greater, unified whole.  On "Principio," the album's lone MC, Breez Evahflowin, breaks it down when he spits "The way it's layed down, don't shuffle this LP / the truth is you'd miss something that's healthy / something like progress, the artform elevated / the next level of turntablism and innovators."

Though only two tracks contain vocals, The Architect is ripe with emotion and abstract narrative.  Orchestral strings and organs mingle with fierce breakbeats and expert scratching. Swift's exploration of manipulating pitch and tempo are executed and organized with the mindset of a virtuosic composer. 

Free MP3: "Rabia - 2^nd Movement"

Tracklisting:

01.    Overture
02.    Introduction
03.    The Architect
04.    Principio
05.    Story Of A Man
06.    Sound The Horn
07.    Prelude To The 1st Movement
08.    Rabia - 1st Movement
09.    Rabia - 2nd Movement
10.    Rabia - 3rd Movement
11.    D.R.E.W.
12.    Intermission
13.    Lower Level - 1st Movement
14.    Lower Level - 2nd Movement
15.    Lower Level - 3rd Movement
16.    Spartacus
17.    Sound The Horn (reprise)
18.    Ultimo