If you aren’t already familiar with Russian DJ and Producer DJ Vadim, then you are missing out on one of the greatest hip-hop artists outside of the USA. His latest album, USSR: The Art of Listening is his most mature and finished LP to date. His earlier release USSR Repertoire broke new ground with its curiously structured rhythms and drum patterns. 1999′s The Isolationist is Vadim’s immortal collabo with Anti-Pop Consortium. DJ Vadim has made music with many respected artists from around the world, and the new album is no different. USSR Repertoire features Gift of Gab, Slug, Motion Man, Phi Life Cypher, Yarah Bravo, Demolition Man, and several others.
USSR: The Art of Listening feels to me like a further development of a sound that is uniquely DJ Vadim. Some of Vadim’s songs can sound deceivingly loose and unstructured when you first hear them, if you are expecting to hear a traditional, tried-and-true brand of hip-hop. It always takes me several careful listens to slowly absorb the subtle musical tactics that make DJ Vadim one of today’s top producers and songwriters. The cello melody and drum arrangement on “She Who is Tested” are especially impressive. (Yarah Bravo makes two outstanding appearances on this album: in this song and on the elegant “The Pacifict”)
DJ Vadim’s abilities shine through in the absence of vocals in “The Harp Song (Part 2)”, where his unconventional approach makes other hip-hop tracks sound like cardboard cut-outs. This song’s unpredictable twists and turns will steal your concentration, and leave you hungry to hear it again. A lot of music out there sounds hot at first, but gets played out the more you hear it. USSR The Art of Listening doesn’t reveal itself all at once, it has depth, sophistication and harmony, and in some unlikely ways. The closer you listen to Vadim’s music, the more appreciation you’ll have for it – this is not background music, it is a prodigious mutation in the evolution of music.
More info. on DJ Vadim can be found at:
Ninja Tune: audio/video, online store, tour info. and djvadim.com