DJ Logic’s newest release, The Anomaly, is just that. He blends together a spectrum of rhythms and groove based genres from hip hop to house and from funk to drum-and-bass, introducing a fresh look at a lot of musical syles through the eyes of a scene-bending phenomenon. Logic offers something to everyone on his second studio effort, as he has succeeded in producing an unclassifiable album in this genre-laced world of modern music. Assisted by producers Meliv Gibbs (Rollins Band) and Scotty Hard (Wu-Tang Clan), and recorded in three phases over a year of extensive touring, The Anomaly has diverse influences and styles which create an original combination of feels and textures, and is now ready to hit stores on May 22.
Sucessfully fusing his hip-hop scratching and sampling with his live band, Project Logic, DJ Logic has put out a record that forges ahead by touching upon music that has preceeded it and referencing trends of today. The many guest musicians [John Medeski, Mino Cenelu (Sting, Miles Davis), Vernon Reid, Ron Miles (Bill Frisell, Ginger Baker] spice up his own electronic studio tracks.
On the tracks with his band, Project Logic, the multi-faceted Casey Benjamin (who plays sax, flute, ewi, and Fender Rhodes) is the clear melodic centerpiece and focus. While drummer Stephen Roberson and bassist Scott Palmer hold down more than tight and steady grooves, it is Benjamin’s searing flute solos, soothing saxaphone lines, and smooth rhodes melodies, coupled with Logic’s scratching and sampling which lend the originality to this music. These facets are highlighted on one of the The Anomaly’s best tracks “Michelle,” which is led by a melodic bassline and ripping flute solos above an intricate and changing beat. The album also features some smoother more lamping traditional Bayou-based funk tracks, such as the opening “French Quarter,” and the following “Black Buddha.”
DJ Logic’s The Anomaly departs from and transcends traditional funk rhythms, progressing into some later tracks featuring both house and drum and bass rhythms. “Ron’s House” blends a house rhythmic feel with saxophone melodies, latin percussion, vocal samples, all with the underlying rhythm of Logic's scratching. Now that’s some serious fusion! Faster drum-and-bass offerings come in the form of “Frequency One,” which blends Logic’s furious and agile scratching with some uptempo jungle rhythms and vocal samples. “Beenie Man” progresses from Meters-style funk with a DJ into a space-age drum and bass odyssey with dissonant sax and flute solos and full-on R2D2 effects before settling back into the heavy original groove.
“Soul Kissing” provides another example of Logic’s originality. This track originated from a jam session with musicians he had in the studio and turned into one of the freshest sounding tracks on the release. Starting with a percussive house beat, layers of R&B-type rhodes and sax are added before a marimba-esque melody is introduced into the mix. Soon there are some strings (violins?) coming in with rhythm licks complimenting Logics’s turntable antics, creating an interesting and grooving sonic melange.
Throughout the rest of The Anomaly, Logic touches upon more straight hip-hop with rapping (“The Project(s)”), a ‘70’s era Miles Davis-eqsue exploration of dissonant textures, searing psychadelic horn lines, and intricate fusion beats (“Miles Away”), and some heavier ambience (“Afronautical” and “Drone”). With The Anomaly, DJ Logic has created a spectral collage of sounds and sewed them together with his hip-hop scratching and progressive musical vision, realizing beats and grooves need not be limited to any one direction or atmosphere. A longer work, truly exploring the varying rhythms and soundcapes of both today’s music and the music it has been built upon, Logic’s The Anomaly proves a worthy urban roller coaster ride through music past and present following the fast moving fingers and mind of anomaly himself, DJ Logic.
David Calarco
JamBase Staff Writer
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