VA - J. Boogie's Dubtronic Science - Live! In The Mix (2004)

J. Boogie's Dubtronic Science has been the most exciting dance music collective in the Bay Area for some time, and has made some exceptionally fine albums and singles. But Live! in the Mix is special. Featuring a mixture of live instruments (sitar, saxophone, flute, turntables) and recorded grooves, this set is actually a live DJ mix that swerves from deep dub to hard-hitting hip-hop and back again, with the occasional stop along the way for a brief dip or two into Afro-beat, house, and mid-tempo funk. Over the course of a 79-minute program, there is not a single weak track -- the songs and instrumentals vary in quality between very good (the minimalist hip-hop groove of Asheru's "Mood Swing," Thunderball's jazzy and flute-heavy "Pop the Trunk") and brilliant (Mark Farina's simple and gorgeous "Dream Machine," Variable Unit's "Dr. J Dub"). Everything seems to come packed with a wonderful surprise, whether it's the supple turntable flourishes that enliven the Brazilian flow of Soulstice's "Wind" or the quietly spectacular bass line that prods Lone Catalysts' "Due Process" along its delightfully bumpy way. Really, though, you could go on and on about every track here. If your taste runs to soulful funk, elegant hip-hop, and canyon-deep dub, then this is the album for you and probably everyone you know as well.