Album Review: DJ Spooky

For someone who composes his music from recombinations of pre-existing sound fragments, a remix album is certainly appropriate. Subliminal Minded, DJ Spooky's follow-up to last year's Riddim Warfare, combines remixes, sound collages and general mayhem in a sonic soup that is equal parts John Cage, Sun Ra, Grandmaster Flash, and Aphrodite. DJ Spooky, a. k. a. That Subliminal Kid, a. k. a. Paul D. Miller, is a founder of the New York illbient sound, which blends the urban, rhythmic edge of hip-hop, dub and jungle with the abstract, ambient noise techniques of French musique concrte. And Subliminal Minded is chock-full of the sound. DJ Wally, the Dub Pistols, Karsh Kale and DJ Spooky himself reconstruct four songs from Riddim Warfare, ranging from the delicious spy-movie groove of the Dub Pistols' "Peace in Zaire" mix to the spastic percussion of Karsh Kale's "Futureproof in Zaire." Interspersed among the more conventionally structured tracks are sound collages like "Dr. Satan's Echo Chamber," a 20-second exploration of the evil one's sound effects. But such moments of humor are sparse in DJ Spooky's austere, dark music. Though not always as fresh and innovative as Riddim Warfare, Subliminal Minded provides an ample amount of spook, just in time for Halloween. B+