DJ Andy Smith – The Document

A stylish and sophisticated b-boy mix from Portishead tour DJ Andy Smith, which challenged the cheesy hedonism of the prevailing big beat scene of the time. The consistently strong records cover diverse genres but are made to fit perfectly together, with Andy creating a distinctive sound of his own in the process.

Starting with his own brilliant hip hop mash-up that blends the Jungle Brothers with stark Portishead trip hop ("G.B. Beats") and eerie Brooklyn hip hop (Jeru The Damaja's "Come Clean"), Andy then lightens the mood with laidback funk (The Meters' "Sissy Strut") and rawkus funk-rock (The James Gang's "Funk #49"), before darkening it again with '70s Blaxploitation suspense (Barry White's "Can't Seem To Find Him").

The contrasting use of moods in the mix may have reflected two competing influences on Andy in 1998: the downbeat, cinematic trip hop of his Portishead crew, and his own upbeat funk, soul and hip hop roots. By ing the two together, Andy made uptempo tracks sound even livelier, for example, when the breakbeat fury of Jeep Beat Collective's "Stop Ya Skemes" suddenly emerges from the darkness of Barry White.

The middle section continues with melancholic funk (Marvin Gaye's "'T' Plays It Cool") and soul (Tom Jones' "Looking Out My Window"), before Andy flips the mood again with two upbeat breaks tracks (Clockwork Voodoo Freaks' "Deaf Mick's Throwdown" and Grandmaster Flash's "Adventures"). Whilst Andy's turntable skills are excellent throughout, the highlight is surely his audacious cutting up of Flash's godfather of cut-up tracks.

The mix culminates with Peggy Lee's funky cover of Otis Redding's "Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay", proto-big beat from S.L. Troopers, uptempo blues rock from The Spencer Davis Group, and a reprise of the Barry White. Clocking in at 45 minutes, the mix is perhaps shorter than intended because records by the The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Lalo Schifrin, and others had to be removed (see "The Document (Original 1997 Demo)" for the original tracklist).

Andy kept his eclectic formula the same for another three editions of the Document, although the original is the moodiest, coolest and most distinctive of the lot. (10)

Brilliant mix of organic and drum machine. This was a live , turntable , one shot that ended up being one of the best dj mixes of all time. Right up there with Avalanches "Live at Cornerstone" and Justice Xmas mix.

absolute must have compilation if you don't have every single 12" that is, fantatic selection, the mix CD is one of my alltime favorite too...