The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 28, 2002, Page 5, Image 5
% THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, October 28, 2002 5
CONTACT US v THEY SAID IT
mo 1 L U MARIA MITCHELL: “Besides learning
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? i t<5 see, there is another art to be
E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com learned — not to see what is not.”
- - -■ - - - -' - - , ■ :—r r__ —
Talented
roster
propels label
to top of
underground
PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Left: El-P released his solo debut “Fantastic Damage” In May, delighting
critics and fans. Top: Mr. Lif combines intelligent political protest and thought
provoking rhymes. Middle right: RJD2’s instrumental album,"Dead Ringer”
shocked critics with Its sonic mastery. Above: Aesop Rock has become a
crowd favorite with his baritone voice and rapid delivery.
Hip-hop artist evolves from innovative rapper and critically acclaimed producer to creator of his own label
BY JUSTIN BAJAN
THE (UMECOCK
Creating a record label in hip
hop is about as involved an un
dertaking as establishing a new
state. Both take careful planning,
allocation of resources and dele
gation of duties. Both require the
people in charge to leave their
comfort zone and migrate into a
new setting, faced with challenges
of all kinds.
Jaime Meline (aka El-P), 27, de
ft cided to leave the security of
Rawkus Records and launch his
own label, Def Jux Records. The
idea came to Meline in 1998 after
his minor fall-out with Rawkus, a
label that began as an icon in un
derground hip-hop but soon redi
rected its focus toward reaching
the mainstream.
Meline helped bring credibili
ty to Rawkus from its inception,
with his revolutionary rap group,
Company Flow, composed of
Meline, Big Juss and DJ Mr. Len.
Company Flow combined Meline’s
and Big Juss’ uncompromising
lyrics and Meline’s legendary pro
duction to create a brand of hip
hop that was as intellectual as
Organized Konfusion and as gritty
as Wu-Tang Clan.
But as Rawkus became less con
cerned with retaining its inde
pendent spirit, Company Flow
seemed out of place. Big Juss then
left the group to pursue his own
career, leaving Meline and Mr.
Len to operate brifly under the
group’s name. And finally, in 2000,
the group decided to disband. The
more coincided with Meline’s
crafting of Def Jux.
The challenge that any person
in beginning a record label faces
is differentiating it from other
record labels — through its sound
and goals. The other challenge is
founding a label strong enough to
withstand the competition in its
genre.
Meline explains his label’s pur
pose and mission: “Bring the in
dustry to the music, not the music
to the industry. At its best, the la
bel’s intent is to be a hub for mu
sicians’ careers.”
But Meline doesn’t want to lim
it the artists’ expression to create a
coherent sound for Def Jux.
“I have no interest in establish
ing a ‘sound’ for the label.
Everyone does what they do best,”
Meline said.
He also said Def Jux is a “mech
anism to get independent-minded
artists involved with the industry
in a smart way. Our mission is to
release well-done, inventive and
original music consistently.”
And Def Jux has done just that,
with an extensive roster of more
than 10 artists, and more than 10
albums released during two years.
With such names as RJD2,
Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock and Mr.
Lif, Def Jux has become a jugger
naut in hip-hop. Meline jokes that
he assembled the roster by luck.
“Almost every artist on the label
is there because of an existing
friendship with me, people who I’ve
respected and known for years, or
people who are directly connected
to those I’ve known,” he said.
“I’m excited that we got a good
start, but nobody is patting them
selves on the back yet,” Meline
said. “If we’re around in five years
I’ll be happy.”
And five years in the ever
changing, frenzied and fluctuat
ing world of underground hip-hop
is impressive. Meline has been in
the underground so long that he’s
almost been disenchanted with its
meaning.
“I’m the guy in the underground
that doesn’t know what under
ground means anymore,” he said.
Typically, underground hip
hop can be heard only on college
radio, a small but devoted form of
media.
“College radio DJs are — at
their best — fearless,” he said.
“They are the ones who hold the
vanguard of music. They are not
attached to money, so they play
whatever interests them. We
wouldn’t get any radio play if not
for college play.”
Meline is a man of his time; he’s
dictated the trends of under
ground hip-hop with his innova
tive lyrics, production and ap
proach toward operating a record
label.
He is also aware of a record la
bel’s power and influence, which
unfortunately can suck out an
artist’s creativity in hopes of big
ger profits and financial success.
Meline satirizes this situation by
saying he plans for his label to be
- come an “evil, multinational,con
glomerate corporation.”
Meline’s unique vision and bit
ing sense of humor let him survive
underground hip-hop’s fickle na
ture. And with the year coming to
a close, Meline has no time to slow
down; Def Jux just released a new
Mr. Lif album, “I Phantom,” as
well as Meline’s “Fantastic
Damage Plus.” The label also
plans to release a new Murs album
in January and a new Aesop Rock
album in May.
And if anybody wants to see Def
Jux in action, Meline has a word
for Columbia promoters.
“If you got the dough, we’ll
bring the show,” he said.
Comments on this story?E-mail
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S.C. gets first glimpse of promising band
BY AUBREY FOGLE
THE GAMECOCK
I Isola, an alternative-rock
band out of San Marcos, Texas,
will play Monday at the New
Brookland Tavern, and, if its
award-winning music is any in
dication, it should be a show not
to be missed.
Only a year old, the band has
already received more than its
share of accolades from the mu
sic industry. Isola has already
been voted into the top 10 best al
ternative bands by the 2002
Austin Chronicle Music Awards.
The band also produced, engi
neered, mixed and did the art
work for its debut album, “Don’t
Walk, Run.”
After be
ing a band A
for only a a
matter of J
months, Isola received the oppor
tunity to perform at major festi
vals around the Southwest, in
eluding Soutn
by Southwest
and
Opportunity
Rocks. The
band has also
won major com
petitions
around its
home region,
and is itching to
show the rest of
the world what
it’s made of.
jjruinmei anane Berry talked
about how a college band such as
Isola is formed.
“We all met in college at
Southwest Texas State University,”
Berry said. “Reese Williams
(bassist) and Joey Agnew (vocal
ist/guitarist)
grew up togeth
er, and lived in
the same dorm
with Matt
Niemann (gui
tarist). “We all
became really
good friends
and decided to
make a band.”
The band got
its name from
one of its big
ger miiuences, a Dana namea
Kent, and took Isola from the
name of a Kent album.
Berry is the only member who
was in a band before Isola, and he
credits his previous experience
to his desire since fourth garde
to be in a rock band. But he
says Isola is special be
cause, unlike in oth
er bands, all four
members are
treated as equals
and they all
have creative
input.
“It’s a per
fect match for
me,” Berry
said. “It’s just
like a girl
friend; you end
up finding it
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
.. .. . A.
Only a year old, Texas band Isola has already received more than its share of1 when you’re not
accolades from the music industry. The show Monday is not to be missed. looking for it.”
Agnew said: “Isola is the musi
cal escape the four of us have been
hoping and waiting for. To think
that you can stumble through
years of life, get smacked in the
face, then awake to find what
you’re looking for is amazing. It’s
Isola.”
The band is on its first tour,
and this upcoming show might
well be South Carolina’s first
glimpse at a new musical power
house. The album “Don’t Walk,
Run” is expected to hit stores
this week, just in time for listen
ers to pick it up if they enjoy the
show.
Isola will perform at with open
ing band Pawnshop. The band’s
Web site can be found at
www.Isolatheband.com.
-1-“
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CD REVIEW
Foo Fighters sing
from the dark side
FOO FIGHTERS ONEBKM
“ONE BY ONE"
Foo Fighters
★ ★★■*★ outof*tlrir^<r
BY CHARLES TOMLINSON
THE GAMECOCK
Three years ago, Foo
Fighters released “There Is
Nothing Left to Lose,” an 11
song collection replete with pop
hooks and head-banger riffs.
Now, on the band’s new record,
“One By One,” it seems as if the
band has taken a more artsy
turn. At least at first glance.
A onceover of the album’s art
work yields numerous paintings
of hearts: Some are the stereo
typical Valentine’s Day shape,
while others, dripping blood, are
more true to life, with aortas and
other veins and arteries. Beside
these depictions of hearts are
such messages as “I do wrong to
put my heart into what I write;
that is no longer done” and
“Keep a loaded brush.”
The credits, recalling the al
bum’s creation in a narrative
form, are interestingly remi
niscent of those in Sunny Day
Real Estate’s “Diary” album,
which Foo Fighters bassist Nate
Mendel performed on.
The music itself, however, is
certainly still Foo Fighters;
Dave Grohl’s smooth voice and
hair-raising shouts are still pre
sent. The band fluidly shifts dy
namics between the quieter,
pristine sections of songs *nd
the loud, distorted choruses,
something it has been proficient
at since its second album, “The
Colour and the Shape.”
But the songs stem from a
completely different influence.
They emanate a darker sound
than do previous albums. The
first two songs, “Low” and “All
My Life”—modem-rock radio’s
pet — contain elements Grohl
probably absorbed from his stint
as drummer for Queens of the
Stone Age. A grim aura sur
rounds these compositions as the
Foos emulate QOTSA’s penchant
for heavy, static guitar riffs.
♦ FOO FIGHTERS, SEE PAGE 6