''Brainfreeze'' is a live

DJ mix album A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

by American producers

DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...

and

Cut Chemist Lucas MacFadden (born October 4, 1972), better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects. Early life Cut Chemist grad ...

, released "sometime" in 1999. The two tracks of the album are uninterrupted recordings from a live performance where they sampled hit funk, soul, rock and jazz singles from 45 rpm vinyl records. This type of recording was pioneered by the duo Double Dee and Steinski through their "Lessons" (the difference being that the "Lessons" cuts were meticulously edited together from snippets of audio tape, rather than performed live using turntables).

History

''Brainfreeze'' was recorded by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist as a practice session for a show in February 1999 at the Future Primitive Soundsession in San Francisco, mixing funk and soul 45's. Initially 1000 copies were made and sold at the shows, and a further 1000 copies were made and distributed to local records stores in California and sold out very quickly. A cease-and-desist letter from

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

convenience stores—the whole artwork and styling was based on their logos and uniforms—meant that they stopped and moved on. The album was then bootlegged and it can now be found in popular record shops. DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist toured their Brainfreeze performance initially as part of Shadow's International Goodwill Tour in 1999, on January 18, 2000 they reunited to perform a farewell to the Brainfreeze shows at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. This final show was later released on VHS as ''Freeze'', and includes footage of rehearsals as well. This set was reenacted at the Mayan night club in Los Angeles on May 25, 2006, as part of a benefit concert for DJ Shadow's art director, Keith Tamashiro, in order to offset costs related to a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

he suffered early in 2006. ''Brainfreeze'' was followed up by ''

Product Placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

'', an album of similar content and style.

Comments

While there was no tracklisting given except for some record shots in the inner sleeves, Michael "DOP" Lane put together listing of the tracks and this has been adapted in reviews and website listings. While this has been repeatedly bootlegged, the main difference between the original pressing and the bootlegs are the quality of the sleeves and the CD (colors look washed out and not as sharp on the bootleg). The original CD on the inner ring has ''©1999 Sixty7 Recordings'' written in red on a clear background. The bootleg does not have a clear bit. On the back of the CD is ''Disc Producers inc 2886/Brainfreeze ADC/CA''. Some bootlegs have "Slurp CD 001" and a bar code written on them. The 45s used in the ''Brainfreeze'' mix are highly sought after by vinyl collectors, and the term "Brainfreeze" in online auctions often results in increased auction prices for these records. The songs have been collected on compilations called ''Slurped'', and ''Brainfreeze Breaks'', which feature the songs in unmixed form.

Reception

Stanton Swihart of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

stated that "''Brainfreeze'' transforms the mix tape into a genuine piece of musical art, a sampladelic, turntablist

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...

that may be the apotheosis of – or at least a turning point for – the genre." Describing the record as "an amazing display of spontaneous music-making", he concluded that "it is a dizzyingly brilliant, virtuoso work of two exceedingly fecund imaginations." In ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' Will Hermes called ''Brainfreeze'' "inspired garage mechanics" and that the pair "get extra-busy just to showcase their micromanagement skills". Reviewing the duo's 2001 follow-up album ''Product Placement'', Rob Mitchum of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' described ''Brainfreeze'' as "much admired" and said that DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist had "sculpted a

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

symphony that withstood repeated listens".

Songs used

Mix one

* Lamont Johson Quartet - "Thunder Kick" (trailer to unreleased film) * The Jules Blattner Group - "2001 - A Soul Odyssey" * Fried Chicken - "Funky DJ" *

The Mohawks William Alan Hawkshaw (27 March 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a British composer and performer, particularly of library music used as themes for movies and television programs. Hawkshaw worked extensively for the KPM production music company ...

- "The Champ" *

Reuben Bell Reuben Bell (c. 1945 – 2004) was an American soul singer who recorded from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, and is best known for his emotional tenor vocals on the songs "It's Not That Easy" and "I Hear You Knocking (It's Too Late)". Born in S ...

- "Superjock" *

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

- "Cold Feet" * Ultimate Force - "I'm Not Playing" *

Eddie Bo Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), known as Eddie Bo, was an American singer and pianist from New Orleans. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrang ...

and Inez Cheatham - "Lover and a Friend" *

Mack Rice Bonny "Mack" Rice (November 10, 1933 – June 27, 2016), sometimes credited as Sir Mack Rice, was an American songwriter and singer. His best-known composition and biggest hit as a solo performer was " Mustang Sally". He also wrote " Respe ...

- "Three People In Love" * The Nu People - "I'd Be Nowhere Today" * Nu-Sound Express Ltd - "Ain't It Good Enough" * Mystic Moods - "Cosmic Sea" * American Gypsy - "Inside Out" *

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

- "Hit or Miss" *

The Mar-Keys The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were an United States, American recording studio, studio session musician, session musical ensemble, band for Stax Records, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing m ...

- "Grab This Thing (Part 2)" * Rusty Bryant - "FireEater" * Simtec and Wylie - "Bootleggin' (Part 2)" *

Wilbur Bascomb Wilbur D. Bascomb Jr. is an American bass guitarist. He is the son of jazz trumpeter Wilbur "Dud" Bascomb, who played with Erskine Hawkins and Duke Ellington. Career In the 1970s, Bascomb worked with James Brown(1974),Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Rec ...

- "Sophisticated Sissy" * The Showmen Inc. - "The Tramp (from Funky Broadway) (Part 1)" * The Original Soul Senders - "Soul Brother Testify (Part 2)" * Rufus Thomas - "Itch and Scratch (Part I and II)" *

Alvin Cash Alvin Cash (born Alvin Welch; February 15, 1939 – November 21, 1999) was an American pop singer and actor. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Cash was and a graduate of St. Louis's Sumner High School (also attended by Luther Ingram, Billy ...

- "Keep On Dancing (Instrumental)" * Lou Courtney - "Hey Joyce" * Bummer radio spot

Mix two

* The Singing Principal - "Women's Lib" * Salt - "Hung Up" * The Soul Lifters - "Hot, Funky, and Sweaty" * Frankie Seay and The Soul Riders - "Soul Food" * The Interpretations - "Jason Pew Mosso (Part 1)" * Thunder and Lightning - "Bumpin' Bus Stop" * Billy Garner - "I Got Some" * Pleasure Web - "Music Man (Part I and II)" * Gary Byrd - "Soul Travelin' (The G.B.E.)" (Part I) *

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...

and Grandma Gee Gee - "Just Keep On Scratching" * "W" radio spot *

Marlena Shaw Marlena Shaw (born Marlina Burgess, September 22, 1942) is an American jazz, blues and soul music, soul singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in Hip hop music, hip hop mus ...

- "California Soul" * The Vibrettes- "Humpty Dump (Part 1)" * Eddie Bo - "From This Day On" *

- "Dance the Slurp" *

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

- "Numbers" * Flash and The Five - "Flash It to the Beat" * Pearly Queen - "Quit Jivin'" * Tony Alvon and The Belairs - "Sexy Coffee Pot" *

Chuck Mangione Charles Frank Mangione ( ; born November 29, 1940) is an American flugelhorn player, voice actor, trumpeter and composer. He came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey's band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, ...

- "Hill Where the Lord Hides" * Funka Fize - "No Words" *

Schooly D Jesse Bonds Weaver Jr. (born June 22, 1962), better known by the stage name Schoolly D (sometimes spelled Schooly D), is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Career Schoolly D teamed up with DJ Code Money in the mid-1980s. His ...

- "Gucci Time" * Jurassic 5 - "Unified Rebelution" (a cappella) * Third Guitar - "Baby Don't Cry" * Don Pierce - "This Funky Thing" * Funka Fize - "Because You're Funky" * The Troubleneck Brothers - "Back to the Hip Hop" * Stu Gardner - "Devil in a Man" * Samson and Delilah - "There's a DJ in Your Town" *

Giorgio Moroder Giovanni Giorgio Moroder (, ; born 26 April 1940) is an Italian composer, songwriter, and record producer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Disco", Moroder is credited with pioneering euro disco and electronic dance mu ...

- "Tears" * Tim and Bill - "Someone"

References

External links

Brainfreeze on DiscogsArticle on creators
- mentions Brainfreeze as "ultra-cred" (Archived Version) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brainfreeze (Album) Mixtape albums DJ Shadow albums Cut Chemist albums 1999 live albums 1999 compilation albums Soul albums by American artists Funk albums by American artists Live soul albums Live funk albums Turntablism albums Sound collage albums Sampledelia albums