“For Better, For Worse” is the debut album by DJ Scientist, the founder and head of the Equinox Records label. The music on the album was produced between 2001 and 2006 and offers a unique, fully-sample based instrumental body of work that, even 6 years after its originally scheduled release date, has the power to spellbind and steer the listener into the widespread musical world of one of Germany’s most passionate record collectors and artist.

Some tracks of the album were ‘leaked’ early. In 2006 on the “Journey Goodbye EP” and in the form of the song ‘Raincoatman’ which appeared on the first Equinox Records compilation. These early releases raised excitement levels for the album and fans of Scientist’s unique approach. Unfortunately the album never materialised, partly due to the complexity of some of the songs, consisting of more than 50 layers. Moving from his hometown of Munich to Berlin in that period and coping with the increasing work the label was requiring of him as founder and manager also didn’t help. Scientist then decided to focus on his collaboration with American rapper and multi-instrumentalist Ceschi Ramos in 2007, sealing the album off for a few more years. On the collaboration Scientist proved his skills as a producer across four singles and EPs (featuring popular cuts such as ‘Same Old Love Song’ and ‘Bad Jokes’) and an album, “The One Man Band Broke Up”, released in 2010. The instrumental version of the album acted as Scientist’s official solo debut. Until now…

In 2012 Scientist began to revisit the body of work that made up “For Better, For Worse” and finalised the tracks from the vast archive of finished and unfinished songs. In April he released “The Artless Cuckoo EP" which featured additional tracks from the same early production period that makes up the bulk of the album. The EP introduced the album, catching the attention of fans who had been waiting for quite some time.

“For Better, For Worse” therefore picks up from where “Journey Goodbye” had ended and where “The Artless Cuckoo” had restarted. ‘Ball of Confusion’, the dark and minimalistic album opener, is a deep, psychedelic song based on crashing drums, grunting bass sounds and a suspense-laden build up. ‘World of Stone’ is an equally massive downtempo hip hop song with elements from fusion and jazz, and could already be found – in a slightly different version – on the 2006 EP. ‘The Death of Hip Hop’ is an homage to the old school, despite what its name may imply. ‘Is The Bronx in the house?’ yells the echoed voice at the start of the song. Rap connoisseur Scientist then answers with Krautrock guitars and rushing drums. It’s a furious track that harks back to classics such as RJD2’s ‘Let The Good Times Roll’ and DJ Shadow’s ‘Number Song’. ‘Raincoatman’ slows the tempo again, taking things down a notch and expressing feelings of melancholy and beauty without being corny. The album is completed by meticulously constructed songs such as ‘Nightdrive Memories’, the blues-y ‘Autumn Leaves’ and the epic rock jam ‘Anything About Nothing’, the latter helping to keep the tension up till the very end.

All the tracks on the album show the musical power that resides in the “instrumental hip hop” genre, for lack of a better word. Despite the time it took to make and release, or perhaps precisely because of it, the album defines Scientist’s talent and knowledge as a sample-based musician. Having invested years into the project it wasn’t just the aforementioned reasons which kept “For Better, For Worse” from being released. Scientist also had his doubts about it, saying “I felt like the sound was getting old and I didn’t feel like releasing it anymore.” These doubts may sound absurd upon listen. Even if the crashing drums and melancholic samples which mark the music have now often been replaced by glitches and Dilla-esque drums elsewhere, the music on the album still sounds like little else in hip hop today. The instrumental side of the genre has rarely been purer, more powerful or more uncompromising.

It’s with great pleasure that nearly 10 years after work on the music started Equinox Records finally gives spotlight to the man in the back. The album is part of the Unheard & Recovered series that will also feature another great unreleased album by label-mate Deckard. “For Better, For Worse” is released in late October 2012 on double vinyl and digital formats. Stop, and listen. For better, and for worse.

German Info as pdf.

About DJ Scientist:

DJ Scientist

Over the past few years, DJ Scientist has become an important figure in the German Hip-Hop and Electronic scene. Running the international label Equinox Records and publishing a magazine (DEAD Magazine), he is also busy djing in clubs, releasing mixes, expanding his record collection and, last but not least, producing music.

Starting his DJ-career in 1995 and releasing several mixtapes to spread his name in his home town of Munich, he put out his first record in 2001 – a dj tool called “Mad Science Breaks”. One year later, the dark and melancholic “Misantropolis EP”, mainly produced by Scientist, was the first release on Audiac. Since then, he put his main effort into his label Equinox which now has its headquarters in Berlin. In 2004 he produced 3 tracks for the critically acclaimed “Welcome to the Neo Golden Age – A Sound Exposure Vol.1” compilation. Being part of the Equinox 10inch Series, his 4 track “Journey Goodbye EP” (2006) contained the outstanding “Atarius” as well as the soulful and bluesy “Autumn Leaves”. Since late 2007, DJ Scientist has mainly been producing and recording music with rapper/multi-instrumentalist/singer Ceschi Ramos (of Fake Four Inc.). Releases so far are the singles “Same Old Love Song” (2009, with 2Mex, Awol One & Myka Nyne) and “Count On It / Bad Jokes” (2008) as well as the first album with Ceschi, “The One Man Band Broke Up”, released in june 2010. In the same year, an instrumental version of the album with Ceschi was released under the name “The One Man Band Instrumentals”, which became his first full-length solo work. In 2011, Ceschi and Scientist released another EP called “Shorted Circuits” and continued working on their second album. With his “The Artless Cuckoo EP”, that dropped in early 2012, DJ Scientist put focus on his solo works again and will drop his new album in October 2012.

Apart from his production work, DJ Scientist has performed and shared stages with artists such as Sage Francis, The Pharcyde, Noah23, M.I.A., DJ Faust & DJ Shortee, Sole & The Skyrider Band, Egyptian Lover, Marc Hype & Jim Dunloop, DiViNCi, Boca45, Thesis Sahib, Mirko Machine, Busy Bee, and has toured Europe four times. As an executive producer and project coordinator he has been involved in releases by artists such as 2econd Class Citizen, David Vangel, Kraddy, and many others. He furthermore wrote articles for magazines such as Waxpoetics and Backspin. His “Godly Grooves” mix series with DJ Arok, that contained completely unknown German Xian Funk and Rare Groove tracks from the late 60s and 70s, made a lot of noise in the German speaking territory and received great reviews. Scientist is also working as a graphic artists under the Raincoatman pseudonym and has provided outstanding artworks for Equinox Records and other music related projects.

Links

http://www.equinoxrecords.com/artists/dj_scientist
http://www.facebook.com/djscientist1
http://www.soundcloud.com/djscientist
http://www.djscientist.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Scientist
http://www.myspace.com/djscientist