The Wheels of Steel and Da Riddm Griffin

Collage songs and chimerical music; I've always loved 'em (which is why I also make 'em.) Like poetry, it is a powerful way of combining a multitude of things; emotions, eras, information, cultures, even architectural spaces (because different songs were recorded in different 'rooms') in a very, very condensed way.I remember hearing "The Wheels of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five for the first time and being electrified... Chic/Queen/Blondie and and and...all in one song.So here's a list of fave 'meta-music' songs to check out, with a list of some Shinjuku Zulu and K.I.A. songs at the end..."Duck Rock" by Malcolm McLaren, a major influence. Hip hop, Juju, double dutch, merengue -- the song "Buffalo Gals" of course, but also the track "Punk It Up": African singers, Soweto-style funk, lyrics about the Sex Pistols... and later "Madame Butterfly combining opera, electronica, scratching, and spoken word elements..."Paid In Full" (the Coldcut Remixes) by Erik B. and Rakim was another influence... the "Im Nin Alu" sample by Ofra Haza, so beautiful and suprising when if first appears..."Pump Up the Volume" by M/A/R/R/S, tons of references, great dance track."Deep Forest" with its pygmy chant and "Enigma" with its gregorian chants, combined with electronica-- yes, a little cheesey, but still..."Praise You" by Fatboy Slim. Soulful, weird.He has a 3rd degree blackbelt in sampling."Little Hop of Horror" by Akufen, who introduced (or at least popularised) micro-sampling, where a sample is under a second long, at most."Smells Like Teen Booty". Mash-ups often combine the worst of two things: clever-cleverness and nostalgia. You like it only because it combines your favorite songs, or you get the 'joke'. Having said that, this one was pretty good."The Grey Album", by Dangermouse, and other projects he's involved in: Gorillaz, Gnarlz Barkley especially. Very good at integrating elements so that they don't sound like references or samples but something entirely new.The list above of reference/influences could go on much longer, of course but I've got to get back to recording... so here's the Shinjuku Zulu and K.I.A. tracks that I'd describe as chimerical in style (chimerical where one element grows from another, as opposed to collage, where elements are stuck together):"Da Riddim Griffin at iTunes":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=154068465&s=143441&i=154068574 by Shinjuku Zulu - it's been described as japanese cheerleaders vs. german cabaret vs. electro vs. dancehall vs. square-dancing."Rashomon at iTunes":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=30919350&s=143441&i=30919233 by K.I.A., where 30+ previous tracks by Shinjuku Zulu/K.I.A. are micro-sampled."Allelujah at iTunes":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=5126742&s=143441&i=5126720 by K.I.A. 17th century dancehall reggae."Brando at iTunes":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=7899232&s=143441&i=7897906 by Shinjuku Zulu. Neil Young & Africa.