DJ Cam has often been tagged as the French DJ Shadow, being a career-long miner of old jazz records, hip-hop beats and long-forgotten sounds. It’s been 20 years since Cam’s debut Underground Vibes, and he continues to go strong with his latest venture, Bentley Bass Music. Described as fat hip-hop beats plus heavy bass and animal noises, Bentley Bass Music is a project that gobbles up the nuances of hip-hop and spits them out in new and exciting ways, as can be heard the project’s first record, Everglades.
Recorded around the world and mixed in Cam’s new home in Miami, the album is comprised of tight grooves executed on analog keyboards, MPC and turntables, set to animal noises and ambiance recorded in parts of Africa, Asia, and of course, the Everglades. While described as “the perfect soundtrack for your Bentley driving experience,” it’s a record that likely would sound pretty cool coming from whatever your ride might be, especially if driving slow down a down a dark alleyway.
Check out this video for album highlight “Scarface” (if you’re not the squeamish type). It’s a fairly gruesome montage of the animal kingdom food chain, and it’s the kind of clip that might make you go back to vegetarianism for a while (there’s also a few key shots from the 1983 classic Scarface, either thrown in simply for the namesake, or to perhaps draw a parallel to the meat industry’s ruthless ways à la Tony Montana).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1NwDZcCO5E]
Everglades is out now on Cam’s own Inflamable Records.