Search - Dan the Automator :: Wanna Buy A Monkey?

A mixtape session of far-flung proportions

Scott Woods | Columbus, Ohio United States | 03/25/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a hard album to recommend to a person. It's not that the album isn't any good - it's easily Dan's best offering in the past couple of years, since the Handsome Boy Modeling School record at least - it's just that it's a sampling of Dan's tastes and his tastes are all over the place to say the least. He's produced some great tracks over the years, so any chance you get to see what Dan might put on at a party at his house is a compelling trip you can't help but at least get your feet wet on. It's even a hard record to suggest to fans of Dan's work if they happen to approach this album from only one source of awareness about what he does as a producer/composer. If you're only hip to his Dr. Octagon work, you'll find some track son here, but if you dig the dreamier "Lovage" record, he's also got you covered. I'm sure someone at Sequence thought it would be a great way to get people caught up on Dan who may be just coming to his catalogue, but it's about as diverse as a mix tape gets, so don't think that you're going to be getting the next Lyricist Lounge or something. It's underground flavored, but his flavors are WAY underground.All assumptions aside, it's a very good record. it has some spots that I don't dig, but there's so much variety here that it's one of those rare records that actually makes you feel smarter with each listen. You definitely have to hit it with an already open mind, since the songs aren't picked to be charttoppers, but mind-boppers. You have to have a pretty developed sense of musical awareness coupled with a wide appreciation for differing styles (kind of like the Vikter Duplaix "DJ Kicks" record, but even more underground and hip-hop drum trashy), but it pays off in great dividends."

Great Mix

Brodie C | 02/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm usually one to not like mix-tapes or compilations... and ordinarily, I wouldn't have bothered picking one up. but then i saw this in a record store and said, what the hell, i have several Automator records already, they've been good so far, why not grab another... and i wasn't disappointed. it's everything you'd expect in a great mix, dope songs one after the other, and they do well in representing the wide range and styles in the Automator's work. I think the mix could've been more complete if the Automator had included a Dr. Octagon, or a Handsome Boy modeling school track, but all in all, it's pretty fly mix."

The Automator Proves He's not just an Expectional producer..

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 02/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Experiential Hip-Hop producer and one half of "Handsome Boy Modelling School"...Dan the Automator, has a CV in Hip-Hop few can compete with, Having Produced some of the most influential Alternative Hip-Hop albums ever: ("Handsome boy Modelling School/Dr Octagon/Deltron 3030), most people forget that he's also a gifted Dj. And it's with this album that Dan produces a sublime mixtape of tracks that he's produced, as well as other artistes work. His tracklist mixes Progressive Hip-Hop tracks: (Deltron, Black Rob, X-cutioners), Funky breaks, Trip-Hop & smooth Electronica: (Brand Nubian, Dilated Peoples, Bobby Digital, Lovage), with the completely unexpected & not strictly Hip-Hop: (Doves, Air, Gorillaz, Tortoise)....but the moment he moves approximately a quarter of the way in to the mix, from the flat out Hip-Hop of "Deltron's - Positive Contact" into "Air's - Le Soleil est Pres de Moi", and then into "Zero 7's - Destiny" is pinnacle moment in Mix tape sensibilities...as mixing Hip-Hop into Electronica is absolutely no easy task, and it just beautifully illustrates why Dan is so vitally important to the ongoing evolution of Hip-Hop. (P.s. It should be noted that I rate this superb Album 4 1/2 Stars)"