DJ Co-op presents Co-operation Version 4.0: Ayo, Technology

One year after releasing the wildly popular Co-operation Vol. 3: Yahoo Serious, DJ Co-op is back with Co-operation Version 4.0: Ayo, Technology. While last year's release saw Co-op introduce computer editing to his turntable mixing, this mix was done entirely using computer software and no real turntables. Additionally, despite having an unreasonably large record collection, Co-op downloaded all of the source music from the internet - in almost every case, illegally. Ayo, technology!

The release is available for free download online via www.djcoop.com and although he finds them to be pointless and wasteful, Co-op realizes that some people still prefer CDs and has pressed up a limited number of hard copies which can be purchased online or at finer independent music retailers.

The mix is also being released in a third format: on a USB memory stick. Included with this is all of the source mp3s, a copy of the exact file used to make the mix, and a copy of the program it was done on (Ableton Live). This way the listener can see exactly how the music was put together and try their hand at remixing it themselves. (A license for Ableton Live is required to save your work.)

The mix itself is more of what Co-op calls "post-mashup". He combines music from all genres, at times putting three or even four tracks on top of each other, sometimes editing and distorting them within an inch of their lives, while other times letting one track play by itself in its entirety. The common thread is that while remixers like Girl Talk will create combinations for shock or amusement value, Co-op always respects the music and strives to create mixes free of irony. He's also incredibly pretentious and loves writing about himself.

Close to 60 pieces of music are pasted together in the hour-long mix. Some highlights include Co-op's old faithful Pinback, as well as Johnathan Richman, 50 Cent (including a reworking Ayo Technology, where the title of the disc comes from), Spoon, The Dead Milkmen, Slim Thug, Lil Mama, Regina Spektor, Kool Moe Dee, Battles, Tom Waits, R, Kelly, Dead Prez, Low, Soundgarden, T.I. and Charlotte Gainsbourgh, to name but a few. The mix ends with a heart-wrenching tribute to Hip-hop's latest casualty, Texan Pimp C of the group UGK.

The mix also betrays Co-op's deep affection for Prog rock, as it switches into odd time signatures for a section. Co-op blends a number of tracks in 5/4 and then flips it into 11, with a little help from Primus.

In the end, Co-op has created a document of his progression from teaching himself how to mix Value Village LPs on a beat up pair of belt-drive turntables to where he is today: grabbing clips of music from all over the map to create a new piece of art which is greater than the sum of its parts. Ayo, technology!