January/February 2001

DJ Cam
Loa Project (Volume II)
Six Degrees

By Tony Green

DJ Cam's Loa Project (Volume II) is an on-disc refutation of the electronica-era model of musical progression. Just as artists continued to make terrific bebop records long after the bebop era ended, artists like Cam have continued to make trip-hop records long after that genre's era went by the wayside. It's hard to imagine Cam caring that much about the externally imposed definitions of his music, since he doesn't hesitate to draw on influences from across the spectrum. The boom-bapping "Mental Invasion" shows his affection for stateside beatmeisters like Gangstarr's DJ Premier, while "Candyman" is an eerie sound essay. And the "Voodoo Jazz" furious stop-start rhythms draws as much from jazz-fusion as it does from hip-hop.