Scott Hardkiss Makes MAGNET A Mix Tape

It’s difficult to argue about the truth behind the title Technicolor Dreamer, the long-overdue debut album by Brooklyn-based DJ and studio savant Scott Hardkiss. Out next month on Hardkiss’ own God Within label, Technicolor Dreamer is a surreal tapestry of under-the-sea funk fantasias and electronic pop with disco-era studio trim. Hardkiss has remixed everyone from Elton John to the Flaming Lips, and a rainbow-colored spaceship full of contributors and vocalists appear on the album, including Britta Phillips (Dean & Britta, Luna) and musicians who’ve worked with David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, George Clinton, Justin Timberlake, the Blues Brothers and Sting. Hardkiss’ MAGNET mix journeys from psychedelic rock to neo-soul.

“You’re The Star” (download):

The Beatles “I Am The Walrus”
I was a latch-key kid, and I’d come home after school and sit alone for hours listening to my father’s abandoned record collection. I would play this song over and over, and it absolutely scared the shit out of me. But I couldn’t stop playing it and looking at all the surrealist images in the booklet. Up until then, music was all just “pop” to me; I just couldn’t understand why someone would purposely make music that was so weird and disturbing. There were electronic instruments and effects mixed in, too, as well as a full classical orchestra. It was the first time I understood that music was art, too.

Scott Hardkiss “The Underwater Ball”
Your average surrealist electro-funk myth. An old sailor’s reminiscing about when he was a youth at sea. He gets seduced by a mermaid, and she takes him down to a nightclub at the bottom of the sea where she’s a VIP and all the sea creatures are partying. I won’t spoil the end. I used old-school vari-speed reel to reel tape effects to get the funny high and low voices on this and “Star Power.” I guess I’m hoping to blow the mind of some other latch-key kid out there. Only this sounds more funky and cartoony, like Vanity 6 on acid.

Erykah Badu “The Healer (Hip Hop)”
This is from last year’s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War). It’s so eclectic and, like, “out there” and “in there” at the same time. It’s so beautiful when you hear artists start to radically reinvent themselves and develop at light speed. Folks who didn’t dig her older, so-called “neo-soul” stuff should definitely give her a second listen now; it’s like listening to Sgt. Pepper vs. Meet The Beatles.

The Rolling Stones “Emotional Rescue”
My favorite disco song the Stones cut is “Miss You”; I’ve got the rare hot-pink vinyl promo. But this one’s cool, too. These were all done around the time that disco got so big that rock groups started doing it, sort of like how now all the rock and hip-hop groups are taking from techno and electronic music. But I dig it. A lot of times these attempts produce some fantastic songs. And blending genres is something I’ve always been into. The Stones did it right; man, they actually had Larry Levan, the DJ from The Paradise Garage, working on some of their mixes.

Scott Hardkiss “Star Power”
Another trippy, cartoon-funk song, written after working closely with several movie stars, composing the musical scores for a series of short films by first-time directors who are also very famous actresses. Some of them were unbelievably cool, collaborative and hard-working, and some … weren’t. One of them may or may not have inspired this satire of the modern celebrity culture and people whose job is pretty much to be famous. Musically, it’s just funky, hip house with a vari-speed midget spewing “party like a mock star” rap and a talk-box chorus, live guitars, bass and trumpet. You know, the usual shit.

Aceyalone (Featuring Treasure Davis) “Can’t Hold Back”
The album this song is taken from, Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones, is absolutely amazing; you should go buy it immediately. He totally reinvented himself, putting together a live band and recording a crazy fusion of hip hop with Motown, Stax and ’60s girl-group stuff. It’s so dope, this amazing blend created by a true artist looking backward and forward at the same time. It’s what I like to call “retro-futuristic.”

Kelis (Featuring Andre 3000) “Millionaire”
Outkast is brilliant, Andre 3000 in particular. When I first heard “Hey Ya,” I felt like someone had finally come along to, as George Clinton put it, “rescue dance music from the blahs.” He’s in that place similar to Prince back in the day, where he’s making too many great songs to put out himself, so he’ll give them out as a “producer.” This one he did for Kelis. It’s this avant-garde pop masterpiece that’s pretty much drum ‘n’ bass mixed with R&B and bittersweet lyrics about finally becoming a millionaire, but still feeling lonesome and broke inside.

Dam-Funk “Hood Pass Intact”
A dude who’s doing this new sound that I’m really into: inspired by the ’80s, but the black electronic ’80s. For me, the stuff that was really amazing back then was the black futurist stuff: Roger & Zapp, Mantronix, Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force, Jonzun Crew, etc. I was really into the drum-machine-and-synth NYC electro, hip hop, freestyle and disco stuff that was funky but modern, and I also dug Chicago acid house and Detroit techno. This has that original electro-funk vibe, but with an ill modern flavor. There’s a few artists who are doing this. They’re like the next generation of the “afronaut” or “black spaceman,” but with more of a techy, 21st-century vibe.

Kathy Diamond “All Woman”
Kathy is a British singer who put out a stunning debut album far too few people have heard. She’s got a really sweet, soulful voice and sings these utopian dance-floor lyrics over tripped-out dubby house and techno mixed with disco, funk and soul. She’s doing some newer stuff with this talented crew called Soft Rocks. They just did a far-out dub remix of “Underwater Ball.”

Massive Attack & Mad Professor “Radiation Ruling The Nation (Protection)”
I always had a thing for dub and roots reggae—it was always so earthy and soulful, but spaced-out and futuristic at the same time. And it just vibrates. Like Gandhi, it’s this unstoppable revolutionary force that conquers in peace. A potent blend. When Massive Attack made their masterpiece Protection, they gave it to Mad Professor to produce a dub version of the entire album. And it’s fucking mind-blowing, one of the best remix albums of all time. He uses these old analog auto-pan units. Just listen to it on headphones and you’ll feel the force.

Dean & Britta “I’ll Keep It With Mine (Scott Hardkiss Remix)”
The Warhol Museum has a show called 13 Most Beautiful, which takes 13 of the more than 500 silent, black-and-white “screen tests” Andy Warhol shot of everyone who walked into the Factory from ’64 to ’66 and sets them to music by Dean & Britta, the fantastic electro-folk duo. Britta’s doing vocals all over my album: singing and rhyming, even spoken word, and I’m remixing this for them. It’s the song they recorded for Nico’s screen test, allegedly written by Bob Dylan for Nico during an affair they had. This remix is new for me—it’s not centered on the beats and synths but more of a dubby, Velvet Underground vibe with Dean’s majestic guitar and a slightly robotic effect on Britta’s voice. It kills me when she sings, “Everybody will help you discover what you set out to find.”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Skeletons (Acoustic Version)”
Some people aren’t into this record because it’s not just retro garage rock or whatever they were doing before: They’re using synths and classical string orchestrations, and it’s so musical and melodic, but it’s a masterpiece. For me, it’s the opposite: It’s the first album by this group that I really love. And the acoustic versions are the best! That voice, the soundscapes—it’s just stunning. People are funny; they get really upset when artists change, but any artist who doesn’t change isn’t really much of an artist at all.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band (Featuring Rodrigo Ursaia) “Baby”
Another new album that’s drawing on classic funk and soul, but more on the psychedelic tip. The singer on this sounds a little like Eddie Kendricks, my favorite Temptation of all time, and the song sounds a little bit like his “Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind.” The Temps had an incredible psychedelic-soul phase themselves, masterminded by genius producer Norman Whitfield. If you like this, check it out. This Handclap Band is very happening.

Scott Hardkiss “Come On, Come On”
Lisa Shaw, who’s all over my new record, sings the lead on this, and her performance is so beautiful and real. I kept arguing with the engineer because he wanted to put more reverb on her voice and lower it, like most vocals are mixed. And I just wanted it to be so loud and dry, like she was less than an inch in front of your face singing really deep lyrics directly into you. People who say that electronic or dance music has no soul don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.

Jimi Hendrix “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)”
I’ll end this with the the greatest “black spaceman” of all, and it’s also a nice leitmotif, since Jimi’s talking about turning into a merman. A 13-minute-plus epic production he did for his final album—and it’s just magic. There are these incredibly intense builds where he’s got bizarre crying sounds soaring across while he wails how people said “it’s impossible for a man to live and breathe underwater” and that it’s “beyond the will of God,” and then those parts burst into these long, peaceful floating psych sections that are just so heartbreakingly beautiful that it feels like the clouds have parted and you have this clear vision of a possible perfect world where all is full of love.