W On Newsstands Now Issue 2.08 | Aug 1994  Page 1 of 6 previous
| start | next Printing? Use this version  The DJ is the Filter
By Hugh Gallagher  Archive Category: Music & Sound  The first
time I saw Spooky spin the Abstrakt was last fall. I was
aimlessly wandering the New York City streets in the early a.m.
hours when some music seeping out of a dark doorway on First
Avenue drew me in. Stepping down the metal stairs and through
the door, I found myself in a dark, candle-lit box of a space.
In the shadows of the small chill-out lounge, people sat at
tables, nodding their heads in the flickering light as the music
washed over the room. In one corner, a tall young black guy with
blue dreads was spinning the records: DJ Spooky, Tha Subliminal
Kid.  Though I'd been to a lot of clubs, I'd never watched the
DJ spin before. But at the Abstrakt Lounge, Spooky's mix
commanded attention. Licking his finger, he'd slow the record
down to speed, listening in on his headphones, a few grooves
ahead of us, to match beats