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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Copy Album: Hair Guitar Label: Audio Dregs Review date: May. 23, 2007 |
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Marius Libman, a.k.a. the "the best electronic musician in Portland," a.k.a. Moebius Beard, drops delicious beats that make the ladies swoon and the hipsters sway. As his best-known moniker, DJ Copy, Libman has edged his way toward infamy by jumping on an increasingly crowded indie bandwagon - he remixes Top 40 pop.
Folks lucky enough to catch Copy live, or smart enough to pick up a copy of the Moebius Beard LP, were able to snag his homemade mix disc of luscious dance-magic remixes of an unlikely sort. On the Diva Mixtape Vol. 1, Copy turns Mariah Carey's "Emotion" into throwback synth-y greatness and TLC's "No Scrubs" into a wicked old-school hip hop beat atop evil-synthesizer stabs, while Janet Jackson's "Someone To Call My Lover" morphs into an 8-bit video game soundtrack.
Copy's latest release, the fully instrumental Hair Guitar on the Portland-based Audio Dregs (run by the brother of a member of the similarly minded Ratatat), fits well with the label's aesthetic of day-glo, private mind-trip electronica. "Could You Like Her" is an upbeat banger that reveals intricate tweaks that bounce all over your headphones. "Zipper Problems" is a slinky club track with a seductive bassline enhanced by spacious rhythm patterns and quick sputter-drums.
As we inch closer and closer to the space odyssey of 2010, DJ Copy provides a much more accurate future sex love song than anything in the Justin Timberlake catalogue. Libman is an exceptionally slick producer, as evidenced on his work with Diva Mixtape Vol.1 and the upcoming V. 2 with his new band, Do N Dudes. The beats on Hair Guitar are top-notch, but to fully capitalize on the current fetish for electro throwback, Libman could take a cue from artists such as Basement Jaxx, Prefuse 73 and hobbit-cum-indie heartthrob Dntel. Collaborating with a vocalist could easily propel Copy to mainstream acclaim. Pop people like narrative.
By Dustin Drase
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View all articles by Dustin Drase