Doug "Double Dee" DiFranco Steven "Steinski" Stein
Double Dee and Steinski is a duo of hip hop producers, composed of Doug "Double Dee" DiFranco and Steven "Steinski" Stein. They achieved notoriety in the early 1980s for a series of underground hip-hop sample-based collages known as the "Lessons".
Although they never had a hit record, they proved highly influential for subsequent artists such as Coldcut, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, the Avalanches, and Girl Talk.[1] Their music was not widely available on CD until 2008 due to their use of copyrighted material. There have been occasional illegal re-issues, and several internet sites have mp3s of their music available for download.
History
In 1983, Tommy Boy Records held a promotional contest, in which entrants were asked to remix the single "Play That Beat, Mr. D.J." by G.L.O.B.E. and Whiz Kid. By day, DiFranco worked in a professional music studio, while Stein was a copy supervisor for Doyle Dane Bernbach. Although the two were older (27 and 31, respectively) than most of their peers in the hip-hop community, they were both enthusiasts of the genre; Stein, in particular, had been attending downtown rap clubs for years and had an extensive knowledge of hip-hop's history. Although early hip-hop records did not appear until 1979, DJing was a phenomenon that had been around since 1973. Stein claimed to draw inspiration from the Dickie Goodman records of the 1950s, which edited together pop songs and comedic commentary.[2]
Their contest entry, "Lesson 1 – The Payoff Mix", was packed with sampled appropriations from other records—not only from early hip-hop records and from Funk and Disco records that were popular with hip-hop DJs, but with short snippets of older songs by Little Richard and The Supremes, along with vocal samples from sources as diverse as instructional tap-dancing records and Humphrey Bogart films. The record was pieced together in DiFranco's studio in 12–14 hours over two days and was critically praised.[3] The jury, which included Afrika Bambaataa, Shep Pettibone, and "Jellybean" Benitez awarded "Lesson 1" the first prize.
DiFranco and Stein followed up this success with the track "Lesson 2 — The James Brown Mix" in 1984, which began with a sample from The War of the Worlds before quickly running through a montage of memorable breaks from classic James Brown records, as well as various other samples. Also that year, DiFranco teamed up with David Witz, a CBS Records producer who recorded as Arthur Ether, to create "Taste So Good", which they released under the name File 13. "Taste So Good" was built from snippets of recorded sex-phone calls over an original instrumental bed, and while too racy for radio in 1984, the 12-inch single found success in nightclubs and reached #38 on the Billboard Dance/Disco Top 80 on the chart week of October 6, 1984.[citation needed]
In 1985, the track "Lesson 3 — The History of Hip-Hop Mix", attempted a survey of the great breakdancing favorites, along with snippets from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Archie Bleyer's version of the song "Hernando's Hideaway". Later in 1985, the group's first album, Lessons 1-3, was released, containing all three "Lessons". The track "We'll Be Right Back" was released in 1986 on Fourth & Broadway under the name Steinski and Mass Media. As the title indicated, the track was dominated by samples from TV and radio adverts from the 1950s and 1960s. The single reached number 63 on the UK charts.[4]
In 1987, "The Motorcade Sped On" was released, which utilised snippets of newscasts, mainly of Walter Cronkite, about the assassination of John F. Kennedy and associated events over a drum track sampled from the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women." In the United Kingdom, the NME included the track on a giveway 7-inch EP record. In 1988 "Let's Play It Cool" was released on Fourth & Broadway.
Recent years
Although DiFranco currently pursues a career in sound design for television, Stein has remained active in the music genre in recent years, doing occasional remix work and longer old-school mixes, as well as DJing regularly in Europe and the UK using a laptop and midi gear. The pair reunited in 1998 to remix Afrika Bambaataa's "Jazzy Sensation", in 2002 for a live performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York opening for DJ Shadow, May 2006 opening for Coldcut at Irving Plaza, August 2007 opening for Negativland at the Highline Ballroom, and January 2008 opening for Dj Shadow and Cut Chemist at Irving Plaza for 2 nights. Stein is interviewed in the 2001 documentary Scratch.
In 2002, all three of the original "Lessons" were re-released on vinyl, as well as for the first time on CD, on a collection entitled Ultimate Lessons.[5] This compilation also featured Cut Chemist's Lesson 4, as well as several live collaborations featuring Shadow, Cut Chemist, Steinski himself, and Shortkut. Although it was widely available at the time shortly after its release it can be difficult to track down today; this is most likely a bootleg or unlicensed recording due to the dozens of uncleared samples. It is common practice for such releases to be printed in small numbers to avoid the unwanted legal attention of the copyright holders.
Two more compilations soon followed, and although these sequels contained few, if any, contributions from DiFranco and Stein themselves, they follow the same tradition of sample-heavy dance-collages reminiscent of old school hip hop. Some of the more well-known artists to appear on Ultimate Lessons 2 and Ultimate Lessons 3 include Coldcut, DJ Nu-Mark, Kid Koala, DJ Red Alert, and Fatboy Slim. In 2007, Stein released a track on ten12 records to revisit the Skull Snaps drum break, one of the most sampled beats in history, on the It's A New Redux project.[6]
Stein's radio show A Rough Mix went back on the air between June 7 and October 4, 2007, on WFMU 91.1FM in the New York-New Jersey metro area. In 2008, Lesson 1 - The Payoff Mix was officially issued on CD by Illegal Art Records on a compilation of Stein's work entitled What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective, which Spin Magazine listed as the #1 reissue of 2008. The collection also received a rating of 8.7 from Pitchfork, and 4 stars from Rolling Stone.
Steinski's 2006 compilation CD What Does it all Mean? contained a new track - "Number 3 on Flight 11", a meditation on the 9/11 terrorist attacks - which has been widely praised. In their reviews of What Does it all Mean, Peter Shapiro (Wire magazine, June 2008) called the piece "a graceful (but still chilling) elegy to New York," while Dean Biron (Popular Music and Society, 2009) referred to it as "one of the most remarkable pieces of music of this or any year ... [which] manages the impossible feat of evoking hope, beauty, sadness and dread all in the one text."
In 2015 they released a 12 minute mix called "The Insanity Clause" which was first available through their Soundcloud page. In 2016 they began working again on "Lesson 4", which they had originally started together in 1988. Double Dee also released his first solo track called "Realm Of The Jezebel Spirit" to their Soundcloud page. Steinski released a series of solo tracks as well on his Soundcloud page, including: "Howard Zinn reads Mark Twain On Loyalty", "prosody sketch #1 'The Action'", "prosody sketch #2 'Mouth To Mouth'", "Steinski's space/time mix", "The Optimize Gospels, From The Book Of Maximization", "LSD Is The Bomb (I'm Just Sayin')". Steinski also released a series of tracks influenced by politics and current events which included: "The Ballad Of Rep. MacArthur's New A**h*le, as ripped for him by Jeff from Pine Beach", "Town Hall Tonight by The Angry Constituents (aided and abetted by steinski)", "Fearless Leader Is Watching, or, 'Orange Is The New President'", "Trump Inaugural Address Leaked By Russian Hackers", "Seventeen, a Stoneman Douglas collage.".
In 2017 Double Dee and Steinski launched their first official website which included detailed information about their history and music together. The website also announced that they had begun working with a DJ named ADA who would be contributing samples and adding scratching for a variety of new projects which included the long awaited "Lesson 4". They also launched an official Bandcamp page where fans can hear and download remastered versions of the original Lessons, as well as newer music they'd been working on.
In March, 2018 Double Dee released a track called "What's The Angle?" which was the first in a series of collaborations with DJ/producer ADA.
On October 26, 2018 "Lesson 4" was premiered live on WFMU radio during Billy Jam's weekly show "Put the Needle on the Record", with original president of Tommy Boy Records Monica Lynch also in the studio serving as a co-host. Lesson 4 was later released on their Bandcamp page as a digital download. The full track includes an extended coda at the end called "This Music", which was also released as a separate track on "Lesson 4: The EP". The EP also includes an instrumental mix of "Lesson 4", and dub mix of "This Music".
Tributes and recognition
Since the 1980s, many hip hop artists have added their own contributions to the series of Lessons. A partial list is included below:
The De La Soul song "The Magic Number" from their 1989 album 3 Feet High and Rising begins with a tribute to DiFranco and Stein's "Lesson 3". It contains many of the same samples, arranged in a similar, although shortened, sequence.
Cut Chemist – "Lesson 4: The Radio" (1993) – At the time, Cut Chemist was apparently unaware of the existence of Shadow's similarly titled "Lesson 4" from two years earlier; the two would later collaborate on several "Live Lessons".
DJ Pixie Stix a.k.a. Happy Hardcore King of SV - "Lesson 5" (1995)
Cut Chemist – "Lesson 6: The Lecture" (1997) – This track appears on the Jurassic 5 EP. Many editions of the EP contain slightly different versions of the song, due to copyright issues. Most notably, samples of the "Jawa Theme" from Star Wars are missing from most of the re-issues.
Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, soul, funk, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to Spin, "in '87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for 'DJ records'".
Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1990 by Matt Black and Jonathan More, professionally known as the electronic duo "Coldcut" The label was established as an outlet for Coldcut to explore a style distinct from from that of the mainstream music industry.
Old-school hip hop is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.
The new school of hip hop was a movement in hip hop music, beginning in 1983–84 with the early records of Run–D.M.C., Whodini, and LL Cool J. Predominantly from Queens and Brooklyn, it was characterized by Drum Machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of Rock; rapped taunts, boasts, and socio-political commentary; and aggressive, self-assertive delivery. In song and image, its artists projected a tough, cool, street B-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with Funk and Disco, Novelty hits, live bands, synthesizers, and party rhymes of artists prevalent in the early 1980s. Compared to their older hip hop counterparts, new school artists crafted more cohesive LPs and shorter songs more amenable to airplay. By 1986, their releases began to establish hip hop in the mainstream.
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK garage styles.
Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists typically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.
The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are is the debut studio album by hip-hop group the 2 Live Crew. It was released in 1986 on Luke Records to a great deal of controversy and promptly was certified gold by the RIAA. It includes the hits "We Want Some Pussy", "Throw the 'D'", and "Cuttin' It Up". In Florida, it was deemed obscene, and one store clerk was charged with felony "corruption of a minor" for selling it to a 14-year-old girl. The clerk was later acquitted.
Prodigy Present: The Dirtchamber Sessions Volume One is a 1999 solo mix album by Liam Howlett of The Prodigy, initially produced for BBC Radio 1's mix show The Breezeblock.
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interpolated between sections of a song, to provide a sense of anticipation, signal the start of a new section, or create variety in the arrangement.
Lucas MacFadden, better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer. He is a former member of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He has collaborated with DJ Shadow on a number of projects.
Scratch is a 2001 documentary film, directed and edited by Doug Pray. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ from the birth of hip-hop when pioneering DJs began extending breaks on records, to the invention of scratching and beat juggling, to the more recent explosion of turntablism. Throughout the documentary, many artists explain how they were introduced to hip-hop while providing stories of their personal experiences.
Solid Steel are a series of DJ mix albums issued on Ninja Tune, an independent record label in the UK.
Brainfreeze is a live DJ mix album by American producers DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, released "sometime" in 1999. The two tracks of the album are uninterrupted recordings from a live performance where they sampled hit funk, soul, rock and jazz singles from 45 rpm vinyl records. This type of recording was pioneered by the duo Double Dee and Steinski through their "Lessons".
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music in a recording studio. While the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music creation, including recording the rapping of an MC, a turntablist or DJ providing a beat, playing samples and "scratching" using record players and the creation of a rhythmic backing track, using a drum machine or sequencer, it is most commonly used to refer to recording the instrumental, non-lyrical and non-vocal aspects of hip hop.
"The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" is a single released by American disc jockey Grandmaster Flash in 1981. It is a live DJ mix recording of Flash scratching and mixing records from various groups using three turntables. The musician employed several DJ techniques in the recording, including crossfading, cutting, rubbing and backspins.
Soulsonic Force is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as "Planet Rock." They were also influential in the birth of the electro movement in America and helped pave the way for modern dance music styles such as electro-funk as well as the entire Miami bass scene.
Scratch is the soundtrack to the 2001 documentary Scratch directed by Doug Pray. Scratch examines cultural and historical perspectives on the birth and evolution of hip-hop disc jockeys (DJs), scratching and turntablism and includes interviews with some of hip-hop's most famous and respected DJs.
Lance Taylor, also known as Afrika Bambaataa, is an American DJ, rapper, and record producer from South Bronx, New York City. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenced the development of hip hop culture. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the originators of breakbeat DJing.
Joshua Paul Davis, better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, Endtroducing....., was released in 1996. He is known for layered production that uses numerous samples, often from obscure sources, to create new compositions and whose music was described in Allmusic as having "revolutionized hip-hop".
Journeys by DJ: 70 Minutes of Madness is a DJ mix album by English electronic duo Coldcut, released on 16 October 1995. It was the eighth instalment in the Journeys by DJ series of mix albums released by the label of the same name. Unlike previous editions, which focused on house music, Coldcut's mix profiles the act's 'freestyle' mixing approach, blending 35 tracks that span many genres, including techno, hip hop, electro, jungle and funk, into an eclectic set.
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