The three-man turntablist rhythm section Live Human debuted with Monostereosis, an LP originally recorded for Britain's Fatcat Records but later reissued on the American Hip Hop Slam label. With drummer Albert Mathias and Andrew Kushin laying down bedrock rhythms, DJ Quest gets plenty of space to stretch out on his turntables. As you'd expect from a live crew, the emphasis here isn't so much an old-school rap redux as it is an attempt to exploit the infinitely expressive turntable as a true instrument. Even while he's scratching and sampling to his heart's delight, Quest ranges quite far for his samples, from the squawking horn-section blasts on the opener "Onetwothree" to a sitar and jaw harp "Grasshopper." The intense old-school funk of "Orangebushmonkeyflower" leads right into reverb territory with "Percodan," while "The E Pod" is an excellent skate-anthem-in-waiting. A record posed somewhere between Booker T. & the MG's and Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Monostereosis is one of the freshest turntablist items down the pipe in several years. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
