Exclusive Aesop Rock mix only available if you pre-order Skelethon from Fifth Element!

Written By Kevin Beacham of Fifth Element

Pre-Order SkelethonToday and bundle with an album t-shirt to save. Your vinyl pre-order comes with a red translucent double red vinyl and poster, and CDs come with an 8-panel digi-pak with poster.

Caution: Slightly Scatterbrained and dramatic, yet thought-out rant to follow. The short of it all is that the new Aesop Rockalbum â??Skelthonâ?is still available for pre-order on Fifth Element and if you pre-order with us, you get an exclusive 2-hour Aesop Rock career-spanning mix that was blended, arranged and scratched by Shazam Bangles (w/intro scratch support by Rice The Sound Transmitter), Co-Concepted By Kevin Beacham, and Narrated By Aesop Rock! If you already pre-ordered the album check your inbox later today for you copy of the mix!! Now a story, for those who wish stay at this party a little longerâ?¦

I thoroughly enjoy compiling the music of artists I love to showcase the range, diversity and creativity of their career. I enjoy the idea of meticulously picking songs based on theme, style, obvious to not so obvious references, and things of the such. Itâ??s all a great mind puzzle for me and I get into that sort of thing.

When I found out we were releasing the next Aesop Rock album I was super-excitedâ?¦and a couple things had to fight for top-billing in that excitement; 1) There was finally a new Aesop Rock solo record and 2) It was on Rhymesayers, so I would get to be involved in my some fashion. This is what is known as a win-win situation, good peoples.

Often when I hear about a new album from a artist that Iâ??m a huge fan of my initial thought and eventual action is to round up all of their albums and listen to each of them with fresh ears. Itâ??s a sort of preparing for the next coming type ritual that I have established for myself and enjoy. I partook in this ceremony for Aesop Rock and in the midst of doing so the idea manifested itself that it would be great to have a comprehensive mix that spanned his career. I didnâ??t feel like my style of DJing was the exact fit to do it myself, but the thought of who was perfect for it was nearly immediateâ?¦Shazam Bangles.

For those of you who have heard my DJ Nikoless Mix CDs, particularly â??Turntable Of Contentsâ? and â??This Is Where You Got It Fromâ?, you should recognize his work, but under his former guise of DJ Tanner The Surgeon General. Previous to that moniker he was just Mike, the guy who used to always call up to my Time Travel Radio show request and props line in Chicago (shout-out to his partner Kostas). Countless phone conversations led to him visiting the show semi-regularly and hanging out with the Time Travel Crew. His fascination and passion for Hip Hop was stunning! He soaked all the information and history like a sponge. He was always asking questions about the most obscure of artists and there came a time where he would start to ask about 80s/90s artists or songs that I didnâ??t even know about. Not that I know everything, but itâ??s not that often I find people who stump me like that, specifically someone who is significantly younger. I was impressed.

When he told me he was interested in DJing I was curious to how that would play out. Once again, he nearly made my brain explode with the rate of speed in which he began to master the turntables. And, not just in one area. In record time he was proficient with his blends, cuts, doubling, concepts, beat juggling, etcâ?¦

That made him my go-to guy when I had some technical DJ routine or concept that I had mapped out in my head, but lacked the technical skills to perform. Without a doubt and very little effort, Shazam Bangles was always able to nail it, if not improve upon my original idea.

When I moved away from Waukegan/North Chicago, Shazam was still predominantly a bedroom DJ. I kept telling him he should get out there and make a name for himself, because he had the potential to be the best all-around DJ in the city and beyond. It took some time, but he eventually got out there and started to make his mark. Currently heâ??s doing plenty to live up to that possibility of being the best. His crew, Cutz On Cuts is constantly wrecking turntables, doing great events, or hosting their regular DJ UStreams with a host of special guest rocking along side them. Shazam Bangles also just won the Vocalo â??Quest For The Bestâ? DJ battleâ?¦coincidence, I think not. :) All the while, his party-rocking skills are becoming a thing of legend in that region of the world, hopefully soon to spread elsewhere. Basically, Shazam Bangles is of the highest caliber of DJs, so keep an ear out for his adventures. Get with him all up close and personal HERE.

When I hit him up about doing the mix, he was instantly into it. I sent him a bunch notes and ideas from my studies of Aesopâ??s catalog. Then I talked with Aesopto have him send us some exclusive stuff, particularly some unreleased beats he produced*. Shazam Bangles took all the tools and masterfully constructed an excellent audio exploration of Aesopâ??s musical escapades. This is the perfect 2-hour listening experience to prepare for â??Skelethonâ?!! Only available thru FE! Pre-order the album NOW and get the mix instantly!!

Oh yeah, every time I tried to come up with a name for this mix it was always way to weird or complicated or just long...so after sent back his narrative contribution I decided the unofficial name is "Emotional Support Animal Theme Music"...you have to pre-order and listen to find out why**...

-Editorâ??s Note:

*Iâ??m also working on producing a special RSE Radio â??Aesop Rockâ? Specialthat will run 7-7-12, just 4 days before â??Skelethonâ? drops. That special will include all different songs from this mix, including a early unheard exclusive 90s Aesop Rock track called â??Hall Of Gameâ? and some other rare treats as wellâ?¦stay tunedâ?¦

**Yes, I know that title is still weird, complicated, long and probably not very good, that is why it is "unofficial" you suckas...

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