Staff Reviews

Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do

Review by Josh Heller

If Major Lazer can leave some wounded soldiers for dead and just take his work a little more seriously, his battalion could well push on and maybe next time produce something truly important.»

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ough trade exclusive with a bonus cd featuring the 20 minute radio mix 'lazer boom' - album mashup plus 'call mi' (dave kelley's hold the line remix featuring baby cham), 'hold the line' - todally crossed out remix and 'zumbi' featuring andy milonakis. major lazer is a jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret zombie war of 1984. the us military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. since then major lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of mi5 and the cia. his cover is that of a dancehall night club owner from trinidad and he enlisted the help of long-time allies and uber-producers, diplo and switch, to produce his first lp. his true mission is to protect the world from the dark forces of evil that live just under the surface of a civilized society. he fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket powered skateboard. as part of a plan to subdue the forces of evil with a batch of futuristic dancehall bangers, the three encamped at tuff gong studios in jamaica to record the major lazer record. the product of this collaboration is 'guns don't kill people...lazers do', a collection of tracks that draws from the rich dancehall tradition of jamaica, the futuristic dance-floor-killing aesthetic of diplo and switch, and contributions from some of the biggest names in dancehall today. featuring talents such as vybz kartel, ms thing, mr vegas and santigold, the record runs global pop culture through the filter of major lazer's particular brand of 80's-inspired digital dancehall, at once an homage to a bygone era and a look to the future of dance music. diplo (philadelphia-based dj and producer wesley pentz), incorporates such disparate influences as miami bass and baile funk into the high-tech ecclecticism of his productions. known for his forward-thinking productions for mia, bonde do role and many others, and for the solo lp of cinematic, sample-based hip hop entitled florida he recorded for the ninja tune imprint. diplo is also the founder and owner of mad decent records, which has put out records by dj blaqstarr and bonde do role. switch (the pseudonym of british producer and dj dave taylor) is the owner of one of the most progressive and respected underground dance music labels around, dubsided. his work as producer is revered by critics, emulated by his fellow djs, and sweated hard by dance floors on both sides of the atlantic. switch also permanently endeared himself to the bespectacled music cogniscenti with his contribution to santigold's critically acclaimed self-titled debut.
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