Florida breaks staple Sharaz emerges from the lab once again with another cutting-edge release on his label 941 Electro. His back catalogue already reads like a document of the evolution of Florida breaks and this release is a true compliment to that. "Rust" is a double disc CD/DVD set that includes some of the best breakbeat tracks and inside information ever seen or heard. Cutting edge is certainly the only way to describe this set. Not only do you get the new fourteen track Sharaz mix CD which includes almost nothing but Sharaz-produced or remixed songs, you get so so so much more.
The mix CD is done true to form with vocals strewn throughout the mix alongside some of the hardest hitting, dirty, and funky tracks this side of Mars. He mixes it up with seven yet-to-be released tracks including "Clubstar," "Black Butta," "One Phat Deejay," "Way Up Top," "Circuit Breaker 2005," "Sweet Lies," and the long-awaited "Freek of the Week." He also includes some of the best from Mark Sanchez, DJ Fixx, Mondo & Agent K, and a sultry remix of the Antarktika song "After the Rain." This package is already a great deal at the MSRP of under $16, but there is a ton more.
The DVD features a forty-five minute DJ video mix that chronicles Sharaz on an eighteen month journey around the country playing at some of the biggest and best parties and clubs in the US of A.
The tracks in this mix include the Sharaz originals "Roughneck," "Ohm," "Bang the Drum," "Rhubarb" and the Infiniti remix of Dave Berg's "Who's in Control." The flawless mix has splendid clips of anything and everything as well as some of the hottest DJs on the scene at the moment. DJ Mea drops in to make an appearance, Icey gives a bit of a hand-waving experience, DJ Rose and Malicious Mike cut up a bit for the camera, Dave Berg scratches the video raw and Baby Anne even signs a few autographs. All this footage is sequenced perfectly, like it was made for the songs on the disc. The video mix is one of the coolest things out there but that's not even close to everything. Sharaz also includes an interview and studio tour with the man and the myth, Infiniti. The scrapbook includes a slideshow of the past six years of Sharaz's reign as breakbeat master. The last goodie to come from your DVD player is the artist bios. They include bios of everyone on the 941 Electro label. Sharaz, Infiniti, Viro, and Rose are all included in the selection to give a true feeling of the label.
Once the DVD is removed from the DVD player and popped in the computer, the real magic is unleashed.
Inside the goodies folder on the DVD-ROM, Sharaz is reveled. Three long out-of-print full length CDs are included. "Deliverance," "Turn It Up," and "Horizon" have long been sought-after and impossible-to-find and all three are on the disc. "The Lost Mix" is a forty minute mix of classic tracks from Sharaz and friends. They included such killers as "Running Away," "Children of the 80s," "Circuit Breaker" and Sharaz and Fixx under the guise Pyramid Project track "Right Here," which hasn't been seen since 2000. Also included are over 100 megs of .mp3 single tracks and a couple of video clips of Sharaz doing what he does best, rocking the party. When there seems like he has thrown in everything and the kitchen sink, there are still a few more gems left. A handful of wallpaper options for your computer desktop, an interview with the mastermind himself, as well as a journey through his studio in Sarasota and links to some of the coolest artists, media and hot stuff that we can't afford.
Nothing on this scale has ever been done in the small niche of breakbeat and it is no surprise that Sharaz and 941 Media are the ones to introduce it. This will be the best sixteen dollars you spend this 2005, I guarantee.
