Intergalactic rappers the Beastie Boys are making a planetary return. Mix Master Mike, the trio’s DJ since 1998’s Hello Nasty, said the group has prepared some sci-fi beats for its venture back to the studio this spring.
“We’re in our space suits right now, flying around in our pods, checking all the incubators,” Mike said during a break in his DJ set Wednesday at E!’s Sizzlin’ 16 Party in Hollywood. “All the beats we’ve designed are all eggs right now, so we’re waiting for the fetuses to hatch. All I can say is we have beats that are premature right now, but growing.”
The Beasties plan to hit studios on the West and East Coasts, Mike said.
Meanwhile, the founding member of Bay Area turntablist crew Invisibl Skratch Piklz is nearly finished with his next scratch record.
Bazooka Canyon, due in May on his own Asphodel label, features an array of effects, including surround sound, and “playing records frontwards, backwards and sideways,” Mike said. “It’s like [2000’s] Eye of the Cyclops part two, but in a different constellation…. A collage of mayhem.”
Like Eye of the Cyclops, the new record will be an EP rather than a full LP. “I like EPs, because I figure this kind of music is something that takes people a while to figure out,” Mike explained. “I’m going to baby-feed everybody for now.”
Mike, whose first mix album, Spin Psycle, was released on September 11, recently recorded music for the snowboarding game “SSX Tricky,” which happens to feature him as a hidden character.
The DJ and Beastie Boy Mike D are also putting the finishing touches on their radio show, “Full Court Pressure”, which is expected to debut before summer.
