Cut Chemist

Cut Chemist
Cut Chemist performing live in 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Lucas MacFadden
Born	(1972-10-04) October 4, 1972 New York, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Hip hop, turntablism
Occupations	DJ, record producer
Instruments	Turntables, sampler
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Warner Bros. Records, A Stable Sound
Associated acts	Ozomatli, Jurassic 5, DJ Shadow
Website	www.cutchemist.com

Lucas MacFadden (born October 4, 1972),^[1] better known as Cut Chemist, is an American DJ and record producer.^[2][3][4][5] He is a former member of the funk Latin band Ozomatli, and of hip hop group Jurassic 5. He has collaborated with fellow turntablist DJ Shadow on a number of projects.

Career

Cut Chemist became known through the Los Angeles-based rap group Unity Committee, and debuted on vinyl on the B-side of Unity Committee's 1993 single, "Unified Rebelution". The track, "Lesson 4: The Radio" was an ovation of Double Dee and Steinski's "Lessons 1-3."^{[citation needed]}

Preceding the vinyl release, Unity Committee formed Jurassic 5, along with another group, Rebels of Rhythm. Cut Chemist contributed avidly to the group, adding "Lesson 6: The Lecture" to Jurassic 5's eponymous EP, and co-producing the entirety of the record. Between then and other releases, he explored remixing alongside DJ Shadow and Liquid Liquid, and performed doing outside work (sampling and scratching for Less Than Jake, and appearing with Ozomatli). From late 1996 to early 1997, Cut Chemist recorded his album debut, Live at Future Primitive Sound Session, with Shortkut of Invisibl Skratch Piklz.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, Cut Chemist's song 'Drums of Fire' was part of the soundtrack to Tony Hawk's Underground 2.

Cut Chemist did not appear on Jurassic 5's 2006 album Feedback. In May 2006, he indicated to Billboard that he had left the group.^[6]

Cut Chemist's first full-length solo album, The Audience's Listening, was released on July 11, 2006.^[7] The album includes the pre-released song "The Garden", which features a bossa nova style, vocals from Astrud Gilberto's Brazilian song "Berimbau", and berimbau instrumentals.^{[citation needed]}

The song "The Audience Is Listening Theme Song" from The Audience's Listening has been featured in a 2G Apple iPod nano advertisement.^[8]

More recently, Cut Chemist has opened for Shakira in 2007 on the European leg of her Oral Fixation Tour, and at the press conference held by car-maker SEAT to promote their sponsorship of the shows.^{[citation needed]}

Cut Chemist made an appearance in the 2007 comedy Juno, playing a high school chemistry teacher, playing on his "chemist" stage-name. His logo was present in this scene in the form of a large pair of prop scissors suspended over a beaker.^[9]

Cut Chemist joined DJ Shadow on a world wide tour to support their new mix The Hard Sell beginning in early 2008. Kid Koala opened for them. Dates included Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Melbourne, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Hamburg and Paris among others.^{[citation needed]}

Cut Chemist is featured in the award-winning documentary This is the Life, chronicling the music movement which was birthed at The Good Life Cafe in South Central Los Angeles. The Good Life is the open-mic workshop where he first performed with Unity Committee in the early 1990s and launched Jurassic 5.^{[citation needed]}

Most recently, Cut Chemist was featured in the film Up In The Air under his name Cut Chemist as the conference DJ who introduces Young MC.^[10]

Discography

Studio albums

• The Audience's Listening (2006)

DJ mixes

• Sick Experiment (1995)
• The Diabolical (1996)
• Live at Future Primitive Sound Session Version 1.1 (1998) with Shortkut
• Brainfreeze (1999) with DJ Shadow
• Product Placement (2001) with DJ Shadow
• Rare Equations (2002)
• The Litmus Test (2004)
• Lost and Found: Rockabilly and Jump Blues (2007) with Keb Darge
• The Hard Sell (2007) with DJ Shadow
• The Hard Sell (Encore) (2008) with DJ Shadow
• Sound of the Police (2010)

Singles

• "Bunky's Pick" (2001)
• "Blind Man from L.A. Carnival" (2003) with Medaphoar
• "The Audience Is Listening Theme Song" (2006)
• "The Garden" b/w "Storm" (2006)
• "What's the Altitude" (2006)
• "The Audience Is Rural" (2006)
• "Adidas to Addis" (2010)
• "Outro (Revisited)" (2012)

Remixes

• DJ Shadow - "The Number Song (Cut Chemist Party Mix)" (1996)
• Liquid Liquid - "Cavern (Cut Chemist Rocks a Rave in a Missile Silo Remix)" (1999)
• Ozomatli - Cut Chemist Suite (1999)
• Major Force - "The Re-Return of the Original Art-Form (Reinterpreted By Cut Chemist)" (2000)
• Ugly Duckling - "Eye on the Gold Chain (Cut Chemist Remix)" (2001)
• Jem - "They (Cut Chemist Remix)" (2005)
• Breakestra - "How Do They Really Feel (Cut Chemist Atkins Edit)" (2005)
• Edan - "Torture Chamber (Cut Chemist Remix)" (2005)
• Percee P - "Throwback Rap Attack (Cut Chemist Lucas Flipped a 1-Sided Tape He Found in 1987 into Stereo Remix)" (2006)
• Quantic and His Combo Barbaro - "Un Canto A Mi Tierra (Cut Chemist Remix)" (2011)

Productions

• Jurassic 5 - "Unified Rebelution" (1995)
• Jurassic 5 - Jurassic 5 EP (1997)
• Jurassic 5 - Jurassic 5 (1998)
• Jurassic 5 - "Concrete Schoolyard" (1998)
• Jurassic 5 - "Improvise" (1999)
• Jurassic 5 - "Jayou" (1998)
• Blackalicious - "Alphabet Aerobics (The Cut Chemist 2 1/2 Minute Workout)" from A2G (1999)
• Jurassic 5 - "Quality Control" (2000)
• Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (2000)
• Blackalicious - "Chemical Calisthenics" from Blazing Arrow (2002)
• Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers (2002)
• Jurassic 5 - "Ducky Boy" (2002)
• Jurassic 5 - "I Am Somebody" b/w "Break" (2003)
• Lyrics Born - "Do That There" (2004)
• MED - "Blind Man" from Bang Ya Head (2005)
• Jurassic 5 - "Acetate Prophets" b/w "Swing Set" (2005)

Guest appearances

• Peanut Butter Wolf - "Tale of Five Cities" from My Vinyl Weighs a Ton (1999)
• Mumbles - "Caution" (2000)
• Kid Koala - "Here's a Little Story" from Got What You Need (2001)
• Ozomatli - "Lo Que Dice" from Embrace the Chaos (2001)
• Gretchen Lieberum - Brand New Morning (2002)
• DJ Shadow - "Pushin' Buttons Live" from The Private Press (2002)
• Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five - "The Sugarhill Suite" from Freestyle (2003)
• Lyrics Born - "Do That There Medley" from The Lyrics Born Variety Show Season One (2005)

Compilation appearances

• "Lesson 4" on Return of the DJ (1995)
• "Lesson 6: The Lecture" on Deep Concentration (1997)
• "Layered Laird" on Audio Alchemy (Experiments in Beat Reconstruction) (1997)
• "S.N.T. (Live at Peacepipe)" on The Funky Precedent (1999)
• "Hidden Crate" on 2001: A Rhyme Odyssey (2000)
• "Live at the 45 Session (Interlude)" on Urban Revolutions: The Future Primitive Sound Collective (2000)
• "Caution" on No Categories 3: A Ubiquity Compilation (2000)
• "Lesson 6: The Lecture (Original Unedited Version)" on The Ultimate Lessons (2002)
• "Live Lesson E" on The Ultimate Lessons 2 (2002)
• "Bunky's Pick" on Stones Throw 101 (2004)
• "Day in Day Out" on Re: Generations (2009)

Filmography

• Juno (2007)
• Up in the Air (2009)
• Jennifer's Body (2009)

References

External links

• Official website
• Cut Chemist discography at Discogs
• Cut Chemist at the Internet Movie Database
• Synthesis Magazine interview
• Video of Cut Chemist at United Nations