July 26, 2006 @ 1:15 pm

Gnarls Barkley Meets Biggie for Mash-Up Album

John Kennedy

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K. Ross and Elsewhere, who make up the Brooklyn-based DJ duo Sound Advice, have fused the eccentric sounds of Gnarls Barkley with the legendary lyrics of Biggie Smalls to create the 11-track album, Gnarls Biggie. “It all kind of started off as a joke,” Elsewhere tells Vibe.com. “We did a couple tracks and they sounded kind of hot, so we ran with it.” left As a result, listeners can hear Biggie against the pulsating strings of “Crazy” or the invigorating melody of “Smiley Faces.” The infringement-laden remix project (as described on the Gnarls Biggie website) has gained popularity on the internet and has been repeatedly removed from MySpace due to copyright violations. What makes Gnarls Biggie so notable, aside from the dichotomy of the blended artists, is that the project was created without any of the instrumentals from St. Elsewhere. “We had to just go in there with CD tracks and basically chop up what little bits and pieces we could find,” Elsewhere revealed. DJ Danger Mouse, the producer of Gnarls Barkley, rose to prominence after merging Jay-Z’s Black Album with The Beatles’ White Album to make the Grey Album. In an ironic twist, it’s now his work that is getting the mash-up treatment. “The cat that obviously made his name off of it, we’re kind of getting him back in a funny way,” Elsewhere says with a laugh. “Hopefully, if by some chance he did hear it, I think he would get a kick out of it.” But if Gnarls Biggie doesn’t propel Sound Advice to a success-filled fate similar to Danger Mouse’s, the production team won’t be thwarted. “We really just did it because we thought it was a good idea and we liked the way it sounded, above all,” Elsewhere says. “To me it’s nothing new,” he continues. “DJs have been blending tracks since turntables started. Fans and DJs are a little bit bored with [blends], so sometimes taking it to the next level with concepts and irony and names gives it an added interest factor.” Sound Advice will release Gnarls Biggie Friday as limited-edition CDs with cover art at New York City music retailers such as Fat Beats. Until then, the album can be heard at gnotorious.com. “We’ve gotten some good feedback,” says Elsewhere, “but obviously when you do something like this to a CD that’s been so applauded this year, there are going to be people who aren’t into it. That just comes with the territory.” Have a news tip? Email us.

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