DJing is not rocket science; oh no, it's more important than that. On a day-to-day basis, DJs have more impact on your life than do rocket scientists (for whom we have utmost respect-don't get it twisted). A great DJ massages your mind and stimulates your body to optimal health, providing an escape valve from life's multitude of frustrations and anxieties. LA/San Francisco-bred DJ Randy "Hotthobo" Ellis has earned a PhD in slipping feel-good frequencies into your earholes, and "Cold Showers" (his latest mix) delivers a strategy to help you get loose in the sleekest, sexiest way possible.
Side A begins with lavishly synthed-up boogie funk that's a smooth prelude to rough friction. Throughout this stretch, you'll hear bulbous bass struts, beats that splat with the force of a dominatrix's paddle against a fleshy ass, sassy female rapping, and to-the-point lyrics crooned to maximize seduction prospects.
Side B delves into subtle variations on Zapp's "More Bounce To e Ounce," sumptuous smooth-jazz melodies, and sublimely lackadaisical cosmic disco torch songs, but the highlight is a louche, space-funk instrumental that comes across like Moog miniaturist Jean-Jacques Perrey meets Billy Preston's "Outa-Space"... at 16 rpm.
Hotthobo mixes up the tempos here with his boogie, disco, hip-hop, and R&B selections, but he never fails to maintain a luxurious, lascivious vibe. If the eccentric club-music erotics of Chocolate Industries' revelatory Personal Space (Electronic Soul 1974-1984) compilation floats your yacht, you'll swoon yourself silly to Cold Showers.
