Dr. Onionskin

Item: Split Pea Soup
Author: Corey Wright

Split Pea Soup

(1996)

Reviewed by Corey Wright

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Label N*Soul RecordsThe LighthouseApril 1997

acid jazz electronic hip hop jazz

N-Soul forges into new territory with Dr. Onionskin's Split Pea Soup. This album contains a little more funk than the average N-Soul product. As broad as the acid jazz genre is, this release differentiates itself from other acid jazz albums while retaining N-Soul's programmed beat.

While acid jazz is a joining of jazz and hip-hop, Dr. Onionskin produces an electronic variation. Simply put, Split Pea Soup places jazz riffs over synthetic grooves, usually including a heavy bass beat. This is jazz with a beat that is more pronounced than any jazz quartet's stringed-bass, more akin to hip-hop's jeep beats. Live instrument solos highlight the tracks and carry the melody while an electronic percussion section keeps the songs moving. Like most jazz and some hip-hop, the music is laid back, encouraging head-bobbing, finger-snapping, and toe-tapping more than dancing.

The lyrics are mainly spoken samples, some repeated for musical effect and almost all distorted to a degree. Two songs deviate lyrically from this pattern with continuous lyrics, but are still unique. "Last Of The Boheatnicks" has emphatically spoken beatnik poetry for lyrics, and "Odyssey 5" spoofs NASA's mission control dialogue. Be forewarned, listeners expecting any lyrical reference to Jesus or God from the Dr. Onionskin will be disappointed. You may find spiritual meaning in the beatnik poem, but I only saw the poem for its rhythmic qualities and how it compliments the music.

Jazz purists might dislike the spoken samples mixed into the tracks and the sometimes dominating beat. And sometimes the heavily distorted samples lack any musical qualities and can be simply annoying to some, as on "If It Ain't Got..." I was expecting more hip-hop influence in the form of turntable scratching. The effect appears on some of the tracks, but it is never an equal to the live instruments as on some acid jazz artists' renderings. This, in a way, defines Dr. Onionskin's own style of acid jazz. This is jazz for the programmed-beat dance lover, who demands a solid rhythm and bass line. Overall Split Pea Soup is 70% jazz, 30% hip-hop, and 100% acid jazz.