For Rob Swift, life revolves on a 33 1/3 axis.  To prove it, Rob unveils not only his first solo-LP in three years, Sound Event, but also his new aptly titled imprint Table Turns Records.  And whether it is as a member of the renowned turntablist crew X-ecutioners, or with Sound Event, Rob Swift continues to prove that words are a very overrated form of communication. 

While bedroom DJ’s cram to grasp the intricacies of the wheels of steel, Rob evolves into a one man band, using his trusted Technic 1200′s not only as an instrument to shapeshift the textures already lurking inside a beat, but to tweak and add new wrinkles as well.  Whether it is implementing vocal samples a la DJ Premier on the bluesy “The Ghetto”, or slicing up conga and shakers on the tropically scented, “Salsa Scratch”, Swift covers the advanced DJ floor program with ease.

With the recent success Swift experienced with X-ecutioners’ Built From Scratch, (and there crossover smash with Linkin Park “Its Going Down”) Sound Event plays out like a low-budget version of that endeavor.  Freestyle wunderkind Supernatural name checks the entire LP’s track roster in ninety-seconds on the “Supernatural Intro”, J-Live dissects the herb element of underground hip-hop over the industrial grinds of “Sub Level” and Large Professor’s renaissance continues with “Hip Hop On Wax”, which climaxes with a frenetic ending where Swift and DJ Radar go mano a mano amidst a sea of cymbal crashes.  

Expanding his repertoire, Rob also handles the majority of the production on Sound Event as well.  And though Rob shows a soulful side on “The Ghetto,” a few of his subtle nods (“The Great Caper” and “Trunk Of Funk”) are so down-tempo they discourage the dramatic Technic 1200 embellishments we have come to expect from our favorite DJ’s.
 
To say that Rob Swift speaks volumes with his hands would be an understatement.  Yet, Sound Event (like every DJ orientated effort) is hampered by the fact that DJ’ing’s a visual based medium that transmits better live rather then digitally.  If you feel like Cormega does nowadays “not feeling nigga’s rhymes these days”, then Swift’s hand to hand combat is a nice alternative.