Daddy G

DADDY G The heads in the subway car this afternoon are bopping mildly-ears plugged in with thin white or black wires playing the soundtrack to this underground scene. We're rolling into Manhattan, where a larger scene will play out. The black and Puerto Rican kids, just out of school, have hiphop and r&b running through their heads. They stare and fiddle with their CD players, adjusting volume and bass levels; they play with the white t-shirts that drip to their knees. The white twenty-something hipsters sit, looking at the floor, trying to avoid eye contact. What could they be listening to? Perhaps those new Bloc Party tracks or Colder. Colder is perfect music for the subway.

Today I've picked the right subway music, as the air outside has gotten crisper and the sky more gray: Daddy G's new mix on K7, part of the DJ Kicks series. Daddy G is Grant Marshall, one of the pioneering members of the Bristol trip-hop outfit Massive Attack. This veteran producer and DJ of the Wild Bunch creates music that conjures up images of the decaying factories and dirty skies of England and New York City during the fall. The DJ Kicks series has been successful for so long because it highlights the artist's influences, besides presenting new tracks. One of the guidelines to making a good mix is to string the recognizable tunes together with some of the newer, more exclusive tracks.

The sounds of dub reggae on Massive Attack's work is all over this mix. But G drops many surprises, including the Meters' "Just Kissed My Baby," Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady (Danny Krivit Edit) and Foxy Brown's "Oh Yeah." Most people were disappointed with Massive Attack's last album, 2003's 100th Window. That can be attributed to Robert del Naja going it alone, even if some collaborators from the past contributed on a few tracks. But without Marshall, the tracks were missing his subtle touches of dubby vocal and bass effects that gave Massive Attack their unique, haunting sound.

On the mix, Marshall reminds everyone why, throwing in Tricky's "Aftermath," a remix of "Karmacoma" (off Massive Attack's second album, Protection), and a collaboration with Mos Def called "I Against I." If Mos had beats like these on New Danger, he might have brought some focus to a sloppy album that doesn't give his lyrics much weight.

For those who need to be reminded why Massive Attack became such an influential band, this mix will provide the blueprint for how the group hit upon its sound. And flowing through your ears on the subway, it provides the sonic backdrop to the lush stories we tell in our heads.