Major Lazer — Guns Don't Kill People… Lazers Do

Guns Don't Kill People… Lazers Do

Downtown/Warner

Ian Gormely (CHARTattack)

06/24/2009 3:37pm

Legend has it that Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the Zombie War of 1984. He was given a lazer for a prosthetic limb and now works as a soldier of fortune while operating a nightclub in Trinidad as a cover.

Of course, like all legends, the truth is far less exciting than the fiction. Major Lazer is in fact collaboration between producers Diplo and Switch, the knob tweakers behind M.I.A. and Santigold, respectively.

With the help of Santigold, Spank Rock collaborator Amanda Blank and a slew of Jamaican dancehall artists, the duo create a spaced-out dancehall sound, which is kind of like the spiritual cousin to the science fiction hip-hop of Dan The Automator's Deltron 3030 LP.

Guns Don't Kill People… Lazers Do was recorded at Jamaica's legendary Tuff Gong Studio and is a fantastically fun record that stands on its own, but also offers an entry point to this dense genre.

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