On The Download: N.A.S.A.

What if I told you there was an album featuring guest appearances by over 40 heavyweights in the music industry?

What if I told you there were songs featuring collaborations by artists as diverse as Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and deceased Wu-Tang clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard, or Tom Waits and bizarre rap chameleon Kool Keith, or former Talking Head David Byrne and Public Enemy MC Chuck D?

Well there is said album, and it comes in the form of N.A.S.A’s debut disc, “Spirit of Apollo,” the brainchild of American DJ Squeak E. Clean, AKA Sam Spiegel (film director Spike Jonze brother), and Brazilian DJ Zegon. (Hence the moniker N.A.S.A., short for North America South America).

The album plays like a dream mixtape. Brazilian beats meet space-age funk while dirty Wu-Tang-esque loops morph into indie rock guitar passages. Other guests on the album include current “It” artists such as Kanye West, Santogold, and Lykke Li (“Gifted”), M.I.A. and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner on the Favela funk-flavored “Whachudoin?,” while the Cool Kids and DJ AM meet Ghostface Killah and Scarface on “The Mayor.”

Think about it. The disc is actually a bargain at the going rate of $9.99. That’s not even a quarter per cameo…Grab a copy before they realize what they’ve done and inflate the price.