4 is The Bamboos' sixth studio album and on it they largely keep to their existing template of making funk and soul.
And they do it well. Really well.
4 quickly flits between cinematic funk and glorious soul as the mood takes it but the songwriting, playing and production are consistently inspiring.
Sassy opener 'On The Sly' and, later on, 'Kings Cross', both sound like they should be on a Steven Soderbergh soundtrack from David Holmes whilst 'Turn It Up' (featuring vocals from Lyrics Born) would be right at home in a Guy Richie flick. Elsewhere 'Up On The Hill' adds an Oriental vibe yet retains enough snap in the rhythm that it adds a crucial diversity to proceedings rather than breaking the flow of the album.
One listen to 4 and it is clear The Bamboos are not only the real deal but they are onto something. This is an album that manages to do new things yet sounds timeless. Once the rousing soul of 'Keep Me In Mind' kicks in it is obvious that this record really deserves to do great things this year.
BP x
4 is released on Tru Thoughts on 29 March 2010, available for pre-order from Amazon.co.uk on CD [affiliate link].
Pitchtwit is the pseudonym for Yorkshire's Tom Sidebottom and according to the release the music is about melody and energy and, having had a listen, BlackPlastic would say that the release is on the money.
'Bulletproof', co-written with Sidebottom's long-time writing partner Jesse O'Mahoney (AKA J Dog), is the kind of stressed out twitchy electro that gets us hot under the collar and if this song is anything to go by Pitch Twit might just be Yorkshire's answer to Justice. The anarchic animated video, created by Matt Harney, also suits the track - both coming together to create an ASBO-on-Redbull mess.
Perhaps ironic given his pseudonym but out of the heavy hitters within the Get Physical stable DJ T seems to have been the least prolific within the medium of the mix CD. Both Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y. have released mixes in the past (in the latter's case seemingly at the expense of ever getting an album out) but this is, to BlackPlastic's knowledge, DJ T's first.
Even more surprising, given DJ T's tendancy for producing club tracks rather than the introspective albums of some of his label mates (Bronnt Industries Kapital or Booka Shade and particularly their The Sun and The Neon Light album) Fabric 51 is surprisingly deep. Refreshingly so.
It is an album that is much slower and thoughtful than BlackPlastic would have anticipated. Michael J Collins eases the listener in with the minimal and atmospheric 'I Just Wanna Be Your Disco Bitch' and with that the pacing is set - nice and slow - for what follows. And what follows is pretty fabulous. The Salax Peep Show Remix of 'A Million Secrets' by Stuffa sounds like some whining indie boys taken straight from the cover of NME yet rapidly thrust into a dubby, emotive minimal workout - and shockingly it works.
This slow, twisted vibe runs throughout the rest of Fabric 51 to create something that really feels different. Danton Eeprom's 'Give Me Pain' sounds like Metronomy meets Hot Chip in a race to the cool indie kid dance floor and the kick, when it hits, is pure joy. And the level of experimental liberalism never fails to land well - even the bohemian 'Jesus Was A B-Boy' from Ben Mono featuring Jemeni hits with well aimed humour. Hell - BlackPlastic recently said that we never wanted to hear DJ Mujava's 'Township Funk' again and yet DJ T even makes us take that back for the Crazy P mix, applied here, is a thing of melancholic joy.
DJ T has undeniably managed to exceed expectations here. Whilst he may be not have the catalogue of mix albums of M.A.N.D.Y. he has just delivered a mix level with some of their best and the finest Fabric album in a good few months.
BP x
Fabric 51 is released on Monday - order now from Amazon.co.uk on CD or MP3 [affiliate links].
Following our recent competition BlackPlastic figured we better taste the pudding with Red Bull's 12x12 event at the Scala.
Be under no illusion - this was a made for TV production with a line up designed to present the maximum number of photo opportunities. Not that the line up wasn’t worthy or even good, but the whole concept, designed to celebrate London’s dance culture, in many ways missed the point. 12 DJs and producers each playing their biggest hit for 12 minutes with more photographers in attendance than punters makes for a strange vibe and ironically, something unlike any London club night over the last 20 years of nights that we were there to celebrate.
Forgive us for being churlish, we’re sure it looked great in the trade press and the event’s corporate veneer did mean we had unprecedented access to the stars. It also made for some compulsively bizarre viewing, MJ Cole gurning his way through an MP3 of 'Sincere' stands out - twelve minutes just about saved by the bizarreness and Cole having Nero's rather more contemporary dubstep remix of the track to fall back on.
Arthur Baker was a ubiquitous presence throughout the Scala for personal photo-ops but when he played Planet Rock you remembered why this clash of German electro and funk was so epoch-making. Martyn Ware predictably played 'Temptation', unpredictably, he played a version with a 90s Euro-dance beat and sang over the top. Just as the embarrassment got too much, like your dad doing karaoke, he saved it by playing his stylish, 80s ballad 'Let Me Go', and that shows what a good song 'Let Me Go' is.
Despite all the pretence, it was the drum and bass DJs who stole the show for the crowd by playing jump-up greatest hits sets with the night’s genuine highlight coming when Ms Dynamite joined Zinc on stage for a rip-snorting p.a. of 'Wile Out'.
We suppose 12x12 proved that the most important element of any night is something that all the DJs and crates of Red Bull in the world can’t make up for, something that Russ Abbott presciently referred to as ‘atmosphere.’
Following BlackPlastic's earlier post today we have a pair of tickets to give away to this Thursday's Red Bull Music Academy 12 x 12 event at the Scala in London.
So what is 12 x 12? Basically Red Bull have taken twelve legendary producers and musicians and twelve anthems and given each of them twelve minutes to perform their song - each of which has had a defining impact on London's musical landscape and club culture. Knitting all of this together are handovers from each producer to the next that will highlight the performers personal connection to the following act as well as visualisation courtesy of Hexstatic (for those that don't know, this is a. good. thing.)
With a line up featuring Arthur Baker, Peter Hook, Robert Owens, Zinc, X-Press 2 and Roni Size it looks set to be an interesting evening. It's worth noting the proceeds go to War Child too. Full line-up below:
A Guy Called Gerald (London)
Arthur Baker (London)
Jazzie B (Soul II Soul, London)
Martyn Ware (Human League, Heaven 17, London)
MJ Cole (Prolific, London)
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order, Manchester)
Robert Owens (Fingers Inc., London)
Roni Size (Full Cycle, V Recordings, Bristol)
Shades Of Rhythm (London)
Shy FX & Stamina MC (Digital Soundboy, London)
X-Press 2 (Junior Boy’s Own, Skint, London)
Zinc (Bingo Beats, London) & Dynamite MC (Strong Records, London)
Tickets are £12 in advance and £15 on the door or you can win a pair here! The event is on from 8pm to 12am.
So what do you need to win tickets? It's a tight timeline so we will make it as easy as possible - simply drop us an email at competitions@blackplastic.co.uk or complete our contact form and use the subject 'I want to give Hooky a kiss' [competition now closed - thanks for your entries]. The event is on Thursday so the competition will close at 10am on Thursday 11 March.
The winner will be notified by email on Thursday afternoon so please check your email and check your spam filters!
