Well I am smitten - and trust me - there is reason for it .....
Ok - I have been following Lady Sovereign through the normal chanels (what can a guy down in Somerset do - apart from download and learn) - alas, South Petherton, and for that matter the whole of the West Country, has yet to provide an outlet for seeing this stuff live on anything other than a sporadic basis - so the online pirate shows the like of RinseFM and the normal p2p routes are still the most immediate for access ! Yes I know I can pick up the 12's (in fact the new SOV is actually packing out shelf space in Virgin no less - but to get to the roots of this stuff, I really want to here the live-chat !!) ...
Following on from the excellent review from Kid Shirt back in March, I have been cheking out the numerous mixes/demos/remixes that are now circulating of Random - and what to say - Kid Shirt - on the face of it - you hit the mark - the Riko rap in the Menta remix does indeed rock-it ! The combination of faked(?) lofi telephone rap slamming back into the SOV-toastin is to say the least totally-inspired... however for simplicity - and if you can find it - the 'demo' mix that I have sitting on the hard-drive here is cute in the way it reveals the track in all its primitive glory - not that any of the mixes are really what would normally be called 'polished' - and sounds like it was recorded on a tape in a bedroom with a minimal of hardware (possibly the same MC-505 session that the whole of the M.I.A. output has been recorded on to serious effect) .....
What is the most inspiring to me about this music - along with the whole of the dub-step/grime output, is the way that lofi-recording techniques/equipment, cheap software tools (stand up Fruityloops et. al.) are empowering the creation of some excellent sounds - in the same way that the non-musicianship and cheapo equipment (anyone remember those Woolworths guitars?) allowed Punk to flourish, we again have an environment where big-bucks and years of expereience are nothing compared to inspiration .... and I love the end-product ! My only fear is that if a tool (or set of tools) are adopted, the music may well end up going the same way as Acid - maybe it is just me - but the thought of yet another TB303 squiggle instantly sends me in the direction of the OFF button on the I-Pod..... the only real difference between the use of a TB303 and software is that the 303 would set you back around US$1000 back in the day, whereas the new-breed of software is next-to-nothing (and quite possibly thanks to p2p NOTHING) ....
Personally I cannot wait for the first 'live' dub-step band to hit the circuit - forget all the synced beatz and sub-freq bass-rumble (shareware software take a seat please) - what could be better than a freaked out bass/percussion duo/trio in serious improv-mode ...... or am I missing the whole point here, or even worst am I just imagining some lame-ass nu-jazz setup !! Maybe it is time to start cutting up some beatz - loading up a couple of sessions in LIVE and trying this out .... lets see ... but for now - as the article was meant to be about Lady SOV - go and sign up as a VIP on her site and take a peek ... me I am off to stick the kettle on ....
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