50 FOR 15
STR ANGE U
Scuzzed up and off-kilter hip hop
WHO THEY?
London duo King Kashmere IV (rapping) and Dr Zygote
(producing). It’s a compelling pairing, not least because Zygote
is also the hand on the tiller of Boot Records, a label crying out
for a bit of love if ever there was.
WHY STR ANGE U?
When Electronic Sound’s very own Neil Kulkarni claims he
hasn’t quite heard hip hop like it before, you know it’s time
to sit up straight and cup your ears. Unearthing something
that sounds this new isn’t an everyday occurrence. Got your
attention? Over seven tracks, their ‘EP#2040’ laid down a new
law not just for British hip hop, but for British music as a whole.
The follow-up, ‘Aliens In Suits’ (the ping-pong title track will
slay you), rode roughshod over that same law.
TELL US MORE
Strange U are inspired by, in their own words, “the spirits of
Oshun, Vishnu, Apollo, Sobek and Jim Henson”. One listen and
that’s underlined – in green pen. When the grinding, off-centre,
scuzzy B-movie funk of Zygote meets the crazy world that
Kashmere paints, the result is infectious, often bearing repeated
listens just to check you’ve heard right. Try ‘The Cake Is A Lie’
with its choice line, “By the way, I was born of a dragon’s egg /
I get my respect in the form of a clarinet”.
V UUR W ERK
D E MS
Electro-dub with extra frites
Lyrically emotional electronica
Flemish trio Vuurwerk were last spotted chucking out excellent
off-kilter electronica with a brace of EPs on Mush Records. The
sharper knives among you will twig that they’re also skewed,
mind-tripping sonic mavericks Jealov and the sharpest of all will
know the iron girders techno they make as Kwatza. Stepping
up their Vuurwerk activity last year, the group enlisted singers
and rappers on a debut album that sees a radical shift towards
a more song-based approach, the flavour of which is decidedly
Massive Attack. The first fruit from these new sessions has just
fallen from the tree in the form of the excellent ‘G.R.I.P.’ EP on
Lo Recordings.
Tinkering away and developing their own sound since 2011,
south London trio Dems (Dan Moss, David Gardener and Duncan
Mann) have produced some superbly atmospheric tracks,
their hypnotic mix of vocals, synths and percussion earning
them spots supporting the likes of Azealia Banks. The group
carefully craft all their music in their Balham studio and have
just released their debut album, ‘Muscle Memory’, on the Sew
In Love label. Work on a second LP is already underway and
they’re off on a UK tour shortly, the dates including a special
launch bash for ‘Muscle Memory’ which they say will be
“somewhere between a live show and an art exhibition, with
lots of musicians and collaborators”.