Vinyl and Digital Reviews: Lucy, Agaric, and Round Table Knights

Originally submitted for Clash magazine, these are the unedited originals.

Lucy - Wordplay for Working Bees (Stroboscopic Artefacts)
… riding intellectual thunderstorms and dampened reverb

4 out of 5

After wordplay with the track titles, a Diogenes quote reveals itself: ‘The art of being a slave is to rule one’s master’, and if slaves made IDM techno and found sound, it would have this flavour. The dark, moody atmospherics are etched with spoken word, drones, and clicky, clappy spasms of rhythm; genre-wise, you can call it dub-techno, IDM, experimental, electronica, but the LP is intended to work as a whole unit. Notables include ‘Bein’, great for fans of Sandwell District’s ‘Hunting Lodge’, and the Deep Chord-esque ‘Lav’, like hearing jittery electro through a drywall. This is thinking cap rather than dancing shoes music.

Three similar artists: Deep Chord, Inigo Kennedy, Isodyne

Release Date: 4th March 2011


Agaric - Who Made Up The Rules (Ovum Recordings)
…put simply, really enjoyable

4 out of 5

Kicking off in good fashion with abrasive deep techno reminiscent of Truss’ ‘Obstaten’, ‘Star Core’ clears a path for ‘Who Made Up the Rules’, a bouncy and weirded-out track that actually compelled me to get up and dance. It just gets better, dancing with Chicago, Detroit, Swedish, Berlin and UK techno styles with increasing sub-bass intensity and highlights like ‘Métro’, akin to a muted samba being trodden underfoot by LFO snares and a killer bassline, and ’No Way I Know I Feel’ exploiting addictive gravelly vocals. I was even excited by the ‘secret’ track - a mighty drone of sound - like music for dying superheros.

Three similar artists: Truss, Patrik Skoog, LFO

Release Date: 7th March 2011



Round Table Knights - Say What?! (Made to Play)
… taking sub-genres of house full circle

3 out of 5

The Round Table Knights take an un-medieval journey through varying angles of deep, minimal, and discofied house for Jesse Rose’s label, cutting with hip-hop and interlacing with leftfield piano, horn flirtations and jazz skits & scats, for a warming sound. Similar to the upbeat fare of DJs like Mr Scruff; it mixes up handbag house with Detroit stabs on ’Old Fashioned’ and contrasts with ‘Say What ft Ogris Debris’, a funky electro piece with a male Grace Jones, and high points like ‘Paparussi’s space-disco. Sometimes it gets cheesy, but catchy, like the bizarre ‘Cut To The Top’, sounding like the Butthole Surfers doing Riva Starr.

Three similar artists: Moodyman, Mr Scruff, Samim.

Release Date. February 28th 2011

Mungo's Hi Fi: New and upcoming releases

Mungo's Hi Fi dub and dancehall sound system is based in Glasgow and tours worldwide, still finding time to run the successful Scotch Bonnet label. Currently sending good vibrations through the dub community is latest release Henry and Louis ft. Pacey - Everyman different (Mungo's Hi Fi Remix) / Mungo's Hi Fi - Everyman dub, a 180g 12” vinyl.

Taken from Henry and Louis’ Time will Tell album on 2Kings (which came about when they bumped into UB40 in Jamaica and subsequently recorded in their Oracabessa studio), the Mungo’s Hi Fi remix of ‘Everyman Different ft Rasta Pacey’ is an interesting take on the original and reworks the Errol Dunkley track of the same name.

Henry and Louis, along with Blue and Red aka Rob Smith were on production duties, meaning the original creators kept a hand in the overall sound. It’s a very melodious dub with touches of digital dub and a nice range in Pacey’s vocals. A mixture of flowing reggae musing on the differences of men and how they approach the world, with enough hooks in the rhythm to inspire dancers to pick up their heels. My speakers can’t do it justice - there’s a rumbling bassline just waiting to be unleashed on a big rig.

On the b-side Mungo’s Hi Fi have created an even bassier monster with a wobbling and throbbing sub-bass growl for the ‘Everyman Dub’, and filters of rough grainy sounds. The deep dub stabs poignantly echo, and the track becomes a conversation between Pacey and the throbbing bass arguing its case.

Later this month, they release Play Music Selector, a Scottish remix of Israeli dubstep producer Kalbata, and his track Sugar Plum Plum (Soul Jazz), featuring 80s dancehall legends Little John and Jah Thomas. More remixes from RSD (Rob Smith) and further vocals from My Lord Sound feature! It will also feature vocals from Sugar Minott (who sadly died last year) and Lady Ann who are longstanding legends in the dancehall and reggae scene. With original recordings in Jamaica for the full dub effect, the release is a mixed bag of cultures, sounds, and generations.

You can purchase current and future releases from the Scotch Bonnet online shop, here.