By its very nature its unsurprising that most instrumental beat-driven music seems to be kicking its heels, waiting for an MC to jump aboard the track to bring it to life. Shying away from ‘smart’ breaks and crate dust covered samples this debut concentrates instead on song structures and melodies.
The precision and specificity of the production here rivals many more accomplished artists using similar elements. This is a showcase for a producer spreading his wings and staking his claim for Scottish hip-hop.
Midway between the grime and lights of Scotland’s twin capitals sits the decidedly uncool town of Wishaw. Mark Scanlon’s (the brain behind Kobra Audio Labs) hometown may about to receive its first lifeblood transfusion though. Initial perceptions may be that rural Wishaw does not sit well with a soundtrack of cut up samples and kinetic beats. But there is a sometimes hopeful and sometimes weary home-grown heart here that means this doesn’t sound like it’s imported from, or suited for, some urban streetscape.
Each of the eight songs refuse to take a definitive or easily mapped route as each song bucks and rights itself away from rolling down well worn paths. This is no simulacrum of other artists synonymous with the genre. Taking the slower course, "El Cordobés" begins the album slowly, relying on a delicately swaggering atmosphere and converging elements which build layer upon layer. Twinges of sitar form a warm night sky undercurrent for the combination of an almost oriental melody and intrusive snipped harmonica.
The midnight drive of "Down to the Dozens" shows he’s equally as practiced at marshalling the funk as he is at managing melodies. An incongruent riff built from the plinking of some electronic box rides tight jazzy beats without a seatbelt. A perfectly well placed Heathers sample punctuates the song that’s peppered with surging horn parts, chopped strings and a loop built from dabs of wah wah.
There are so great little moments scattered within these songs which improve the sense that these are the ideas are deliberate and not scattered lucky accidents. Its an impressive introduction that moves from the Mysteron whine and ball bearing beat of "Specterville" to the sunken woozy unsettling air of "We Have the Strength but we Don't Have the Will" with its water soaked clock sound. Hopefully Scanlon will keep to this crooked path and avoid any trips to the big city lights.
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