hot chip - down with prince
4 track ep that the nme have already picked up on released on my old faves moshi moshi .. though this is very different from any of the labels previous releases
as the name of the lead track implies this 4 piece from london are hitting the ground running by taking on the neptunes and proving that you dont need a mega corporate budget to create sounds of the future and steal from the ultimate funky brother of the past. ripping the sound of princes golden era (ie the revolution period 'girls and boys' etc) the bands producer joe goddard has recreated some spot on stripped down beats and freaky loops set against some wild sampled slap-bass funk. matched with alexis taylors layered falsetto vocals and you end up with a classic track. absolutely superb.
the other tracks on the ep dont quite match these heady heights, but they do match the purple ones dirty roots. 'the ass attack' hmm indeedy .. still all that smut aside, the sycopated clicks, weird spliced up guitar licks and thin beats again make your spine move whether you want it to or not, with alexis this time trying to prove he's done with the rap game .. not 100% convincing . but fun stuff ..
next up the guys rip into a well known advert for its chorus .. though titling the track 'sexual chocolate' adds a more seedy aspect to such a well known ad. the addition of the full on phased rock guitar solo while the synths make all their sci-fi sounds is just mad beyond belief.
final track 'a-b-c' i am sure has a neptunes meets the beta band groove going on .. you think i'm making this up. wait till you hear it .. the opening vocal loop is a direct continuation on the beta bands trademark vocals .. add in the loops and you have another classic.
so, once again moshi moshi have found a unique talent that deserves your attention. i passed this ep round the office following an open office debate on the greatness of prince, and all those who heard it said 'track 1 is ace .. the others are just weird' .. cant say fairer than that.
go discover all you sexy girls and boys ..