Hector Bizerk are taking Scottish rap to the masses, blazing a trail in the wake of Young Fathers the band have been getting recognition up above the underground scene this year, with name-checks in NME and a new management deal.
This EP, the second in a series of four, is more experimental-acoustic-spoken-word than any preconceived notion of hip-hop.
On opener ‘Pearl Pictures’, guitar and ethereal backing vocals replace the driving drums of their usual work.
When the percussion and crackly bass do kick in it brings the sound into a forceful context of electronic sounds mixed with African drumming.
Louie’s insights interrogate modern urban life and the “inner city wilderness” of Glasgow on subjects including, but not limited to: the internet, picket lines and dirty washing that’s “fuckin’ boggin’”.
There are also tongue-in-cheek lyrics mimicking the clichés of People Make Glasgow in the year of the Commonwealth Games, touching on the city’s role in colonialism and today’s UKIP racism.
Makar Liz Lochhead’s appearance is a perfect intermission from Louie’s guttural vocals.
‘Trouble is not my Middle Name’ is a poem that tears apart the buzzword that keeps youths from achieving their potential and dreaming bigger than the estate they grew up on.
It is a badge of honour to get the approval, let alone the borrowed talents of one of the most prolific and respected contemporary poets.
The “multi-art form collaboration between Hector Bizerk and Pearl Kinnear” was presented at a launch night last month, as a short film directed and produced by Ian Henderson and Andrew Mackenzie.
Not a bad gateway to the genre if you’re bored of regulation Americanised hip-hop, but want some social commentary and dark atmosphere.
Words: Ellen MacAskill
