LEADING Scottish emcee Loki had a point during his SAY Awards performance last week when he sarcastically observed that “Scottish hip hop has now been declared a real thing by the cultural blogosphere”.
The likes of Gasp & Physiks may not be riding the same waves of success as Stanley Odd or Hector Bizerk, but they’re no less talented. Their new single Rosie is vintage hip hop in a very Scottish sense, as the two rappers exchange reflective rhymes about poisonous relationships over a jazzy boom bap beat.
You can catch Gasp & Physiks at the Audio Soup Festival in Dunbar on July 18.
Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke is used to working with better known rappers – Kanye West, Drake and Pusha T have been amongst his clients in recent years.
His latest track Resistance features hotly tipped R&B singer Jhene Aiko, and is epic in scope to say the least. HudMo, as he is now colloquially known to his international fanbase, contributes an archetypical jagged rhythm.
Though her lyrics are somewhat shallow, Aiko proves a revelation. Her passionate vocals prove to be the perfect counterpoint to her glitch terrain.
At the other end of the scale, pianist and all-round purveyor of modern classical Andrew Skeet may be one to watch in 2015. The 46-year-old has been composing, arranging and conducting music for his entire life, but Sony have now given him the opportunity to release a solo debut album of his own.
Setting Out suggests Skeet’s debut will be very much in the same vein as contemporaries Olafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm. The single is unapologetic in its emotive excesses as piano tinkles over a heart-rending strings section providing harmonies.
Outside the UK, the French new wave revival shows no signs of stopping as early pioneer Colder has returned with his first single in ten years.
The reclusive producer is aptly named; his new single Turn Your Back is icy and disorientating. Nonchalant post-punk vocals echo around a forbidding synth-led soundscape while an ominous piano phrase repeats in the background.
Singles from Air Bag One, Madeon and M83 demonstrates that 80s synth pop revivalism is still a trend on the continent, but Colder is still more Joy Division than Cyndi Lauper.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here