I want to kick things off properly by talking about a new album that's had some serious play from me over the last week or so. It's DJ Format's Statement of Intent and at the risk of sounding like a cliched music journalist, what a statement it is! I must confess I'm a pretty big Format fan and when I first started really getting into hip hop properly he was one of the acts that got me hooked. I still listen to Music For The Mature B-Boy and If You Can't Join 'Em, Beat 'Em on a fairly regular basis so I was really looking forward to this album once it was announced. Music For The Mature B-Boy was about ten years ago and the follow up was only a couple years after that so it's been a long time since I've had some new Format to play.
The first thing I will say about this album is aimed towards the folks that are familiar with this dude's work, there is no Abdominal. The reason I mention this is because over the two albums mentioned earlier Abs pops up a fair bit and songs like Vicious Battle Raps, Ill Culinary Behaviour, Ugly Brothers, and 3ft Deep (also featuring D-Sisive) are straight up classics. Abdominal rhyming over a funk filled Format beat is one of the most enjoyable things in all of Hip Hop and some people out there might be disappointed that Abs isn't present on this. I'm not one of those people, I'm quite happy he's not on this album as it keeps things fresh, it might also free up some time for Abdominal and DJ Fase to put out their own follow up, and it makes it a bit more interesting as I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this album. Now that we've got that out of the way I'm going to say a few words on a couple of the tracks that have really jumped out at me so here goes...
Statement of Intent kicks things off with a guest spot from Sureshot LA Rock, I must admit before this album I'd never heard of Sureshot so we're getting that fresh stuff right off the bat. To me Sureshot has a real old school type of voice and he fits nicely over an old school beat from Format. This track has some great cuts from Format and a guitar riff that bounces along brilliantly to the standard funky drums that Format creates on a more consistent basis than anyone else out there could ever hope to. Everything about this opener is heaped in that old school vibe, from Sureshot's lyrics, shell-toes and Melle Mel get their shout, to the way Sureshot and Format seem to be playing off each other to such great effect. It harks back to the feel good party tracks that few people are making these days and serves as an excellent welcome to the album and indication of what is to come for the most part.
Spaceship Earth features Edan. That should be enough for anybody who has even a passing interest in hip hop . If you aren't familiar with Edan then you really are missing out, he is on a whole other level and if you've never listened to him please, please check him out. I really can't get across how amazing this combo is to me, before I heard this song I knew it would be a future classic and I was right, right in a big way. Again Format drops the perfect beat for his rapper and a beat that would easily play well without any rapper at all on the track, cutting in bleeps and whooshes to give it that futuristic feel. Edan is possibly flowing better than I've ever heard him and considering how into Edan I am, that's high praise indeed. I really can't put into words just how good this track actually is, if you take one thing away from this blog it should be listening to this song. I know it's only March but I can honestly say I don't think I'll hear a better song this year.
Beyond Disco is an absolute tour de force in electro brilliance. The track features The Simonsound, which is actually a duo made up of Simon James and... DJ Format! The breaks in the song are unreal and Format is at the top of his game on this one, he's clearly gotten seriously dusty when digging in those crates. I can't give it much higher praise than saying if someone played this to me and told me it was a lost Bambaataa track or really any of the great stuff from that era I'd totally believe them.
Terror featuring Mr.Lif is another one of those dream combo's for me like the Edan track mentioned above. Mr.Lif has been one of the most consistently brilliant rappers for years now. The beat Format drops on this one is a tad more aggressive than usual for him and the drums are heavier, but no less effective, than most of his songs. The use of the blood curdling screams of a woman at regular intervals on the track give a great blend between raw hip hop and 50's horror movies. I was always going to love this song because me and Twitter played a very small part in getting it made. You can all check my Twitter timeline if you don't believe me (@Mechagodzeala). Basically I was tweeting DJ Format and he was kind enough to tweet back, a couple of days earlier I'd noticed Mr.Lif compliment him on the Edan track, with this in mind I mentioned that those two should do a track together. DJ Format said it was a good idea but he was 'just happy that Lif even knew his stuff'... it was worth a try! Next morning when I woke up I had a tweet from Lif stating that was a good idea and I saw he's tweeted Format asking for details so they could set up a collaboration. Cut to a week or so later and Format announces on Twitter that Mr.Lif is going to be on the album. Now it may have just been coincidence right? Check my timeline again, I asked if I can take some credit and Format and Lif both kindly said I played a part, however insignificant. To most folks that won't be a big deal but I'll be dining off this for years, I'm pretty sure my girlfriend is bored of me telling people this story now but I don't care. In however small a way, I am saying I put together this Format & Lif track, deal with it.
Mayor Of A Ghost Town is straight up ridiculous. Four and a half minutes of instrumental brilliance, it has so many layers to it I don't know where to start. The piano on this song is both haunting and menacing, the drums sound like they're stalking an attractive woman down an Italian back street. Somewhere along the way we get a filthy, funk filled guitar lick. If I ever make a giallo film this is the song that let's you know someone is about to get hurt.
There is so much more to enjoy on this album from the classic DJ hype track featuring Sureshot 'Mr DJ', tracks like 'Horse Power' that are vintage Format guaranteed to get you on a dancefloor, and even a jazzy track like 'Notes In Quotation' featuring The Nostalgia 77 Quintet that is up there with the best stuff Format has ever done.
All in all the album feels a lot more confident and in places straight up harder than anything DJ Format has previously released. There just seems to be so much confidence and swagger in these beats and as cliched as it is to say, Format really seems to have grown as an artist. If you take your music seriously then you really need to check this album out, today! Even better, get out and see one of his shows, he won't disappoint.
I'll see you all down front for the Wrexham leg of his tour.
Peace
Mechagodzeala
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