neither a new album, nor a mixtape but somewhere inbetween.
this 22 track self released artifact is a mixed bag of remixes of tracks off akiras major label funded debut, when we were young, acoustic revisits of said major label nightmares, some new bangers, and a couple of special laywer baiting bonus levels that will make you jump with joy, or writhe in agony.
ever since the whole i’m on a major label, oh, now i’m not episode (and if i am right, i think the actual phone message that declared him dropped, has been added to the mix before the gorgeous can’t go to sleep), akira has held back on his flow of mixtapes that were often dropped on his site.
instead, prior to the arrivial of the official second album, adam releases proper fully packaged cds like thieving, with made to measure artwork, and lets his fans throw him a fiver for the love-n-rent and priviledge of hearing his latest adventures, and to be honest, i think this freedom is perfect for his creative urges.
prior to thieving was the mashup/electro/dancefloor madness of stunners 130 that adam made with his hipster party monster wade crescent, whereas for this one, its all about taking it back to his hip hop roots, with a huge slab of pop-n-song thrown in for good measure.
alongside a couple of home made gangsta/chopped and screwed styled productions, the real fun is when adam takes a forgotten classic and goes all freestyle crazy over the top.
of course, most people will know of his nirvana and elastica rips (both of which appear here to complete the jigsaw), but alongside these crowd pleasers are new unexpected pleasures.
to really get the smiles going, he’s grabbed an old warren zevvon classic, werewolves of london, and just dropped the almightiest of slabs of brilliance over the top for werewolves, using the piano party loops as a foundation, the celeb/gigolo scene gets a nudge before descending into a seedy but catchy chorus involving the realities of living in rented accomodation. its hook filled and if not for the massive sample making its official release impossible, a massive radio hit. as would the brilliant xtc heavy giro that tells the story of all how many ex rock stars end up in the line for their giro, or working at woolies, all to the loops of making plans for nigel.
spread over 70+ minutes are many tales of personal issues, some funny, many heartfelt, with references to the troubles of daily life, all matched against the struggles of a man in need to tell the world stories via his chosen art, and in that sense, thieiving is by far one of the most enjoyable hip hop based albums i have heard in a long time.
a fiver well spent suckas.
more detail : here