fbc fabric and reindeer - it's not who you know, it's whom you know
well this is an interesting album. pitched as a hip hop album from london production guru 'fbc fabric' and his rhyme spitting partner 'reindeer', but do not expect a skinnyman type of funky radio pop hits and catchy streets-like flow. oh no, not for this 14 track, 52 minute release. instead there are huge chunks of this album where very little appears to be going on, this is a hugely atmospheric take on the genre that is hip hop. sometimes the music is abstract, rich, and beat filled, for example, recent limited edition single 'soulsuck' with the awesome line - 'if god had big tits and a fast car - we'd all buy in' combining a deep and low slung beat with wonderfully evocative instrumentation. whereas, in other places, fbc fabric creates long passages of vocal free ambience splicing studio created noises and real world sounds (eg the last section of the album which is declared as 'pout and clutch mediocrity' finalising with the sombre 'and then john peel died') invoking an unsettling paranoia type of sonic soundtrack. on the whole the album works really well, there are plenty of highlights spread throughout, especially given that this is one of the most unique sounding offshoots in uk hip hop there are no obvious old school loops on offer, it's just that the flow is somewhat disjointed and uneven and being selfish, i want more of the beat and words - i mean 'rub the calm one' is one of the best tracks and hardly breaks the 2 minute limit ! tease me why don't you !
perhaps this schizophrenic nature is intentional, maybe this fbc fabric's way force the listener to wait for the next big drum kick and melody loop while he controls and manipulates the listeners moods to create the necessary chilled atmosphere for when the beat eventually does arrive the relief is palpable. one thing is certain, the duo have crafted a fascinating album, one which brilliantly straddles the underground hip hop groove, dark post-trip hop cinematic moods, and epic post-rock demands to fine effect. subsequently, this is an album that requires plenty of time and attention to fully appreciate the depth in the production, obviously fbc fabrics time twiddling knobs and such like for leftfield paid off, but if you have the time and space in your routine, then this could easily become a serious contender to file alongside your copy of massive attacks mezzanine for when you need to have a little more of thqat chilled, dark, downtempo hip hop soundtrack funk in your life.