The kings of leftfield hip hop return after a six year absence, reuniting legendary MC’ Beans, M.Sayyid, Earl Blaize and High Priest for this album on now legendary UK hip hop label Big Dada.
Their parting to persue solo projects did leave a gap in hip hop, especially in the US, where hip hop had become mainstream, stale and predictable, the scene missed Anti-Pop Consortium, and the ease in which they pushed boundaries, and blurred the lines between the genres they toyed with. Fluorescent Black portrays this ethic to the full, shifting with ease between styles, giving us the bangers like “New Jack Exterminator†and “Apparentlyâ€, the future funk of “Volcanoâ€, the android soul of “The Solutionâ€, the weirdness of “Timpaniâ€, the psychedelic synth shapes of “C Thru U†and “Dragunovâ€. Anti-Pop Consortium are from another planet, and they bring with them a knowledge no one else has, and an instrumental approach that flows through their combined psyche, and the machines they bought back from their space travels.
It’s the sonic experimentation that gives Fluorescent Black its power and its charm. Its electronics have more in common with artists on labels such as Warp (where they have confortably released records on in the past), or Clear, but it’s the vocal style and delivery that cement it in the hip hop world, all of the MC’ seem to share the same gift, and rarely seek guest vocalists. Opting only to have Roots Manuva guest on “NY To Tokyoâ€, a slow burning, plodding dance track with playful synth lines and 808 beats and percussion, Roots Manuva’ contribution adds to the track emensely, but really, it would have been just as good without him.
The sonic experimenters are back, with their strongest album to date, and with it they bring their knowledge from a distant planet.
Wayne Stronell
