Well, after months of waiting, a copy of Biochemical Dread's "False Kings of the Earth/Indiana Cuba 7" 12 inch arrived on my doorstep this week. "Who the fuck's that?" you ask. Richard H. Kirk, of course! I'm feeling a bit lazy tonight, so I'll just let the press release explain the rest. I'm very familiar with these tracks already, as they featured on last year's "Bush Doctrine" album, but hearing them again beautifully mastered on virgin vinyl really blew my head off.
As Pulsoid are a small label with their heart in the right place, I'm not gonna post up any of my own MP3's from this release. However, I am going to act as a portal to the places where you can legally hear some BCD stuff.
MP3: False Kings Of The Earth (clip)
One of the grooviest tracks that Kirk's done for a while now. Propelled by an irresistibly funky guitar lick, overlaid with snatches of shortwave interference, digi-dub sonorities, subliminal 'found' sound/speech...it's a classic Kirk recipe; an anthem for haunted dancehalls and death discos the world over.
MP3: Indiana Cuba 7 (clip)
A more uptempo piece that sounds like Kirk's been indulging in a spot of self-kleptomania (why not? - he's done it before). I'm sure I can detect a loop from the Cabs' classic "Taxi Music" here. This track has a similarly claustrophobic, relentless intensity, only slightly alleviated by some catchy synth riffs and a solid 4/4 kick drum undertow.
The "Bush Doctrine" CD came out virtually at the start of the Iraq invasion, and as such it's dense, violent, anti-Bush administration theme was as perfectly in tune with the times as the Cabs' "Red Mecca" was to the Brixton Riots in '81. Kirk's as relevant now as ever, it's just a shame that he's reduced to releasing his work on small labels when he should be getting the high-profile exposure he deserves. Here's a couple of track from the album:
MP3: Zanderix Part 1.
This is the opening track, a real killer onslaught of polyrhythmic intensity that utilises the same riddim as "Indiana Cuba 7" but with added mashed-up filter and glitch fx. Severe!
MP3: The Capitol Of Abyssinia
Check that post-Dancehall groove...this one features the sort of ethnic chanting samples that Kirk's been exploring for ages now. I was picking up a similar feel from some of those tracks on "Rephlex Grime Vol.1."
There's yet another fresh wave of R.H. Kirk-related releases just around the corner. Any suspicions you might have that Gutterbreakz is really just a Kirk tribute site in disguise will almost certainly be confirmed in the next few weeks....
MP3 sources: D-Pulse America, Cocosolidciti
