LOTEK HIFI (MINI ALBUM)

A 9 track album () — released November 17th 2003 on BIG DADA

# #
We've never liked the term 'urban' at Big Dada: it stinks of euphemism, of limits, of Yankee doodle desperation, as if the most important thing about the music is that it isn't 'Country'. What's wrong with 'Black Music'' What are we trying to hide? Take Lotek HiFi. On this eponomously-titled mini-album, they cover all kinds of styles, mash up genres with very little respect for anything except that all important quality, freshness. And that they have in abundance. How would you describe it? Reggae made by hip hop producers? UK bashment? The Specials on a weed bender? They certainly have more in common with acts like Heartless Crew and Massive Attack than they do with P Diddy. From the weed-paranoia blues of 'Inner Storm' through the 2Tone keys on 'Voodoo Boogaloo,' the off-centre brass of 'Ah You Dat,' the electro-bashy of 'Hey Yeh Yeh', the ragga-disco of 'Percolator,' the Manuva-esque skank of 'LoFi Rocka' and the warm dub beauty of 'See It Coming,' it's hard to imagine a more varied set spread over just thirty minutes. And the collision of styles and ideas is a reflection of exactly where the quartet have come from, a natural extension of their backgrounds, rather than something contrived in the back rooms of a record company. Wayne 'Lotek' Bennett is the ultimate studio nut. He left school as soon as he could and trained and began working at Rollover in London, where he quickly found himself working in sessions by everyone from Leftfield to Peter Andre. But his first love was hip hop and,he soon found himself inducted into the ranks of North London's most notorious rap collective. With them, he released tapes and records, organised parties and played his part in keeping hip hop in the UK going in the midst of a drought. He came to the attention of Roots Manuva, who asked him to contribute a couple of tracks to what would become his debut album, 'Brand New Second Hand '. The musical relationship grew and, as well as contributing two of the standouts on Manuva's follow-up, 'Run Come Save Me,' Wayne was asked to act as Musical Director for the Roots Manuva live show. It was while dealing with this that Bennett became certain he was ready to step out on his own and began piecing together the band which would become Lotek HiFi. His first recruit was Earl J. Still only 19, Jordan Bailey is the son of Jamaican dancehall legend Jack Radics. Radics, best known over here for his involvement with Chaka Demus & Pliers? hit 'Twist & Shout,' has a huge reputation in Jamaica, where he has been a major player for the best part of twenty five years. However, he lived in London in the early eighties and it was here that his son was born. Earl J certainly knows how to draw upon this legacy, rhyming with consummate ease and style at any speed and on any rhythm and adding a hip hop head's love of content to the toaster's flavour. Next came Wayne Paul, sometime black cockney football casual, raver and possessor of one of the finest reggae/street-soul singing voices this country has ever produced. Wayne Paul made a reputation for himself in the mid-nineties with his 'Take The Train' release on Sound Of Money, which was played by the likes of Trevor Nelson, Jazzie B and Willber Wilberforce and eventually ended up on the first Fat City 'Mystic Brew' compilation. Unfortunately for Paul, his personal life descended into a degree of chaos just as his professional life was about to take off. His triumphant return came on Roots Manuva's 'Revolution 5' (from 'Dub Come Save Me ') and, as a central strand of the Lotek HiFi sound, he is determined to make up for lost time? The last member to join the group was Aurelius. Possessor of one of the most remarkable voices you're likely to come across, deeper than a coal mine, Aurelius is also a proficient clarinet player (check him on 'Ah U Dat'). He also typifies something about young MCs from in and around the capital. As well as knowing his hip hop he actually made his reputation MCing live first at drum & bass events and later at uk garage nights. All of which gives him a flexibility and open outlook which should be the envy of the narrow-minded. So there you have it, a mini-album taster of what Lotek HiFi can do, thirty minutes of all killer, no filler. An album like albums used to be made, sold to the general public at a ridiculous price. And this is just a warm up 'next year's full release, 'Mixed Blessings' will make good on all the promise shown. For now it's just Lotek HiFi ''
  • Kudos happily ship all items worldwide.
  • Shipping costs and delivery times are available here.
  • UK items are sent tracked as standard at no extra cost.
  • We aim to dispatch orders placed before 2pm on the same day.
  • We are unable to ship orders on weekends or Bank Holidays.
  • If you purchase a pre-order item amongst an order of in-stock releases, we will typically hold your order until all items are in ready to send.
  • Although we use all reasonable means to ensure that your order is delivered within a specified time, we cannot accept any responsibility for late deliveries due to circumstances outside of our control. We will do our best to inform you of any unexpected delay.