White on Black Vol. 1

When London quartet Sons of Kemet released their debut album 'Burn' last year (out now on Naim Label), no one could have predicted the impact that it made. The band won a MOBO, featured on many 'Albums of the Year' and 'Best Of' lists from iTunes to the Quietus and gained a reputation for incendiary live shows. Unsurprisingly, remixes started to appear, but two in particular caught the eagle eyes of their record label Naim Audio. Rather than consign these masterful reinterpretations to the digital domain, Naim Audio Label decided to go one step better and release the tracks on vinyl. 
 

'Going Home' was the Sons of Kemet track in question and to sidestep conformity even more, it was decided to release the remixes on a 45rpm 12” inch single, with a remix on a side each, and not to include the original (this was a difficult decision of course, being very fond of the original too). And so White on Black was born: a series of 45rpm 12” singles on heavyweight black wax, all of which will be limited and numbered to 300 copies. In the true spirit of the white label culture that inspired the series, 'Going Home' will be the first of these special releases.

The video to accompany the Bludd Relations remix was released on Wondering Sound last month. The renowned music blog commended the collaboration, commenting, "two formidable musical forces at work in the vibrant, steadily-percolating remix of 'Going Home'". Read the full article here.

Side A - Blludd Relations is a collaboration between producer Bullion (best known for his work on Young Turks and his very own DEEK label) and Jesse Hackett (multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with Brownswood’s Owiny Sigoma Band/Elmore Judd and one half of Pipe Down! a bi-weekly show on NTS Radio). Together they make daring, alternative pop of the highest order and this tune, using 'Going Home' as a foundation, but building with more electronic architectural daring (and ringing telephones), is no exception.

Side B - Hello Skinny is acclaimed producer/composer alter-ego of Tom Skinner (who is one of two drummers that can be found in Sons Of Kemet), and here boldly employs his signature use of hypnotic rhythm alongside cuts of dexterous horn from the original 'Going Home' to create a progressive concoction of world music and 2-step!

Expect equally brilliant collaborative experimental and electronic gems that need to be championed (but a digital release just won’t cut it) from White On Black in the future.  

White On Black Vol. 1 is out digitally and on ltd numbered 180g 12” 45rpm single from 24th November 2014 on Naim Audio Label.

Pre-order ‘White On Black Vol.1’ 12” Single here.