Reviews

Speech Development Records at Thekla Bristol gig review

Posted on: 2014-11-05

There is no better feeling than going to a gig and feeling inspired, as though you have learned something or had a deep set belief reinforced by the thoughtfully poetic lyrics of another.

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The brains behind Speech Development, Scroobius Pip, kicked off the night with one of his trademark spoken word performances. This was far from his only appearance, as he conducted a DJ set, appeared in warrenpeace’s FRNKLYSTVN and teamed up with B Dolan in a fair few of his ‘encore’ tracks later in the night. Originally a spoken work poet, Pip has also developed a unique rap style that gets the positive message of his songs across better than most. His clear pronunciation is a nod to the art of performance poetry, and often touches on some of the more intelligent aspects of rap. Instead of generic lyrics about women and drugs, this guy raps about humanity; and instead of the wishy-washy political generalisations that mean very little when the heart of the matter is exposed, Scroobius Pip constantly injects an intelligent sense of revolution, responsibility and solution into his lyrics.

warrenpeace were next up (and yes, the lowercase ‘w’ is important), playing a selection of their most popular songs to a seemingly doting crowd. Songs like 001, Hungry Truths and Indoor Voice were performed exceptionally well, with keyboard drums, live vocals and guitar, and pre-recorded beats all combining to create an awesome depth of sound. I am yet to find a band quite like warrenpeace, the duo seem to take inspiration from dance and house, and bring in elements of heavier genres, screaming and riffing alongside catchy basslines and remix scratches. The resultant noise is one that anybody could dance to. It seemed to me that their set was spot on.

Scroobius Pip then reappeared (complete with rubber alien mask) for his promised DJ set while the bands swapped around. This adds an interesting dynamic and one that I would like to see more of. Between bands the venue will usually blast some roughly tailored tracks in the audience’s direction, which is all well and good, but to see someone DJ-ing up front is a heck of a lot more personal. There was a healthy dose of hip-hop, a cleverly blended Grimes track and a dancehall version of Fast Car to keep the audience hyped between sets, and it seemed the B Dolan hype didn’t need any encouragement...

One thing that was not clear about this performance is that it was the first time B Dolan had ever played with a live band like this, and a few songs faced their live debut also. I always admire live rap as it takes some serious presence of mind to keep your head clear enough for the barrage of wits that have to somehow find their way out in the right order. And this was no exception. Most of the popular tracks were played, a few, of course, featuring our very own Scroobius Pip. As I said before, the content of the songs held with it a great, and often underplayed, importance. One of my main bugbears with the rap and hip-hop worlds is the disproportionate amount of misogynistic, self-aggrandising, pseudo-political genericness that inevitably shoehorns its way in. Granted, if a song has a good beat, people will listen, but with the acts tonight you felt that people should really LISTEN, in the full sense of the word. With songs about the perils of extreme strains of religions, how ‘friends don’t let friends join the army’ and a spoken word interjection from B Dolan himself, the set was enlightening, entertaining and a lot of fun. With most of the songs being laced with wit and satire, and some having rather catchy call-and-response type choruses, the audience laughed, shouted and danced their way through the performance with seemingly boundless energy.

After the show, all the artists were present at the merch stall, chatting and having photos taken with their fans. This, again, is good to see, as it encourages the audience to further connect with the artist and what they have to say, which will always remain important at gigs where they have so much TO say! Overall, the night was orchestrated with the kind of humble perfection that only seems to arise with independent labels. There is no better feeling than going to a gig and feeling inspired, as though you have learned something or had a deep set belief reinforced by the thoughtfully poetic lyrics of another. There was a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of love, and we may have almost sunk Thekla had they played another song.

5/5

Reviewed by Miri Teixeira for 365Bristol

Keep up to date with Speech Development Records on their Facebook page.

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