MySpace Trawl - Razmataz Lorry Excitement
Then buzz it up
August 29th, 2008 at 16:00 by Matthew Laidlow
It’s ace having quality bands and solo artists on your doorstep. Before they break through onto the national scene, you’re guaranteed to catch them playing a gig in and around various cities close to you.
In a slightly personalised trawl this week, it’s time to expose you in to one such artist who has a strong reputation in the live Newcastle/Sunderland music scene.
Already tagged as a UK equivalent to LCD Soundsystem, Razmataz Lorry Excitement aka Kevin Dosdale serves up electro with soul that carries punk elements and doesn’t have an electronic boys and girls sound. Another plus point is the use of back-to-basics hardware in live performances and the creation of actual tracks. In an age where bedroom producers rely on software, it is refreshing to see someone actually work like a loon behind stacks of samplers and other music-making toys that’ll boggle your mind.
Don’t get us wrong, we like electronic music and when it’s done live, it can be improvised more easily than anything a guitar band can muster up. But seeing someone hunched up over a laptop? Hmm, that’s less impressive, especially when you question how ‘live’ it actually is. On the Razmataz Lorry Excitement MySpace page there are video performances of a typical set that will force even the most timid gig-goer to don their disco dancing clogs and join in the party.
Hot damn, there’s even vocals by the man himself, which cuts out another age-old problem of electronic performers sampling vocals they’ve used in the studio or borrowed from elsewhere.
We like Razmataz Lorry Excitement and so do the higher powers at The Guardian who loved his performance at the recent Leeds Festival so much that they dedicated a whole paragraph to him. Read their kind words on his MySpace page whilst you listen along to some songs.
Amongst the studio works, other tracks up for listening include remix and bootleg work. All equally impressive, but it’s more the original recordings that we look at first. Make It Break It – an exclusive track for North-East music Bible NARC magazine combines straightforward but effect-heavy vocals over synths and pulsating beats. This track isn’t breaking creative boundaries. However, if we wanted that, we’d turn to an artist who hates modern technology and basic songwriting methods.
There’s remix action going for Ever Since The Lake Caught Fire – another ace band you should really seek out - and there’s some smashtastic bootleg action! Some people may think Foals and Bloc Party may be a bit of a mess when spliced together, due to them being very similar in sound. But enough work and tinkering has been done to make a danceable song which should surely get the nod from both bands.
With Radio 1, The Guardian, local press and - to a lesser extent - hecklerspray singing his praises, we hope that Razmataz Lorry Excitement will either get his name out on a support tour or get support from radio stations at a sociable hour – not 4am grave shifts.
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