Three bands played to the crowd on the night; Field Studies, Rap-Torial and Thee Dead Philharmonic though I later learnt on arrival that there was supposed to be a fourth band on the bill Hey Sholay but they had dropped out and also that the third member of Rap-Torial was absent making them a duo for the night. Ambient Alt-rock band Field Studies made an impression and even I admit I saw a lot of potential in these four.
M.C & DJ duo Rap-Torial could easily be described as a match for Eminem and Professor Green. In terms of their music they take both the Hip-Hop/Rap genres to their true roots and not go down the typical manufactured route. With the penultimate song I was impressed with their sampled a track by 60’s soul singer Ray Charles before completely re-inventing it into something new with Jacob ‘Jaws’ Willshaw’s fast-paced lyrics. Straight up I admit that any M.C/Rapper that can either sing or rap from the heart whilst displaying a mixture of emotion and angst gets my full respect. Eventually Thee Deadtime Philharmonic made their entrance and pulled in quite a crowd. Now Philharmonic have grabbed much attention and after the first two tracks I could see why. This band has got something and they even got the attention of the BBC Introducing flat form on the night, so they must be doing something right. Singing about anything ranging from the class system, political justice/injustice and innocent murder victims and alike, these guys have definitely got something to say.