Released on 26th March on Wichita RecordingsWith a litany of killer 12”-only releases under their belts from the last couple of years for labels like Kitsune and Click Click Bang, Simian Mobile Disco aka Jas Shaw and James Ford are this summer set to release their debut album on Wichita. By way of a preview of what is to come and following in the footsteps of mighty recent tracks like ‘Hustler’ ‘Tits and Acid’ and ‘Clik’, the acid/electro/house/rock duo bring forth ‘It’s the Beat’.Not ones to be shy of their influences, ‘It’s the Beat’ brings Technotronic’s classic hip house effort ‘Pump Up The Jam’ right into the dark pit of Fabric’s main room where the pair began a residency this year. Their rude approach to electronica has developed a huge following for both their tunes and their DJ sets, in which they hone their new productions before unleashing them on the world at large. James and Jas’ backgrounds in bands as well as James’ noted abilities behind the desks for bands like Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys and Test Icicles, bring an entirely original approach to the structure of their own music. Eschewing the build-drop-build mechanics that threatened to drag house music down a cul-de-sac at the turn of the millennium, you’re just as likely to hear an SMD track go acid-mental with only 10% of the vinyl left to be played, and its this ability to rinse crowd pleasing moments in a subtler, more unexpected fashion than most that accounts for the furore surrounding their forthcoming debut album. In a year when there is going to be a host of exciting dance records from both sides of the channel, a renaissance may well take place on the country’s dancefloors this year and if it fits over his hair, James Ford and Jas Shaw are odds on to take the crown. The new Chemical Brothers for the Klaxons generation? Believe it.
Simian Mobile Disco