‘The Day I Went Deaf’ is the new EP release from Scottish hip-hop outfit Stanley Odd. Although some may see the term Scottish hip-hop and think it is a contradiction in terms, this is indeed something that is real and happening right on your doorstep.
Now releasing their second EP of the year, Odd have come from humble beginnings in Edinburgh’s burgeoning underground hip-hop scene and are now looking to crack the rest of the UK. As Hook described, “We’ve played Scotland extensively in the last couple of years. By next year we’ve got a full UK tour planned to take down the rest of the country.”
All the band members are either music students or lecturers from local university, Edinburgh Napier. From rapper Dave Hook aka Solareye to singer Veronika Elektronika, pianist T-LO, guitarist Scruff Lee, bassist Ad Mac and drummer Samson – they are a mighty musical combination.
Dave ‘Solareye’ Hook said of the band’s somewhat unusual name, “Stanley Odd was an aka I was using for alternative projects and then when we got to putting the band together it seemed like Stanley Odd would be quite a good character for the whole band.”
The different genres and styles that have inspired the band help create their unique blend of whimsical lyrics and musicianship which is something rarely seen in traditional hip-hop. Stanley Odd may well be the perfect character for a group who are a somewhat unlikely mix of instrumentalists, vocalist and lead emcee.
Odd are not a band that exactly abide by the rules other UK based hip-hop artists might adhere to. Their lyrics are based on social realism, and at times seem politically motivated but always entirely playful. Hook’s distinctive Scottish twang and the bands rhythmical talents seem to be a combination that works whether on stage or in the studio.
Dave Hook said of the song-writing process, “It’s very much collaborative. It’s much more like treating our live band like a plethora of samples that we can take and then mix about with so it’s probably more like a hip- hop approach to studio.”
After the third and final EP release later this year, the band looks to have a new album ready by next March or April. This is perfect timing for festival season after successful trips to Scotland’s own T in the Park (TITP) and headlining their own gig at the city’s Edge Festival earlier this year. Whether it is a smaller festival or something as big as TITP, Hook stressed the importance of both when trying to reach new audiences.
Festivals may provide a new and open fan-base, but the darker element to latest EP ‘The Day I Went Deaf’ can be attributed to their desire to move away from the sound of their first album ‘Oddio’. As Hook explained, “We’ve never really got the studio stuff to have the same impact that our live performance does so it’s great to be able to go out and play it. We do gig extensively throughout the year but you can still only reach the people that you can get around to.”
However unhappy the band seems with the sound of their first album, The Scotsman newspaper said after listening that they were ‘more relevant than Eminem.’ Surely this is high praise for a band still in their infancy compared to hip-hop’s biggest players?
It does signal some sort of change in how Scottish hip-hop is perceived, and being taken seriously is a concern for Odd, “I feel there’s a really healthy underground hip- hop scene in Scotland and there has been since the late 1980s and early 1990s but there’s never been a mainstream hip-hop act that’s actually made that breakthrough from the underground to mainstream success as of yet.”
To please their most dedicated of fans and in a bid to explore different formats Odd have handmade 250 CD copies of their new EP, which contains five tracks. Guitarist Scruff Lee describes it as being, “very much handmade – it’s literally folding the cardboard and printing the product.” In the interactive age music is easily accessible. Although the group have had radio plays on BBC Scotland’s Ally McCrae’s show, the handmade CD’s are an attempt to “do something different,” added emcee Dave Hook.
With Stanley Odd making the right impressions in Edinburgh and beyond they are starting that journey of possibly achieving the same kind of stature as fellow Scottish urban acts, Emeli Sande and Warp Record’s Hudson Mohawk.
You can catch them on their first tour date of the new year at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections Winter Festival on January 29th.
For more information about their EP and tickets to live shows check them out on their website which can be found at www.stanleyodd.com.
