Civilization
By
Sophisticated Apes
Civilization
is the debut album from Sophisticated Apes. The group is Tamworth based Emcee
Tom Stiles and Oxford based producer Liam Byrne (also formerly of Tamworth).
Alongside a mutual interest in Hip-Hop the guys became active on the scene in
the late 90’s and once formed part of the underground Hip-Hop group Gnostix.
Following on from this Tom continued to hone his lyrical
skills with the group Unfriendly Neighbours, alongside rapper Joey G-zus,
singer Carl Knight and producer Second Suzpect, their first official project
was released through Roots Manuva’s Banana Klan umbrella.
Liam continued with his production and released the “Born for
This" E.P with Rivem & Bash. Alongside other work an instrumental song
would be picked up by Channel 4 and his work with Reggiimental and Matt Henshaw
would see a track featured in NME Magazine. More recently he’s been working
closely with Oxford rapper AiKZ.
The pair have devoted a lot of time to getting Sophisticated
Apes off the ground and this debut album is the fruits of their labour. It
features a host of guest artists that include friends and fellow artists Reggiimental,
Joey G-zus, Aikz, Carl Knight, Teresa Meads, UK heavyweight Wordsmiff Flip and
DJ JabbaThaKut who provides all the cutting and scratching.
With all that in mind it’s time for me take you through this
one and give you my thoughts. So, let’s go…
The sounds of kids playing in the park allows us to drift into
a laid-back beat with some chilled piano gives us this reflective feel which is
the perfect canvas as we are taken back to the 80’s where memories abound of
the music we loved and the crazy stuff we got up to when life was more simple
and some of loved that Cream Soda. From fond memories of the past to more
recent memories of what it takes to build a lasting vision, a Legacy.
The beat is proper head nod style with some electronic synth notes to get ya
buzzin’. We move into the album’s title track with a laid-back beat under
layers of guitar vibes. A deep dark look at what we call Civilization
and whether this is really a civilized culture or one this is just savage with
a plethora of technological gizmo’s aimed at keeping us in line? Some calming
piano notes bring us back to reality, even the beat helps to clear your head.
Here it is all about how you live your life and treat those around you. Think
deeply, always stand tall and conduct yourself with Integrity.
As we move through our lives, we often encounter someone who Always
Knows Best. You know those people who tell you what you should do or should
have done, when all that you really need is a bit of friendly advice for you to
take on and make your own decisions. There is a great reggae vibe to this one
of keys, bass and drums. It also mixes in some more modern vibes toward the end
and features singer Carl Knight on the chorus. A thumping beat with Organ notes
and horns takes us into a look at all those fakes out there who constantly talk
about who they are, what they got and how guns they’ve shot. We don’t wanna
know all you’ve Fabricated just to look good or hard, we just wanna see
who you really are, your authentic self will bring you much more respect and
longevity. A haunting vocal grabs our attention before breaking into a straight
up pounding boom bap beat but, that haunting vocal drifts throughout and pulls
at your nerves on the chorus. Wordsmiff Flip, AiKZ and JabbaThaKut join us here and might
seem that this one is just about the ups and downs life, leaving nothing but Woe.
However, listen a bit deeper and it’s more about elevating yourself, pushing
forward and leaving the heartache and woe behind.
Violin and piano notes over a pounding beat, with some
haunting vocals from Theresa Meads, create an emotive vibe. This is a deep look
into the experiences of children in a broken home and the story behind it.
Broken homes are all to common these days and here we see the mother is left to
pick up the pieces after a father breaks the Happy Home. For a short
while we are about to get lost in some jazzy piano over a head nob beat that
mixes to produce a backdrop to memories or a dream of what can happen over Seven
heavy days and seven heavy nights. A more modern trap vibe is the basis for the
next track. The mixed in woodwind and percussion notes give this one a slightly
eerie edge as we take a look at the divide between the Haves and Have-Nots.
Up next, we have a head nod beat overlaid with some emotive
piano. AiKZ and Reggiimental feature here too where we take a deep look at the
hidden struggles that so many go through and some of what triggers and
compounds that pain, such as the fear-based media, and that makes many Cry
on the inside. YGA features Joey G-zus and JabbaThaKut and hits almost
on a battle rap style vibe. Piano and strings over a heavy beat give this a
gritty edge that sees both emcees showing how they have come up and are now
here to stay while the rest, well, You Gone Away. Time to calm things down a
bit with a mariachi style guitar over a more laid-back beat and some slick cuts
from JabbaThaKut. This one looks at those you love in life, from that special
someone to you children, the ones you will always Say A Prayer for.
Miss Guided comes with a soulful feel but, still has
that nice boom bap beat to it. This is a look at someone desperate to find love
hooking up with the wrong people and being used, a sad situation all to common
with many being taken advantage of. More of than modern trap vibe, mixed with
percussion and strings forms the backdrop for the penultimate track, a stark
look at life and the general state of society. We all do the best we can to
enjoy our time by not letting things get us down and surrounding ourselves with
love but, eventually all things come to end and when it does just don’t forget
the Flowers. A heartbeat brings your focus to the final track, the beat
is sparce, laced with guitar and organ notes alongside a final appearance from
Carl Knight. This is an emotive piece looking at what it feels like when you
are a parent bringing a child into the world. All the thoughts that come to you
on what you will do together as they grow, the love you will share. There are
few better feelings, as a parent, than tucking your kids in bed, reading, or
singing to then and watching them Sleep Tight.
Civilization is a cracking debut from the Sophisticated Apes.
You could liken it to riding on of those water rapids rides at theme parks.
There is just right balance of thrills and chills to keep you buzzing to the
end. I felt drawn to using this water analogy because of the connection of
water to emotions and this album has some really focused emotive moments that
touch you on deep levels (one especially was hard even for me) and to be able
to put that level of emotive feeling into something is the mark of excellent
writing and production.
Liam’s production is tight throughout. He creates the perfect
audible landscape for us mixed with a wealth of well-chosen movie soundbites
that give extra depth to those tracks on which they feature. As we traverse
these audible visons that have been created for our pleasure, it’s all brought
to life by the solid vocals of Tom and the guest artists. Tom’s ability at
mixing up flows and styles, plus the depth of his wordplay, shows what years of
experience and dedication to your artform brings, in fact this the same for
both guys and is a credit as to how well they work together.
The guest artists are all on top of their game here and are
wisely used to enhance and bring depth of knowledge and experience to their
feature tracks. It is always good to see those more well know names, such as
JabbaThaKut and Wordsmiff Flip, alongside those you might be less familiar with
and shows the wealth of talent out there and new names you might want to check
out.
There truly is something for all here, whilst it is
predominantly a boom bap style Hip-Hop album at heart the use of a few of the
more modern vibes along the way (like them or not) gives this a wider audience
that may well enable some to experience different genres for the first time
opening them up to new avenues of musical expression. There is a great balance
of themes here too with some socially conscious and highly personal emotive
vibes to the straight up just for fun wordplay type vibes, Plus, you can really
feel the depth of work, energy and heart that has gone onto producing this
album.
This definitely one that I suggest you check out for yourself as it is well worth a listen and even adding to your collection as there are physical copies coming too.
Civilization by Sophisticated Apes is released through Refined Records and due to be released early in August.
Huge Thanks to Tom for sending this over.
Time for me to be out,
Peace.
Steve.
LINKS
Keep your eyes peeled for the album links coming soon. Until then check the links below and be sure to check your fav streaming sites too:
Sophisticated Apes on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/SophisticatedApes
Sophisticated Apes on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sophisticatedapes/
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