Soulcondor
Slices
001 – Save The
Wax: Genesis Elijah, Mistah Bohze, Greg Blackman and DJ Moneyshot
002 – Superfunk
(Remixes): Phill Most Chill and Mr Fantastic
Single Reviews
When we are faced with life changing situations it can often
spur us to do things we have always wanted to do but, never took that step to
make it a reality. One such situation presented itself to vinyl collector and
Hip-Hop lover, Del Soulcondor in 2020. In this instance that life changing
event was a cancer diagnosis. What this did for Del was to lead him to decide
to create his own record label due to his love of Hip Hop and so Soulcondor
Slices was born.
The labels first release was a fund-raising track for Del
himself titled Save The Wax. The track was produced by Dj Moneyshot of The
Allergies, he also provides the scratches, and features the vocal tallents of
Genesis Elijah, Mistah Bohze and Greg Blackman on the soulful chorus. The track
itself is a Krush Groovin’, Body Moovin’ mix of jazzy horns, bass, guitar vibes
over a proper funky beat. This one is all about the wax, one of the foundations
of what Hip Hop music is. Reminiscing about your first experiences of music on
vinyl and what that meant and how we definitely need to Save The Wax.
There is something so special about the sound created by the vibrations of that
tiny diamond needle, it’s a whole experience that goes beyond the music.
Now when you flip this one, you’re not getting an
instrumental on the B-Side. Del reached out to Scotland’s own Jazz Spastiks,
one of the premier Hip-Hop DJ’s, beatmakers and producers out there right now.
They hit back with a remix of Save The Wax which brings their own sound
to bear on the track. The remix is a double bass heavy vibe that deeps the jazz
feel and adds a peppering of scratches which, all in, gives this a chilled-out
vibe that just stops short of allowing you to drift away too far.
The second and latest release from Soulcondor Slices is a
pair of remixes. The Superfunk Remixes see’s Del Soulcondor himself and
Brighton’s Mac McRaw remix the classic 2013 track Superfunk Inc by Phill Most
Chill which was produced and scratched by Bristol’s Mr Fantastic. The original saw
PMC and Mr Fantastic get superfunky as PMC dropped plenty of lines on what
makes him one of the most skilled rappers out there.
For this single the A-Side features Del Soulcondor
presenting his take on Superfunk which is heavy on the Drums and Double
bass. Taking nothing away from the original Del adds a new energetic dimension
to the track that will have you, unconsciously, just wanting to move. It just
kinda reaches deep down into your soul and flicks that feel good switch, making
you feel a warm and fuzzy and wanting groove to this no matter where you hear
it.
Flipping to the B-Side Mac McRaw steps up to drop a bass
heavy vibe that brings in some funky horns and bass. At first it might seem to
be sparce but, there is little doubt that this one has club banger written all
over it. In fact, to be perfectly honest, the more you listen to this the more
it becomes apparent that, like Del’s remix, you can get down to this one
anywhere.
So, here we have four amazing Hip-Hop tracks that are the
epitome of what Hip-Hop is all about. You have top notch production that
creates the kinda music that is the very heart of Hip-Hop. It has energy with
that feel good vibe you just want to listen to over and over. There are emcees
from both sides of the pond bringing the kinda bars we all wanna here, rhyming
with skill and putting that feel good music vibe into words. I could leave it
there as these tracks have something for anyone who loves that real Hip-Hop
vibe but, for me there is something else here…
Del has created a Hip-Hop label that is not just dropping great
music but, with it being built on the back of such a life changing situation,
there is a depth here that can touch you on many levels if you so choose to
allow it in. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s simple there is good music, and
there is music that can touch your soul and it does that by a perfect balance
of lyrics, musical content and the heart that is put into it by the artists,
isn’t that why we call them artist’s? I really feel that the extra dimension
here is the intention and the inspirational heart and soul for Del Soulcondor
and his desire to do something he has always wanted to do and doing that in the
face of such adversity and for me that just adds something on a deeper level
you do not always feel in music. It also demonstrates exactly why so many
underground artists do what they do… It’s not about the money, it’s about the
love of the music and that touches everyone.
I am fairly sure that these are sold out already so, I would
advise you to listen out for them on online radio or on YouTube, even the one
and only Scratch Bastid has cut up Save The Wax.
SS003 Fuck Cancer/Heavy XL and 004 Living For The Day/Raise Em' High will be released sometime in the not to
distant future so, watch out for these because with features from the likes of
Blade, Phill Most Chill, Soundsci, Chrome, Dopamine 189, Specifik, Cut Beetlez,
Dj Nappa, Respek BA, Zeeny and Mr Thing, these bound to sell like hot cakes and
from the snippets teased by Del recently they promise to be as full of energy
and emotion as the current slices.
I would also humbly ask you to follow Del on social media
and send him plenty of positive vibes. These are tough times for Del, tougher that most of us can even conceive, and the more we support him and help him
stay strong in these testing times, the closer we can bring that light at the
end of the tunnel and help him build Soulcondor Slices into a huge success, both in the now and long into the future.
I send my thanks to Del for sending these over to me and I
will continue send him positive vibes and healing thoughts. One love my friend.
Steve.
Foot Note: It is not often that I ask to review something
but, these releases from Soulcondor Slices were one of those exceptions. I have
had my own struggles these last couple of years and have also lost a number of
family and friends to cancer, including my mum who I helped nurse through those times. A few years back my father,
thankfully, overcame prostate cancer whilst I was diagnosed with Barratts oesophagus,
which can be a precursor to cancer, the same that took my mum, if not monitored
every few years. The more I followed Del’s story, the more I had this feeling deep within me that I wanted to listen to these tracks, to feel the deeper vibes and maybe to go beyond the music. So, it has been an honour to listen and to give my honest
and heart felt thoughts on these tracks, and I hope that my words have brought
out what I intended them to.
We don’t know what the future has to bring. So, let’s do one
thing and make the now spectacular…
Peace Out,
Steve
LINKS
Del Soulcondor on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/del_soulcondor/
Soulcondor Slices on Discogs:
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