Cinder Hill by Son of Sam
Review
By Steve Rider
It’s mad how some stuff comes to your attention. An advert
for Cinder Hill popped up on my Instagram. As it mentioned they were a live Hip
Hop band, I knew I wanted to hear this. So, I took a chance and contacted them
to ask if they would like me to review the album. Not only did I get a yes but,
I got a download link for both the album and Press release. As I read through
the press release and saw the big names who provided vocals, I was highly
anticipating listening to the album.
But, before I get into album let me give you some of the
background to Son of Sam, as provided within the press release.
Originally
formed in around 2003, Son of Sam’s playing of original hip-hop samples, taking
inspiration from the goldmine left by David
Axelrod, Galt MacDermot, The Meters and James Brown, lead to them supporting rap royalty such
as KRS-One and Raekwon.
The
rhythm section consists of John and
Joe Sam who have criss-crossed through various bands (including Leroy Hutson & Incognito), but are now at the
forefront of a unit taking hip-hop from staircase to stage. Richard Halligan brings keys and
sax, while Tom Caruana handles production.
“We
wrote our own stuff but never recorded it properly or had any vocalists
involved. In 2011 we booked into a shed and recorded over 30 beats in one day:
drums, bass, keys and guitar. Then we called on various musicians to help us
give it depth beyond the rhythm tracks, including harps, strings & brass.”
Sending
the beats out in stages to rhymers who Caruana states “had to have some common
ground, linking from one MC to another”, means ‘Cinder Hill’ is a triumph of
networking and hip-hop knowledge.
So, there you have a bit of the
background to Son of Sam.
Now let me take you track by track
through the album and then give you my overall thoughts:
The Intro kicks us off with John Robinson and the Band giving just a
small appetiser of what is to come.
Continuation
hits you with a nice drum heavy track which has you thinking, yeah I’m feelin’
this. J-Live provides some hardcore lyrics and as you groove to this, be
careful as you might find yourself nodding you head to this one. A great track
to really kick the album off.
Sadat X and El Da Sensei join Son of
Sam for Across the Bridge. This is a
nice laid back funky joint. The type of track that just makes you wanna move
and the added lyrical dopeness by two top Emcee’s is the cherry on top.
More funky grooves for your listening
pleasure come from Tree’s for the Jungle.
This track has the band joined by The Black Opera and together they keep you
moovin’ just like you were to the last track with some mellow flute, strings
and female backing vocals.
Malt
Liquor now switches the style to a more edgy
funk. Lyrical duties here fall to Guilty Simpson and Fat Ray, who bring us a
hard rap style which works well with track. Who doesn’t like a track dedicated
to an alcoholic beverage?
Next up is Put it on Ya. Now this track is huge. A dope funky ass beat with
Soundsci busting the lyrics with style. But, that ain’t all because this track
also has the awesome talents of Mr Thing on the cuts. The track ends on a funky
guitar solo which puts you in mind of the Purple one at the height of his
purpleness. This could even rate as my track of the album.
The more simplistic vibe of Fighting Talk is next to float into
your awareness. Featuring Lifford and Blaise B, this track just begs you to
kick back and chill, nuff said...
Flying
Fist moves us up a few gears as the band
bring us a track with a vibe that would not be out of place in a Dirty Harry
movie or shaft. Prince Po joins the band here for swift track that leaves you
wanting more.
Down a gear for Deep Breath where Son of Sam and Jamall Bufford hook up for nice
track, that has a ‘South of the Mexican border’ feel.
Time for something a little harder! Dumbtron
joins the band for Moose Python, a
hard electric guitar heavy track, which still retains a funky feel.
Now is time to kick back for some Coastin’. John Robinson handles the
vocals over a nice chilled out beat.
Soothsayers
see’s The Black Opera back with Son of Sam. Here we taken on some freaky trip
with funky beat mixed with harp and other strings. It’s not what comes to mind
when you think of Hip Hop but, damn, it just seems to work. But, I am not sure
if everyone will vibe with the instrumental outro to the song.
While you are debating that, Denmark
Vessey joins SOS for System Animal.
Another jazz vibe which takes you on something of a dreamscape trip? You be the
judge...
While you figuring that one out, Quelle
Chris joins the band and takes on to The
Life and Death of Phenomenal Don. A mellow joint on a jazzy tip that flows
along as Quelle takes us on a well crafted tale.
More strings, this time of the violin
ease us into the organ music of Come a
Long Way. Now you might be wondering about the violins and church organ
sound but, Masta Ace and Largo Pro have been brought in to lay down some dope
story tellin’ that just fits with the vibe of the track.
Damn, the pied piper is up next, making
us get up and Forward March. It is
not just the piper who, shadowed by some dope beats, keeps us hanging But, It’s
also the vocal story telling of Oxygen and 7even Thirty.
The album is rounded off by That’s
Facts and here Son of Sam brings in a whole posse to take us out with funky Hip
Hop fusion. So just who is this dope posse, well we get Edo G, John Robinson,
Prince Po, Soundsci, Reks, yU and Denmark Vessey. No better way to round of an
album with a posse cut.
So, we have come through 17 tracks on a
hip hop vibe that, in my view, we do not get enough of. While it is true that
Hip Hop began with just a DJ, two turntables, an Emcee and a Mic, there have
been plenty of groups over the years that have used live instruments. I do like
that different vibe that it brings and I do feel it has its only place in Hip
Hop.
What it like with Cinder Hill is that
SOS has produced some great Hip Hop that vibes to different influences? You can
here Jazz, Funk, rock and even the type of Movie music Lalo Schifrin was
producing in the late 60’s early 70’s. To compliment these soundscapes, a top
line up has been drafted to bring that extra dimension to each track. What
works so well here is that each vocal style works so well with the vibe of the
track, even when sounds are not always what you normally feel are Hip Hop. But,
SOS has crafted everything so well here and produced an album that ebbs and
flows at just the right pace to keep you focused.
My only wish is that, in the future, we
get to see SOS working with the cream of the UK Hip Hop scene. I would have
loved to have seen the likes of Blade, MC Mello, Katch 22 on this album or even
other UK artists like Remark, Jman, Shire Roots, The Four Owls or Philli and
Dotz? Or perhaps SOS could collaborate with B-Line recordings? Now that is
something I would like to see.
This album is a refreshing change of
vision. SOS have laid a new foundation for the Hip Hop community and, for me,
it is a clean slate asking for names. SOS has the originality and the
refreshing vibe of the live instrumentation. All they need now is those willing
to bring the vocal dexterity.
This is a strong first album and I can
only see these guys going from strength to strength in the future and I look
forward to see more from them both on vinyl and on stage. This is definitely
one for the collection.
Huge thanks to Tom Caruana for hitting
me up with this promo.
Cinder Hill by Son of Sam is released
the 29th September on Tea Sea Records.
Format: 2x 12” vinyl, CD & Digital
Steve Rider – Infinite Sounds UK
Check out the links below to order the Album and find out more on Son of Sam:
