Knifehandchop - How I Left You
Hailed as the first album ‘proper’ from Canada’s Knifehandchop, ‘How I Left You’ is more or less a honed-down version of the furiously cut-up, genre-bending live act. Knifehandchop is known for his killer live sets fusing hip hop with gabba, drum n’ bass, booty, ragga and just about any other style that you can think of.
The first track, the bizarrely titled Going Back To Scarborough kicks things off at hip hop tempo with a vocal line sampled from S.T.I.L.L. DRE – a classic from Dr Dre’s Chronic 2001 album. The KHC interpretation has an almost moving quality to it, whilst remaining true to its bouncing hip hop beginnings.
Other standout tracks include We Used To Make Love with it’s squeaky analogue rhythms, hard break beat and a deep-as-you-like bassline – the “breakdown” is pure 4:4 bang with a rephlexian melody that kicks in half way through. Girlfriend is another surefire classic – bad bass, some quick break beats, distorted vocals then a nice little piano-come-synth line – ultimately of course there is the welcome dissent into gabba and the culmination of all these elements for the grand finale!
The last track – 94 Hardcore is quintessential Knifehandchop – noisier and darker than most of the album with punishing beats and a happy hardcore bounce.
If you are looking for an album which is diverse and doesn’t take itself too seriously then you should buy this album now. Of course, you should also have a penchant for gabba and a less-brain-more-bang outlook on life. Personally, I got hooked on KHC at this year’s Dedbeat Festival and haven’t looked back.
