Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew - Tricky Meets South Rakkas Crew

Movie rating: 3 Star

One of Bristol's most famous musicians, Tricky released his 8th studio album 'Knowle West Boy' earlier this year to critical acclaim. Now he's handed the reins and the mastertapes to production duo South Rakkas Crew, who rework the album and smear it with their own pulsating, dancefloor-filling concoctions.

With his last album 'Knowle West Boy' being hailed by many as his finest since 1995's 'Maxinquaye', it seemed like Tricky had successfully reinvented himself after a number of years spent lurking in the shadows. Now the Bristol trip-hopper has gone one step further and enlisted the skills of Floridian production duo South Rakkas Crew to re-work songs from 'Knowle West Boy' and give them a distinct dancehall/electro flavour.

The good thing about this album is that you don't have to be familiar with the original material to enjoy it. Tracks like 'Slow' – a song already transformed from its sultry pop vibe by Tricky – here becomes a grimy instrumental that has more in common with a series of revved-up motorbike engines than it does with Kylie Minogue. 'Joseph' is extended to almost twice its original length, becoming a pumped-up, pimped-out glitchy nightmare, while the robotic 'Cross to Bear' and the swinging 'Baligaga' sound like Damian Marley playing a sweatbox in Kingston. 'C'mon Baby' could almost pass for an outtake from the Major Lazer album, while the ravey 'Far Away' sounds like an early Prodigy number.

It's got little in common with its parent material – Tricky's contributions are almost incidental, in many ways – but it's a full-on stomper that's well worth investigation if electro/dancehall mash-ups are your bag. Purists may be irked by the originals not just being tampered with, but being completely reassembled, in many cases – but there's no denying that as remix albums go, this is one of the more interesting ones.

Review by Lauren Murphy | 09:00 | Wednesday 30th December 2009 | Album Review

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