Much of the British music I write about has been from the last 20 to 30 years. There are however contemporary artists like Laura Mvula and Jessie Ware have carved a nice little niche for themselves in pop. Underrepresented however is hip hop leaning R&B. In the past English hip hop has always sounded stinted or characterized. Culturally it never seemed to connect unless it went the direction of trance or trip-hop as in Massive Attack. Maybe it was just something about the proper nature of the British accent.
One welcomed exception is Gotts Street Park. The band is a conglomerate of musicians who reside in one of Leed’s grittiest neighborhoods. Leeds, England is the birthplace of Scritti Politti and Gang of Four, making the city fertile ground for lovers of the groove. The name is an amalgamation of local Leeds landmarks and places around the home studio of Josh Crocker, the band’s producer and bass player. Three other members, Adam Nicolle (drums), Joe Harris (guitar) and Tom Henry (keyboards) make up the core of a revolving line up that includes up and coming performers from the area.
One of those performers, Dielle is the soulful voice behind “Love In Bad Company”. Dielle is a perfect match for the vintage American soul and hip hop influence act that sounds as gritty as their neighborhood. By mixing jazz, hip hop and soul, Gotts Street Park has created a unique sound among British acts that mixes the sheen of vintage soul of acts like Leon Bridges with the retro cool vibe of Portshead or Massive Attack.
It’s refreshing to hear English hip hop with no ska or reggae influences, even the raps by Grand Pax on “Control” or “This World” with Benny Mails sound almost universal in their appeal. Much of the synergy of how the four interact together comes from the fact that they record in a small room – all together, constructing songs as they go as opposed to the modern method of layering instruments. The decidedly analog nature of their sound has its roots in the rough around the edges soul of classic labels like Sun and Chess.
Another aspect of what makes Gotts Street Park compelling is that you get the sense in their music that their struggles are real. Not that that was never the case with other British Hip Hop, it’s just that the grit of Leeds comes through to the point of making them sound authentically hip hop – like how old school rappers once were perceived as keeping it real in America. This is no small feat considering that most of the album is composed of instrumentals.
Beatopolis 