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The international nature of the ASM crew adds loads of different influences in the mix but when aided by the “up and coming” Skrein, it brings the golden age (De La Soul, Tribe, etc.) up to date for the ASBO generation.

This collaboration is like Abdominal working out with Breakin’ Bread’s Ghost or the best bits of DJ Vadim’s Soundcatcher and is far more sophisticated than Skrein’s The Beat Up mixtape, even if Skrein still exposes his “raw” excellence.

ASM’s rappers, FP aka Funky Poet (of German descent) and Green-T (half-Candian, half-German) set the tone on ‘Rhymalicious’ but it must be hard to have Skrein (“the Terry Wogan of hip hop”) in your ear. Fade’s production gets in a live viola (by Ella) that gives it a very folk/gypsy feel, a Augustus Pablo style melodica beat (played by the other producer Lando) and a bit of “pump up the volume” cuts by DJ Sativo at the end, what more do you want?

‘Pre-emptive Nostalgia’ is back again and you wouldn’t have thought that Skrein bangin’ on about a gig in Poland would fit in with the other two mixing up their rhymes to a jazzamatastical groove, but it does.

These two tracks would have made a great single but the EP gets in some other examples of their range. You’d guess that ‘Breaakkzz’ would be stereotypical, but they’ve blended the drum and rap with even more viola than on ‘Rhymalicious’. And then again on the jazzier ‘Spelling Bee’.

If you’re still not convinced by Skrein, ‘Nice’ may well prove that he’s your favourite rapper to be scared of and there’s the downtempo jazzy smoothness of ‘Oh My’ on which the I-three’s big themselves up.

It’s a different emphasis to Definitive Jux, Rawkus (re-born) or Foresight: Urban but it’s true, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be but thankfully, the likes of ASM and Skrein show us things are as good as they’ve ever been.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘Rhymalicious’, ‘Pre-emptive Nostalgia’, ‘Breaakkzz’, ‘Oh My’, ‘Nice’, ‘Spelling Bee’.

Reviewed: ASM & Skrein — Pre-emptive Nostalgia (Dented) Cat. No. Release date:

Tracklisting:
1. Intro (0:51)
2. Rhymalicious (4:29)
3. Pre-emptive Nostalgia (3:19)
4. Everything Must Change (1:56)
5. Breaakkzz (Radio Revisited) (3:21
6. Oh My (3:56)
7. Nice (4:12)
8. Spelling Bee (4:47)

Links:
www.astateofmind.org
www.myspace.com/astateofmindproductions
www.myspace.com/skrein
www.dentedrecords.com
www.step-on.co.uk Skrein Interview, December 2006