pre-emptive nostalgia – iDJ Review (January 2007)

Oh snap, yo.

I heard from my good homie DJ Ben Smith that pre-emptive got reviewed in the latest issue of iDJ, so I picked it up at zavvi on oxford circus; you know, that massively huge music store that used to be virgin mega stores? Bought mad amounts of records in soho ( 1 out of the 7 records I bought includes the elanor rigby reggae remix 7″ with fugeela remix on the bside) and waited to read it until I was on my way home, taking the trusty 390 back to Archway. I flipped to the album review section and saw this:

“Technically, this is actually an EP, but with seven full tracks and an intro, it’s far more than your common or garden 12″ that comes with a few dubs and a remix if you’re lucky. Au contraire. This is a smooth slice of pan-European hiphop (their origins lie in France, Germany and the UK) with a fluid lyrical flow and some of the most graceful beats I’ve heard all winter. The pianos smirk with slinky jazz walks and sultry boogie licks. The viola quietly weeps. The horns sigh and the occasional sample buries itself so deep in the mix ou barely notice it. As for the drums, they swagger their way through tht emusical haze like they’re permanently stoned. Lyrically the trio ease their way in to your ears with classical content that manages to avoid clichés and harks back to hiphop’s less cynical or materialistic times – stylistically they work well together too, finishing off each other’s one-liners and subtly laying down harmonies. If youre down with Ugly Duckling, Foreign Beggars, early Cypress Hill or the more downtempo aspects of The Outlines, then pick this up.”

4 / 5

Dave Jenkins

Whats wack is that they have it down as a Dented Records release. Whats dope is that other artists that also got 4/5 were The Heliocentrics and The Dynamics, both of which have big albums.

It was a good ride home.

Happy Christmas.