Having never crossed the pond, I can only write about the UK from a great distance, both literal and figurative; one cobbled together by personal impressions from music, literature, television, film, and history lessons — maybe similar to the way grime artists take influence from the states’ regional hip-hop scenes…but maybe not at all. I’ve never crossed those roads, nor danced inside their clubs. Therefore, I can only imagine the crowds these sounds might attract and the responses they might elicit.
I’m reminded of the scenes that played out in my mind upon first hearing the Jack The Tab’s Acid Tablets Volume One compilation: dayglo neon phantasmagoria of abandoned warehouse takeovers — as well as of those that followed my first encounter with Watch How the People Dancing: dank, earthy basement boom-slap dilapidation. Like pirate radio signals, it’s all necessarily unincorporated…INCORPOREAL, even.
What do I actually know about These Evil Streets’ latest banger, “Sunset, ” other than that it evokes feelings of collective displacement, outlaw unity, and honor among thieves — and that it premieres down below?
A few things: it’s off their upcoming Cutty EP, which arrives November 18; it’s the second drop from that EP, following the title track “Cutty”, which featured Draft Dodger and Nobel. And I know that this EP is These Evil Streets’ second of the year, following August’s Beware Tha Freaks.
Lastly, I also know that, if, unlike me, you’re in the UK, you can still catch These Evil Streets — along with DJ J Heat (Night Slugs), Spurz (Apothecary Compositions), Cherrybombink (The Spot), and more — at The Speakeasy on November 11 for the Cutty launch party. Tickets are available here.
Now you know what I know. What do you know?
Cutty EP tracklisting:
01. Cutty feat. Draft Dodger and Nobel
02. The Chase
03. Sunset