Imagine he was good, is what I’m…actually, no, don’t imagine Ed Sheeran at all. Forget him. Like everyone else will, even the Chancellor. (Especially the Chancellor.)
No, imagine instead if all the British rappers you’ve heard of but never listened to were as good as people say they are. No, scratch that, that doesn’t work either….
Or think about this: what if all the loop-station types that layer eighteen guitar riffs together could really, like y’know, actually write…
Hang on, I’ve got it: Imagine if Q-Tip and Del Tha Funky Homo Sapien played violin and drums, and formed a supergroup but were actually one person…
No, wait – imagine if all the good Hip Hop DJs were classically-trained violinists, or something…
OK, so, just imagine a man with a violin sat on a wooden box in front of a couple of pedals at The Canteen. That man is Mike Dennis. And he is very, very good.
Mike makes Hip Hop with a violin, a cajon, an effect pedal
or two and a loop station. This takes
the form of some killer violin loops and heavy bass (made on the violin with an
octave pedal making it sound like a cello or double bass), beats made by violin
hits and clicks, and the cajon, or pre-made beats from the loop thing.
And he’s doing it at The Canteen tonight. (Not tonight when you read this, tonight when
I’m writing it. Well, I’m not really
writing tonight – or last night, I’m writing it the next day. And/or the day after that. It’s a practised conceit, faking context
through tense to make you feel like you’re there. Is it working? (Or is it an explained joke that would have
been better left hanging in the suddenly-awkward social air?))
Some people hate The Canteen, some people love it. I quite like it, but I’d never queue to get
in. It’s one of those places I’ve
arrived at to play a gig and thought it might be really hard work to get anyone
to pay attention; this night, at someone else’s gig, I’m approached by someone
who saw me playing here a couple of weeks before with the Boys From Marketing,
and I/we’ve always had a good time, even got a good review from here a while
back. So, no complaints from me. (Anyway, a bit of pretentiousness never hurt
anyone…)
Some people love The Canteen, some people hate it. I quite like it, but I’d never pay to get
in. (The gigs are always free.) I’ve been to gigs there and thought the band
would have to work very hard to get everyone’s attention, then seen a good one
get and keep it quite easily, and people respond really positively – and actually
dance, which…y’know, some places…it’s
like trying to get a giant sloth to run for a bus…or an increasingly-jaded
reviewer reach for a less tortured metaphor.
(Still, a bit of pretentiousness never hurt anyone…)Anyway, I’ve seen Mike before and I know how good he is. And I’m with several people who haven’t seen him before and I know they can all see how good he is.
So, it’s Hip hop made live with a violin and beats, and the man making the tunes live is also the rapper. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? At times, it’s playful, especially lyrically, with some deft wordplay of the Blackalicious kind; at times, it’s a lilting, classical-sounding epic production of layered strings and beats and vocals. It’s just the kind of thing that makes you cheer with the joy of seeing someone doing something original, and doing it so well.
So, obviously I have to have him.
In my band, I mean.
I jot down a quick freestyle verse, but lose my nerve
And I approach the man:
Nice or nasty, he will be in my band.
(There isn’t a nasty way, you understand,
I’m just being awkward to be funny
Like a TV sitcom comedian)
We can do it the easy way, or I can use a firm hand
and that’s….
As far as I’m taking the creepy suitor metaphor – phew!
(Shouldn’t really drink while writing a review…)
In conclusion, go and see my man Mike Dennis; he’s dope
live. I wonder if he’ll join my band.
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