FEATURED ARTIST
(Kano -vs- Hot Chip)
Being a huge fan of the kings of electro geek-chic Hot Chip, this features section started to rattle with anticipation as the release date for UK rapper Kano's new album 'Method to the Maadness' approaches. The album is due for release on August 31, with the lead single lead-single “Upside” ft Michelle Breeze out August 23. Production duties are shared by Boys Noize, Diplo and Chase & Status but it is the collaborations with Hot Chip that have created a buzz at UK Nerdcore Central. For those that don't know (or happen to live on Mars) Hot Chip entered the picture with the release of their 2000 debut EP, Mexico and have since released four studio albums (available here) of quirky and irresistibly catchy electonica. Kano’s last album, 140 Grime Street, looked like he was going back to his grime roots for good, but he says he felt like trying out some new ideas after getting into Hot Chip's sound on their last record, Made In The Dark. "They’re very creative," said Kano of Hot Chip. "We caught ourselves on the same page, the kind of direction I wanted to go in on the next record and the stuff that they were making. "They sent me some beats a couple of months ago, and I was listening to a lot of their stuff and really feeling it." This isn't the first time the Hot Chip lads have branched out into hip hop. Aside from the work with Kano, HC founding member Joe Goddard has been producing a young rapper called Dells and then of course there was the Snoop Dog cover version Sensual Seduction (available below) which was the first hint that Hot Chip were adjusting their specs towards a possible hip hop (and without even knowing it) Nerdcore direction. Also below is the Kano Track Me & My Microphone featuring UK singer Kate Nash. Enjoy!