Star Slinger is Manchester based one-man hip hop beat machine Darren Williams.
[audio:xxx-xxx.mp3]The 24-year-old takes influences from all over the world, from past to present – from memphis rap to shoegaze. He studied music technology at Leeds Metropolitan University and tried different styles of music before starting his Star Slinger project. Since then, he’s released a bounty of original beats as well as unofficial remixes for artists including Deerhunter and Small Black.
Star Slinger is crafting his own coolly archetypal stoned-soul clubhouse where genres mingle naturally rather than being mashed together like a bunch of surly drunks in a police-station holding tank.
Star Slinger | Mornin’
httpv://https://youtube.com/watch?v=1osmNEp2XGc
In his hands, Deerhunter’s doleful shimmer blooms into a psychedelic hip-hop swirl, the Staple Singers nudge you awake like that Japanese slow-drip iced coffee you can’t afford, and Cocteau Twins’ Elisabeth Fraser echoes over a drum’n’bass skitter.
Swedish act Niki and the Dove combine epic choruses with Eastern European drum styles to make soaring songs dripping with euphoria.
Little is known about this project but its perplexing name and intriguing videos are at odds with the straightforward and unabashed dramatic nature of the songs. They want to pursue a vision of deep dark woods that they want to put into the music.
Vondelpark are fairly mysterious sorts – search online and you’ll find a give-nothing-away interview from last year, and a selection of official (and not) video clips accompanying songs from this release and its predecessor, but actual concrete facts are in short supply.
But this just adds to the appeal: the listener is able to attach their own faces, their own meanings, to music that exists somewhere between what’s commonly termed chillwave and something rather more satisfying of soul.
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Certain People 3: Star Slinger, Niki & the Dove, Vondelpark LIVE
Thursday, 12 January 2012 | 20:00 CET
Berghain | Am Wriezener Bahnhof | 10243 Berlin/Friedrichshain
starslinger.net | nikiandthedove.com | vondelpark on Youtube | berghain.de
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