This December, Hip Hop legends The Abstract Orchestra treated us to a night of classics by an icon of the genre, blended with a few surprises of their own...
On a Thursday night you’d be forgiven for thinking that an MF Doom orchestral rendition at Rescue Rooms would be a pretty empty affair with a low energy buzz, but no. It would have been impossible. And that’s because from the moment the orchestra assemble, the singer with her impossibly glorious wiggles, Micall Parknsun and Joker Starr take the mics, and we all in that room know we are going to bump the roof off.
Three flutists, three saxophonists, three trumpeters, three trombonists, one keyboard, one bass, one drummer, one conductor, one singer and two rappers make for a packed stage. No, they don’t rap just MC Doom or Madvillain lyrics the whole way through, they surprise us with a deftly packed lot of verses from Parknsun and Starr’s repertoire, a peppering of a few familiar verses or samples and lots of joyous crowd control.
The orchestra also surprise us; lots of layering, faithfully playing the samples we know and love but using a sort of brass band break beat to fully snap our necks - it is slick yet thunderous. And finally the impeccable singer, perfectly dulcet-toned and understated with a hint of jazzy sass exactly when needed.
Verdict? What posh people at the Proms would experience if they were shoved onto the Rita Queen Of Speed roller coaster at Alton Towers and smothered in the dopest of Hip Hop classics. If the boggers come back, don’t miss it. Micall Parknsun’s Album The Magnum Opus was released Friday 6 December on Tuff Kong Records, and our very own Emily Catherine Illustration did the cover. The Abstract Orchestra tour regularly...
Abstract Orchestra played MF Doom live at Rescue Rooms on Thursday 5 December.
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