It’s been six years since Anti-Pop Consortium (APC) split: six years that saw MC Beans concentrate on his solo output, whilst MCs High Priest and M. Sayyid formed Airborn Audio. For those concerned that these separate adventures into digital madness have compromised the group’s individuality, rest assured that they remain as wily and indefinable as before. Though the endless arsenal of poetry undoubtedly suits the team of verbose, head-swaying rappers who consistently aim to outdo each other, newcomers to this style of ludicrous word play may want to think twice, as getting out-thought by the combined consciousness of APC is commonplace.
Fluorescent Black is comprised of a variety of hip-hop styles: the traditional head nod of Dragunov and Capricorn One sound like they could have been composed by DJ Shadow during his Private Press phase if he had recorded in a steel cave surrounded by armed synthesisers powered by the incorrect voltage. End Game, however, is a flummoxing addition with arrhythmic, stuttering drums and panned vocals that perplex the listener while simulating a space-like, oxygen-less atmosphere with use of heavy reverb. The old school gets a look in on the piano-led Born Electric, but it’s in the mid-section where things really get progressive.
As soon as the heavy, staggered bassline of Superunfrontable kicks in, it’s clear APC have booted up the hyperdrive with destination HEX-PERIMENT firmly locked on the interstellar GPS. Squirling, looping synths compete with creatively programmed 808 drums on Get Lite while the dead vocoder is resurrected to supply not just the hook, but some random burbling on an especially lively The Solution. Timpani, Volcano and C Thru U lead the charge out of the freak zone with Volcano tipping its angled baseball cap to novelty, ringtone rap and glossy R n’ B. Shine signals a return to normality with a nasty, digital, gangster bass progression and lyrical content to match.
Fluorescent Black escapes the boundaries and trappings of traditional hip-hop, living and breathing within its own freely formed genre of the art. Whether the earth is ready for it is another matter entirely, and it’s not like APC should be bothered in the slightest – they’re light years ahead.
