Review: Hanging, banging, mad and outstanding... Chimpo continues flex his lyrical and musical dexterity with his awesome new album Don't Worry About It. Featuring a whole raft of mates and peers such as Skittles, Salo, Slay, Darkside Mo, IBeKay, Ellen Beth Abdi and Kid Katharsis, the album charges into the heart of vocal-led jungle D&B with strong shades of soul, R&B and hip-hop as Chimpo guides us through many double standards, nuances and ironies of modern life. One for the hippies, nerds, hustlers and indeed thugs, each track is a veritable highlight and resonates to a different corner of the dance from the lurking skankers on 'Darkside' to heart-eyed romantics on 'Crystal Clear'. Exceptional songwriting and D&B sonics, no one does it like Chimpo.
Review: Half man, half machine, all chimpanzee, Chimpo continues to tickle us silly with his prolific dispatches as his second album 'Outside' lands just over a year after his debut 'Hia'. Tapping into his loves for west coast hip-hop, foundation jungle and his Manchester mates, across eight tracks we're sweeted into submission by smooth chords, sharp bars and more vibes than are medically recommended. Featuring the likes of Sl8r, Slay, Salo, Nina Archives, Rolla, Chunky and Abnormal Sleepz, the whole collection rolls with such a slick consistency and natural energy there's a mixtape magic to this that will soundtrack your summers in your journeys as well as your DJ sets. Highlights include Rolla's bars on 'Find A Way' the crooning from Trigga and Chimpo on 'On The One' and those fiery opening feels of 'Whalleywood'. See you 'Outside' mate.
Review: Manchester is a truly wonderful city, with a musical heritage that swamps the majority of other cities around the UK historically. In recent years we have seen that shift much more towards electronic and rap-based music with a fantastic pool of performers emerging, but being real, Chimpo is no newcomer. The veteran producer and vocalist lands here for yet another fabulous album release under the title of 'HIA', seeing him explore a wide variety of musical styles and themes. Chimpo's versatility and consistency is what has given him his Mount Rushmore status within Manchester's musical history and that is clear throughout this project, from the grimey squarewaves of 'Up The Wall' alongside Slay, through to the funk-inspired instrumental structure of 'Nothing Good' with Rolla and UKG flips of 'Like I Luv U'. It is yet another fantastic showcase of Chimpo's numerous avenues of ability, with our highlight being the exciting vocal switch ups and minimal instrumental structure of 'Oh Your Goodness'. Amazing work!
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