Following the burgeoning success of their debut album, ‘On The Inside’, the UK’s premiere hip-hop / soul / R&B collective Gotts Street Park get around to a long-awaited vinyl release of their breakthrough ‘Diego E.P.’; a musical suite of instrumental songs formed from the raw, live chemistry of congregating physically in a room. Turning their inspiration loose and escaping predictability, Gotts Street Park drew from the splicing techniques employed by Miles Davis’s ‘Bitches Brew’ to create a series of moments isolated, assembled and resampled, forming the illusion of one organic, fluid take. A union of a sound exploring psychedelia and bedded in their familiar hip-hop instrumentals; title track and single Diego weaves a course through sturdy, meandering funkholds and snaking guitar riffs. Though there are no lyrics, the names of the songs reveal a world inspired by film soundtracks. Second track ‘Ozu’ is named after cult Japanese film director Yasujirō Ozu and is, like his movies, engrossing, peaceful and oddly voyeuristic. EP bookend, ‘Enzo’s Theme’, explicitly calls to mind a specific scene of a movie - the tension-filled passage in ‘The Godfather’ where Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) protects his father from assassins in hospital, with the assistance of Enzo The Baker (Gabriele Torrei). Famed for their contemporary take on a retro sound, the trio comprising of Josh Crocker (bass, production), Tom Henry (keys) and Joe Harris (guitar) have garnered fans and notable acclaim from an impressive litany of talent. Their seamless blend of traditional soul meets contemporary hip-hop has underpinned vocals from Rosie Lowe, Celeste, Pip Millett, Kali Uchis and Rachel Chinouriri, to name but a few.
