The latest offering from the – still relatively fresh –
Swing & Bass label is Captain Flatcap’s Fowl Play, a four-track EP
with one of my favourite pieces of cover art I’ve seen in quite some time. As
an act, Captain Flatcap tends to be quite fluid, both in terms of genre –
fitting loosely into the electro swing category but taking influence from
anything and everything – and also the act itself: Captain Flatcap representing
anything from a band, DJ, or producer, depending on what is being called for –
all centred around the mastermind that is Chris Rotherham.
This most recent EP begins with ‘Fowl Play’, which puts us
in high spirits from the very start, opening with a sample from a Too Many T’s interview, whereupon the questions being asked by the child host include that of who would
win in a fight between Dutty Moonshine, Danny Wav, and of course, Captain
Flatcap. We then have a relaxing, chilled introduction, followed by a slightly
minimal drop with some distinctive squelches, and the fun mood continues with
the sounds of ducks quacking embedded throughout the track. Overall, the song
is nice, downbeat, and a good opener. Following this is ‘Bang Bang Boogie’, in
which the trademark flute continues, juxtaposed against some interesting
glitchy sounds. We also find an electric guitar here, which is very welcome as the
instrument doesn’t tend to be heard too much in this genre. The track is very
danceable, but I can’t help feeling that it goes on a bit too long; it could do
with either being slightly shorter, or fleshing out and expanding its ideas
more. There is a little bit of development towards the end, but unfortunately
it seems somewhat too little too late.
Next up is ‘Quacky Baccy’ – extending the duck-based
theme of the EP – which starts off charmingly, with a jazzy, almost New Orleans
vibe, and introduces a Hendrix-esque guitar as the song progresses. It’s clear that
there’s a lot of classic rock influence on this release, if only subtle, but it
works wonders. As the song continues, the guitar is interspersed with some filthy
wobbles which begin to emerge, and the second build-up towards the end is
fantastic – particular the way in which this guitar is utilised alongside the
more synthetic sounds. Finally, the EP closes with ‘I Spy’, featuring the
Kurnel MC, who has previously worked with Captain Flatcap for the track ‘In My
Blood’ on their previous release. As the song begins, the scratches alongside
the flamenco guitar during the intro signal an exciting start, and we go on to have
some very effective uses of slow and gradual phase sweeps. The Kurnel MC brings
some fun and clever lyrical references throughout, which underlies an important
message of protest. Towards the end, some more wobbles are introduced, which
are a little unexpected at first, and could maybe have been built up slightly
better, but once they’re in, they work very well indeed.
As the EP finishes, I feel like I’ve just listened to one of
the first significant releases of the year for this genre. One never knows
quite what to expect from Captain Flatcap; aside from the unique flute-playing
which is found across all of the act’s music, the sound often seems to vary from
release to release. I feel that this is the ultimate goal however, and if a
wide variety of sounds is the aim, then it has certainly been achieved. I always
look forward to seeing Captain Flatcap at any festival in which I get the
chance, and with the release of this EP, I am only more excited for the next
opportunity.
