Hip-hop with an Airdrie twang

Jun 25 2008 by Gordon Robertson, Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

HIP-hop is not a music genre you would normally associate with Airdrie.

Emerging out of New York City in the 1970s, it’s definitely more Brooklyn than Broomfield

But one talented MC is aiming to challenge the stereotype and to “change people’s experiences of Scottish hip-hop”.

Dave Hook – stage name Solareye – rhymes in an accent that is identifiably Scottish.

Living in Edinburgh now, the 29-year-old who grew up in Stand, on the outskirts of Airdrie, has a discernable east coast twang.

It helps give his voice a subtlety that takes your mind off the accent to focus on the music and the message.

For many the hip-hop message means rap artists rhyming about getting rich, bedding women and owning big cars.

Dave inisists that’s not the whole story but recognises the “bling” image of the genre is strong.

“Hip-hop to a lot of people is constantly associated with money and things like that but it doesn’t have to be like that,” he told ad music. “Even the name hip-hop puts a lot of people off.

“One of the first rules of hip-hop is being real about where you are from, but it is about more than that it is about telling stories that are worth telling.

“That’s what fascinates me as a hip-hop artist – not just writing strings of words, but being able to sit down and write four minutes of rhymes that tell a story. Something that can capture people’s attention, keep them interested, and have them wanting to know what happens next.”

Dave who fronted live act D.O.P.E (Disciples of Panic Eearth), has just released an EP dubbed Somniloquy.

A sound engineer in his day job, he has been able to produce, mix and arranged all five self-penned tracks.

His music is not just straight up hip-hop, it’s much more than that.

Sure, you have the storeytelling and inventive rhymes, occasionally injected with a splash of humour, but there is more still.

Funk fans will love That Good Word, which gets the EP off to a flyer, and Paula McGoldrick’s vocals coming in on the chorus after a typical socially-conscious flourish from Solareye.

The five-tracks are full of surprises and after a listen or two you just want to hear it perfromed live – which is just as well.

“I am putting a live act together at the moment and it’s going well and we should be playing in Glasgow over the summer,” Dave told us. “And I’ll look into playing in Airdrie or Coatbridge, as well. That would be good.”

Somniloquy is available from www.fabrikant-records.net or from Solareye’s website www.myspace.com/stanleyodd where you can hear samples of each track.

To have your band, gig or any music news feature in this section email grobertson@s-un.co.uk