Pa Salieu: Send Them to Coventry

Everything this guy has put out so far is sick, especially if it starts with B:

"Black"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFNtxlEKgFM

"Betty"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhmT77slD78

"Block Boy"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Std1vdUMP3g

I'm basically a UK rap dilettante, so I'm not going to go on at length here—the chrome-plated production is worth dwelling on at some point though—but if the whole tape is this good, this is aoty material.

don't forget "Bang Out":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3NPhQjjZB0

(i'm assuming it's on the album, which i don't see it on my Spotify yet)

Yeah not sure about the track list. I think it comes out Friday, but when I tried to look at it on iTunes I got a weird error message

He was getting quite a lot of J Hus comparisons last year but he's been developing his own Afro-drill sound since then, which I'm loving. I think his appearance on these tracks won him a lot of new fans. He steals the show on Year Of The Real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0gxarS_DsA

Meekz x M1llionz x Teeway x Pa Salieu - Year of the Real

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awobHDiWY9A

Backroad Gee - Party Popper (ft. Ambush & Pa Salieu)

betty is so good

Thanks for those paolo—I totally missed the boat on drill so your expertise is appreciated.

"Bang Out" is not on the album according to the Guardian review

Since I'm not sticking to the B theme, "My Family" w/ Backroad Gee is also great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxTV3vODb3s

I can definitely hear the J Hus comp, but they're in such different lanes

love all this. weirdly reminiscent of juvenile circa tha g code, in flow and production and the interplay of the two

Love this lad btw, can't remember if i first came across him here or from my son but looking forward to checking new shiny tunes

just going in now, shiny and glossy is definitely the words

lads i might just have to listen to "No Warnin'" for an hour

"Energy" is a beautful closer

excellent set, going to obssess over this for a bit

what the hell is going on in "No Warnin"?!

it's a lot, loping riddim, three or four mood changes, majestic

it reminds me of a low temperature version of The Bug's "Fuckaz"

The Bug is a good reference -- this is considerably freakier than I was expecting (in a very good way if that's not obv)

yeah i swear the earlier tracks i've been into were more conventional drill productions, this tape has this great mix of shiny production values and heavy Afro/Afrobeat sounds and then the Jamaicanesque toasting on "No Warnin'" and it's just a great mash of influences

"Over There" is brilliant too. Whole album sounds like it was produced by Anish Kapoor

"My Family" is a big track as well, and "Active", this thing covers a lot of ground. "Energy" has this bizarre Phil Collins "Take Me Home" vibe which makes a great closer and is just another strange zig zag

I actually haven't quite picked up on the Afro influence as much sound-wise, but this is dancehall album of the year, Anarctica division

every shorter-than-3:00 track leaves me wanting more too

god the bass on "More Paper" !

this thing covers a lot of ground

otm, it's tightly cohesive but the moods shift a lot

these are first "playing on a loop having a drink" impressions to be fair but there are definitely track where i feel a lot of African sound, i'll try and pick them out next time they come round :D

"More Paper" has a very tinkly 80s pop synth sound too! that's definitely a part of this

absolutely, the MJ/Dire Straits guitars on "Active" too, it works really well with how cold and dark it all is, adding these little flashes of neon. I can't stand driving these days, but this is making me crave a nighttime drive

damn, "My Family" sounds even more immense in context

TTM - bleepy 2000s future noises, kinda Future-ish

i'm thinking the Afrobeat influence is more in the tracks with that syncopated Afrobeat rhythm rather than in the production itself maybe, and it's in less tracks than i thought at first

like "My Family" has that lovely stepping beat but the synths are doing something more Drill-y i guess

I'm on "Energy" now and this one def has an Afropop quality, though the outro on "B***k" might've put that idea in my head

it's funny how leftfield Energy sounds by the end

yeah like i said "Energy" reminds me of 80s Collins/Gabriel channelling Afro sounds for the big ballad closer

there's those weird flute-y samples in the background of B***K

yeah and you're right literal sample in the outro

"Energy" bassline is Pino Palladino ffs

i have listened to "Energy" about a dozen times today already btw

haha nice. I just started over at the beginning, and No Warnin is still mind-blowing, big up Boy Boy, reminds me I need to look into the Trini dancehall scene

is "Active" a single? "Active" wants to be a single

This is cracking.

lads i still can't stop listening to this

otm. Listening now while reading this not-bad pitchfork review: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/pa-salieu-send-them-to-coventry/. I did not know about the drive-by...wild

i was talking to my eldest - who grew up in Cov - about him last week and he mentioned the shooting and said "lol Drillers gonna Drill"

another thing in my head this week has been echoes of early Tricky in some of the production, depending on mood it's very intimate at the same time as it bangs

don't know that it would ever have occurred to me but that slide whistle/flute sound on "B***k" definitely has a Maxinquaye feel

I've been lukewarm on Mahalia before, but she really makes "Energy". The video that just came out does a simple but otm trick by switching from b&w to colour when she comes in.

Also, in line with the 80s pop drawing on African sounds production notes, "Energy" reminds me a little of Lizzy Mercier Descloux's Mambo Nassau

oh i don't know her, thanks

there's a LOT of 80s pop/r'n'b on this, the more i listen to it

Mambo Nassau is great, though I won't be surprised if you don't really hear what I'm hearing there (for one thing, it has a heavy US funk/disco influence that is not at all present on the Pa album).

"Over There" is really sick, I like how malleable his voice is on it. The beats on this whole album are wild as hell. People who like this should check out M1llionz, the guy featured on "Informa" - he's probably my favourite UK drill rapper right now, has a really subtle, slippery delivery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOzb7zWfJeM

M1llionz is sick. Y Pree is my fave of his tunes.

Only just got round to listening to this album and I'm loving it, I've been really impressed by how he's been making this drill/Afro hybrid and I'm really impressed that he's been able to keep the levels up over the course of a mixtape.

Even though I am into drill I can find it quite monotone/relentless so I tend to listen to it for only a short amount of time rather than sitting with it for an hour or so. There's enough variety on this that it can hold my interest for that sort of time, so that's good. Same applies to the Headie One album.

Here's another feature of his from earlier this year because why the hell not

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My05cYX_2iM

SL x Pa Salieu - Hit The Block

this is miles better than headie’s album

Love this.

"Energy" bassline is Pino Palladino ffs

― big man on scampus (Noodle Vague), Friday, November 13, 2020 12:48 PM (six days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Oh really? Is it a sample or did they get Pino?

Headie One album really faltered when he got away from drill. The straightforward rap tracks tend to fall flat on that album. This record does variety in a much more organic way that really works. I enjoyed that SL EP with Kenny Beats earlier this year

xp sorry Jordan i just meant the sound of it

i like the Headie One album well enough but it feels very slight compared to this one

headie's alb was somehow both slight and overlong, with great moments spliced in (mostly the drill tracks and the more playful moments like the aitch collab)

his gang ep w/ fred again, on the other hand, is the only competition with salieu's latest when it comes to visceral, cohesive sonic experiences in uk rap.

That Gang EP was awesome. “Charades” is one of my favourite songs of the year and the Jamie xx collab actually worked really well

such an addictive album is this, lots of ear-worms on it - as they say.

lol just played Betty 3 times in a row

might as well go

BOOM NO WARNIN'

on here again instead of Blue Saturday

i'm evangelizing this thing

Everyone otm, this guy rules.

yep

i gotta say to voodoo i thought GANG was the Headie album, missed out on the full thing, got to catch up

there's not much on it that sounds like gang, it's a real major label debut kind of thing with features from future, skepta, etc. there are some great moments woven throughout, but it is a bit unwieldy.

only got around to this last week, but I'm loving it.
what *is* that 80s sound on "Active" tho? thought it might be a sample, but apparently not.

i completely missed this thread but yeah this album is fantastic. manages to cover so much ground in a pretty short time. i do love how it finally goes full on summery afroswing at the end with "energy" after kind of teasing that direction amongst all the bleaker sounds

hadn't heard "bang out" until now but it's fantastic too

does anyone know which david sylvian or japan track is sampled on "betty"?

I do not, but that reminds me I’ve been meaning to mention that after NV said he heard Tricky in this, I couldn’t stop hearing it. This might be my aoty

I don't know either, but you could ask Mixmag, they seem to know what's what:

You can feel the diasporic influences pulsing through Pa Salieu’s songs. He recently explored the Black-British experience in his drill cut ‘Bang Out’. “I come from a place where feds label you gang-related / sorry if you look like me, somehow you’re just gang-related” he spits over a lively beat which samples the song ‘Japan’ by 80s indie pop band Ghosts.

(this piece has only been up for six months now)

winner of the BBC Sound of 2021!

well deserved but maybe a little unfair since he's already released a critically acclaimed mixtape that's an album in all but name, that's much more fully formed than most sound of nominees are

he was on jimmy fallon last night?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLdQI7KAYl8

Love it, he deserves the exposure

Loving Energy

great, performance too, with those pitbulls and the fuzzy red knife lady haha

much more lively and creative than, say, playboi carti's performance from the other night

Can't remember if it was here or another thread where someone told me I should give him a try despite my general antipathy toward the heavy accent on a lot of grime and drill emerging from the UK, and I finally downloaded this record...fucking brilliant stuff, love it!

it’s a fantastic album. one of my favourites from last year.

Truly— been bopping it today whilst doing arduous editing work, and its been excellent

very happy you like this, but honestly far more interested to hear how you do editing while listening to music? I can't even do instrumental stuff lately

that aside, I listened to this again recently after a little time away and it's really deep sonically (not just bass-heavy, I mean lots of layers). I don't have a problem with accents in grime etc., but I do think the way Salieu uses his accent is super musical and one of my favorite aspects of the album

It's so so good. I find with this kind of thing I can generally appreciate it on a track by track basis but I can listen to this whole album without feeling exhausted and usually Judy want to put it straight back on again

Just, not Judy. This phone

rob, at the moment, I'm doing a lot of medical editing and proofing work. Doing word-for-words and fixing references and whatnot just doesn't require much in terms of concentration, at least in my world.

(For this particular record, I was doing a word-for-word of a powerpoint with 140 slides lol)

this album's secret is that it is so breezy and likeable

it's one of those - hard to define - sets where everything bangs and is perfect, just put together as an amazing set

and the closing track is so gorgeous, makes you wanna play it over

how you do editing while listening to music?

Not table, obv., but I can scarcely get any work done without music playing in the background, it's pathological. I belatedly got into metal while writing my thesis – it was just about the only thing that kept me going.

More to the point: Pa Salieu rules.

I do not do any other writing or editing to music, absent emails and such.

But for the gig I'm working? Whatever, I'm Freelance and getting paid an absurd sum to fact check references and make sure things are in their right place before they go live or to print. It is so easy and boring that if I didn't listen to music, I'd fall asleep

Also Pa Salieu rules, and 'Energy' really does make one want to go back and listen to the whole thing again

it's not complicated, if you listen to Send Them to Cov you'll get it

the more of everbody that get into this

so perfect

convo to be had about blah blah blah elsewhere

but it's spectacularly perfect

the way it balances coldness and warmth is so good

Many otm posts

The album has been growing massively on me as well. I love the dancehall influence on this, right there from futuristic Block Boy.

new song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Jg1jw9X7g

drums sound incredible

fantastic stuff

Loving it, he really does pick beats with the best drums

Send Them To Coventry is coming out on vinyl for RSD I think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09tzW80FM8U

cool performance from a few months ago

Glidin' rules

omygod this is so good

wwwwow fuckin amazing

Afrikan Rebel EP is out today & it's excellent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT-0NwoADO0

"style & fashion" is a baaanger, my god.

Played it today, brilliant stuff, he keeps evolving

the whole EP is bangers but yeah "style & fashion" especially

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FURvqOhKglI

still hasn’t missed

fyi: the new Backroad Gee tape is pretty great, especially the first half

i need to give it another listen, it seemed solid but didn't really wow me?

I enjoyed the harder first half more than the (afro)poppier second for sure, but the production sounded v cool to me—otoh, I don't listen to much UK rap/grime/drill, so it's possible the better-versed won't find anything special about it—and I love hearing his voice

Late to the party but Style & Fashion is so amazing

Amapiano !

“Style & Fashion” is used in the current Zalando commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkoS8wdMATY

new song with mura masa and skillibeng is good as hell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c14merZbEzs

Like it!

Most consistent UK rapper? Could be

terrific track

yeah he's great on that! we need a new album

Technically a first album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znO2iRtWnpo

Pa Salieu - Mista / Lennon Freestyle - the second beat is quite 90s, not what you'd expect from. It totally works though

The content of the first part may be related to this unfortunate news - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-62401973

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prf0GTmKX4o

Blessing Me has a video too

Jailed for 33 months

was working in cov at the time and it was a ridiculous rise in violence, thankfully calmed down a bit now but yeesh

damn

PA SALIEU IS FREE. pic.twitter.com/4PbG3OQwi3

— UK Rap Daily (@UKRapDaily) September 2, 2024

wasted no time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJu1oZBKLU

so good!

:D

Everything this guy has put out so far is sick, especially if it starts with B:

still correct

love this

^an entire city awakens from hibernation

glad to have him back, this rules of course

i was only thinking about him last week, so glad he's out, hope he's got a ton of new cuts to bring us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-iPrRMdwMk

there's a lot more new material teased here, seems like he's been very busy

lol yeah there's clips of him recording about 6 different songs! i hope the album drops next week tbh

busy

oh boy. wait

2019 - Busy Signal – “Balloon” – 831 points – 24 votes – 2 #1 votes

2024 - let's make belly float, please!

^ will never regret posting that, not sry. BELLY BELLY

there's going to be an album within a couple of weeks, isn't there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqljXK1Sm2Y

look what i built from a zino of light
deep in the cold i was really outside

aoty incoming i hope

i kinda wish this was like 5% faster

this rules. I was a little wary of aoty talk but both these songs are really rich

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5rtY5j9yuM

better than the studio version!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unw5GsvbYE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czuPHIua6qo

two more!

another wonderful new one, with a live version too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLrOC8wmrvE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N2eeG1W86E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6qoCkJ6OnM

afrikan alien out next friday!

01 Intro
02 Afrikan Di Alien [ft. Black Sherif]
03 Belly
04 Ya Zee
05 Soda [ft. Byron Messia]
06 Round & Round
07 Dece (Heavy)
08 Allergy
09 Big Smile [ft. Odumodublvck]
10 Regular
11 YGF

can't wait

cover goes unbelievably hard

as does this latest song yeah

it's very good although a little short, wish he'd put the freestyles on it

Six sugars Pa, six? That's insane

It's good, not heard last 3 tracks yet - got to work before it finished. Dece and Allergy the standouts so far

this is unsurprisingly dope. the level of rapping on "dece" is absurd, especially over such a tricky beat (kind of a stuttering 12/8, no?)

Yeah this is really good.