The Beat Surrender

The Artwork Formerly Known As Prints is the debut album from Prod on the newly formed Pollinate Records, judging by this release a bright future awaits the artist and the label all being well.

Prod is known to his family as Duncan Passey and pleasingly for me is another Leeds lad who is stirring things up in the music world. He’s produced a funky, tightly woven set of beats that mix with elements of jazz, an area he is very accomplished in and then overlays his vocal over the top of these textured tracks.

Aside from the play on words title that gives you a clue as to where some of the inspiration comes from, opening track Shivers gives the game away, the funk groove with a dirty edge has more than a passing feel of Prince about it, something that continues throughout the album, showing itself at times in the vocal as well as the music.

This though isn’t an album that is purely a Prince tribute, I don’t want to give you that impression as it wouldn’t be accurate, while the little purple guy has clearly been an influence Passey isd the genius at work here who has put his own stamp throughout every track, with the majority being expertly done.

The best few for me are Valentine Virus with it’s lovely melody, the broken down jazz of 6 To 17, the lo-slung funk track Rotate Me and the dark and menacing You’re Welcome. In fact as I look back at my notes from the three plays i’ve given it, only No Frills hasn’t left any sort of impression on me at all, which isn’t bad out of twelve tracks.

Prod does play out live, so it would be interesting to see how well he replicates these grooves and electronic soundscapes live, i’m sure being a local lad i’ll catch him sooner rather than later, either way this is a really promising debut album and one that at the moment is the best kept secret in Leeds.

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