In 2009, she won The Mercury Prize; one of the most prestigious music awards, for her debut album Speech Therapy - beating the likes of Kasabian, Florence and the Machine, and Friendly Fires. However, since winning the award, album sales of 'Speech Therapy' were not nearly as high as previous winners. Which is a shame really, because the album is truly amazing. Also a little fun fact to share: the album was mostly recorded in our city of Melbourne and produced by Wayne Lotek.
So after two years, Speech is set to release her sophomore album, namely, 'Freedom Of Speech'. After the riots in her hometown of London, Speech leaked a song from her album called 'Blaze Up A Fire' which features Roots Manuva and Realism. The song is mostly about political revolution but also "of the frustration of many young people who took part in the rioting and the consequent looting over London and areas of the UK." With the song, Speech has attempted to create "a voice of understanding," and "acknowledge there must be something wrong with us as a society." In the beginning of the song, I am mesmerised by the subtle piano, and then the heavy beats and electric guitars follow with Speech doing what she does best over the many layers of sound. A nice little taste from the new album.
On Friday, Speech released her first offical single from the new album, a track named 'Studio Backpack Rap', and with a name like that, you know that it is going to be fucking brilliant. Her lyrics are, as usual, catchy, creative, and witty. Speech describes the song as being "all about virtual instrumentation and an ode to Kwes the producer." She also recalls that in the recording process "he would take out his laptop and midi-USB keyboard and that would be it. We’d start working and I couldn’t believe what we could do with so little equipment.”
Speech again captures my attention with the lyrical content of her songs. One line that stood out when I first listened was "He rocking hard, neck breaking to the beat, head phones, head down, like a lesbian." Firstly, my ears pricked up when I heard the word Lesbian, as it is not often a word you would hear in a song, and especially as Speech put particular emphasis on the word. Personally, I don't think Speech is trying to offend; she is merely drawing on the general stereotype of a lesbian, and as she said herself "I thought it was funny...Lesbian's are great, get wid it folks looool."
In 'Studio Backpack Rap', Speech is effectively talking about the "high-tech, low-gloss DIY attitude which has relevance far beyond just creating music," and with these lyrics she has crafted a song that is funny, and one that will have you tapping along to the beat and trying to learn all of the words. A very strong comeback from an amazing artist; I cannot wait to hear more of the album.
Check out 'Studio Backpack Rap' below:
Also, check out 'Blaze Up A Fire Feat. Roots Manuva and Realism' below:
BLAZE UP A FIRE by Speech Debelle (featuring Roots Manuva and Realism) by Speech Debelle
You can download 'Studio Backpack Rap' for free here:
bigdada.com/speechdebelle
You can also pre-order Speech's new album, 'Freedom of Speech' here:
http://ninjatune.net/release/speech-debelle/freedom-of-speech
And you can find out more about Speech Debelle here:
http://www.speechdebelle.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Speech-Debelle/98757126739
http://twitter.com/speechdebelle
#FALLENFORSPEECH
xo
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