- UK duo Fila Brazillia are producers Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry, having kept on going after collecting enough tunes after their April 2004 release "The life and times of Poebus Brumal" their latest release is their tenth album over as many years. French for ten Dicks coincidently has 23 track the same digits as their own 23 Records label, as well as releasing separate solo projects with Steve Cobbys "96" Solid Doctor and Dave "Man" McSherry Mandrillus Sphynx on 23 Records ion 2003, the question remains, how do you release two albums in one year, squeeze recording in and run a label. With their first recording off Pork recordings in 1990 Over the past decade Fila Brazillia have built a reputation as extremely sought after remixes, with the likes of Busta Rhymes, Radiohead, Sven Vath and other reworks.
With Dicks being a less dance floor orientated as previous album "Life and Times of Phoebus Brumal" or Stylewise, this album sums up the word eclectic, taking tunes all over the place. You can tell how much fun they had making it. Sidearms And Parsnips rides along with the familiar Fila moniker with muted percussion, guitar riffs and background filtered sounds with a down tempo groove, harmonica samples and nice kit fills. Shellac has a drawn out beat backed up with a synth baseline and keyboard stabs to shades of what came of the previous album. D’Avros slides in a full interlude, meshing in electro synth chords, backed up by some bongo beats and more of the fuzz guitar. Bringing in the banjo ‘Kiss My Whippet, bounces along with strummed campfire guitar over junked up beats. Ballon hinges on the hip hop tip with more of the abundant electric guitar riffs which run into more keyboard lightly feathering in between making for a lush tune, running with the Fila sound. The Goggle Box (Their 12" EP release on a big pink bit of vinyl) picks up the BPM's with electro synths stabs meshed with lounge fuelled house beats that wander around a light track with a touch of funk serving up a nice tune. Doggin starts up with the revving of engines, dropping in some lucid bass guitar with flowing synthy chords and filtered beeps and breaks, taking in turn what a Fila track is renowned for, a form of placid mayhem. Bringing the album full circle is the 23rd on track on the viscously pink CD Septentrion twist in some subtle smooth turntable effects with percussion layered in amongst tempered cymbal fills, live concert piano sounds and a double bass hailing out of a Dingee jazz club.
Number 10 from Fila Brazilia, Dicks saturates your palate with everything and anything, sometimes feeling like your eating your dinner and desert all blended up and served as a shake. Loaded up with everything from the psychedelic rock, breaks infused electro and throwing some sampled material for good measure, and don't forget that Banjo ! Once again, Fila Brazillia throw out an eclectic album as ever which has given them their status as some very well respected, cracked up, remix bandits. At least you can find "that" pink CD when your looking for it.
01. An Impossible Place
02. Sidearms & Parsnips
03. Shellac
04. D'Avros
05. The Great Attractor
06. Kiss My Whippet
07. Ballon
08. Lullaby Berkowitz
09. The Cubist News
10. The Goggle Box
11. Heil Mickey
12. Doggin'
13. 708-7606-19
14. And Flesh
15. Curveball For The 21st Century
16. The Hull Priests
17. Sugarplum Hairnet
18. Furball Shindig
19. The Third Tendril Of The Squid
20. We've Almost Surprised Me
21. VD
22. Nutty Slack
23. Septentrion