Pop quiz. Favourite aggrobeat band? It's Blood Sport, isn't it? The Sheffield natives have been making quite a name for themselves in recent months, with their angular fusion of African rhythms and post-punk noise setting feet tapping among fans of experimental music.
They're gearing up to release their debut full-length, 'Life In Units', on September 9, having laid down six sprawling compositions in good old analogue fashion with Karl Sveinsson at Manchester's Queens Ark Audio. They'll release the record themselves, on their own Hybrid Vigour imprint, in a move that chimes nicely with their spirit of experimentation and independence.
“It's the first time that we've had a record where we've chosen when to record it, when to release it,” baritone guitarist and vocalist Nick Potter said. “Previously, it's been off the cuff, where we had an opportunity to record something because someone was going to do it for free, so we were rushed. This is the first time we've had a full set of songs. We took our time doing it, so that was really nice, knowing that we were recording something that we were really happy with."
The term aggrobeat began as a tongue-in-cheek way to ensure that the band's style wasn't misrepresented, but as the band have developed it's taken on a life of its own.
“The original, really basic idea was 'let's try fusing African rhythms and guitar style with something a bit more noisy',” Potter said. “We found it difficult to explain to people so we thought that maybe if we coined a term, we could say that to people when they asked what we sound like. It's not as important as it used to be as everyone seems to be reacting really well. It's just easier and encompasses the idea.
“What's perhaps more important is that we try to play with bands like that on purpose. There's a really good band calledChampionlover from Manchester and another one called Azores from Leeds, and we made a conscious effort to try and work with them to create a wider group of people playing that kind of music, just because we find it really exciting and that's what we're in to.”
Blood Sport's live show is also something of a curiosity, with the band playing non-stop throughout their sets. Gaps inbetween songs are filled with extended improvised breaks, with the band able to adapt and overcome depending on where, when and how they find themselves playing.
“We do have a setlist,” Potter said. “There are bits inbetween the songs that change a little more frequently. If we decide to play a different order of songs then we'll work out and play a new sequence inbetween the songs. If something's really working well we'll draw it out, which is about adapting to where we are.
"Our live show is really, really different from how the record sounds. We're quite keen to have two sides to us. The recorded side, which is a bit more straight up, with songs split into songs. When we play live we don't stop. It's all together. It means we get to explore two sides of the songs, get more in-depth with them.”
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