Dizraeli and the Small Gods - Friday 6th June, Fiddlers

One of Bristol’s finest exports is back in BS3 with all-star band The Small Gods and they’ve never sounded so good. Rowan Sawday aka Dizraeli is an award winning spoken word poet, rapper and hip-hop freestyler with an exceptional talent and having dazzled the music press with impressive debut ‘Engurland’ (City Shanties) five years ago the Bristolian ex-pat has since taken the country by storm by somehow fusing English folk with contemporary hip-hop. Yes you read that right; Folk-hop.

Having called upon, amongst others, the services of a flautist, double bassist, Scratch DJ, beatboxing champion and guitarist for his solo record he then adopted them for his next project in the guise of The Small Gods.  In doing so he appears to have assembled something of a supergroup with himself as ringmaster unleashing a collective sound that is unusual, diverse and at times lyrically and sonically devastating.  After a six month break from gigging to focus on writing new material, the one-time UK Poetry Slam Champion is clearly buzzing to be back in his home-town spitting humour-filled, gritty and always honest observations about love, life and loss.  Rap with a Bristolian accent certainly has a real charm to it and combined with plummeting bass and glossy vocals from the multi-talented Cate Ferris on opener ‘Sailor’ the packed Fiddlers crowd are totally gripped.  “Isn’t it amazing where a pissed kiss leads” Dizraeli ponders as the atmospheric track walks us through his recollection of a one-night stand amid eerie keyboard effects and mangled vocals.

‘We Had A Song’ dips into a kind of acid-jazz lounging before more heartfelt lyrics about a lost friend along with snapshots of Dizraeli’s past “I’m made of lost tapes, I’m made of lost mates I made in the days where I could barely cut the cross-fade.” Its lapped up by a young audience tonight, hip-hop will always ensure that. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see it follow the diversity of the music the band are producing as word gets around of the musical barriers that are being annihilated here. Mid-set we get our first real glimpse of UK female Beatbox champion but also superb double bassist(!), Bellatrix. In an improv skit with an audience suggested subject matter, Dizraeli freestyles backed by the vocal percussion/ distinctive spits and booms of one of music’s oddest instruments. DJ Downlow adorned in a blue boxer’s kimono then gets his moment of glory shortly after, again demonstrating a mastery of his trade as Dizraeli hauls him to the front.

Biggest cheer of the night is for ‘Nevermind’ which sees the band at their most upbeat and accessible; an easy to love romp with irresistible beats, scratching, shrill flute, spanish guitar and cheeky melodica. That’s before we even get to the lyrics which are a series of hilarious one-liners that bring about a venue-wide echo back to the stage of ‘It doesn’t matter what you look like, all that matters is you dance cos its a very very short life.’ Finishing with ‘Million Miles’ and Cate Ferris steals the show with the kind of vocal acrobatics that make your hair stand on its very end. It’s not a million miles away from Eminem ft Dido’s ‘Stan’ but the outstanding Ferris blows the MoR coffee-table queen right out of the water with this performance. Almost spent, Dizraeli even chances a double stage-dive to the delight of the crowd, this gig really had it all.   

Best Track:

Dizraeli & The Small Gods - 'Nevermind'

Kindly published by Bristol 24-7

http://www.bristol247.com/2014/06/10/review-dizraeli-small-gods-fiddlers-bristol-69430/