Bands We Like: UK’s De Tropix Invent Future Dancehall
This just in: a group called De Tropix has been bombing London’s clubs with crazy hybrid dancehall and whipping up rapt anticipation for their debut album.
De Tropix sound as cool as they look.Photo Courtesy of De Tropix
The UK duo’s first full-length is due out later this year and we’re as excited as anyone. These two have a rare sound — futuristic and classic at the same time. The futuristic feel may be because dancehall is only a starting point for DJ/producer Damon Bowen, who pulls in bits from soca, electro and dubstep at will.
The classic quality may come from frontwoman Cherry’s deep roots in the Caribbean islands of St. Vincent and The Grenadines where she grew up. Some of you may recognize the versatile performer as M.I.A.’s on stage back up singer and you can hear her vocals on the M.I.A. track “XXXO”.
Cherry is known for her electric stage presence and rude girl attitude, but, listening to a song like “Bad Name,” it’s clear she is a woman of many talents. Her greatest is the ability to hash out the complexities of human relationships while vocally ruling over the complexities of her collaborator’s beat work.
De Tropix was recently written up in XLR8R and included on this year’s Warp Records sampler. We think you’ll be hearing a lot more about them real soon.
Hear their track “Adeyhey” right now:
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