Pirate Robot Midget - It's My Beat Now (Hell Yeah)
UK release date: 15 September 2008
Pirate Robot Midget: not a Dadaist version of Stone Paper Scissors, but a French / Italian electro outfit based in Amsterdam and currently turning their attention from remixing and DJing to making their own music.
EP title track It's My Beat Now takes a basic electroclash template (whiplash beats, gurgly bass, a single phrase on an endless loop) and then plays merry havoc with it. There's the queasy tempo changes and random splicings of nu-rave; enough ZX Spectrum 48k loading noises to keep the Crystal Castles fans happy; plus an assortment of woop-woops and aha-yeahs that were last seen resonating around the M25 circa 1989.
It's fresh, smart, and eludes easy categorisation, drawing confidently on a wide range of influences. Sacrum employs a similar blend of electro, wilful discordance and analogue bleepinesss; while So Undead is more moody and nocturnal, playing a more obvious game through apparent homage to the Knight Rider theme tune.