SCAN 2003

The New Pollutants

Rachel Paterson

Compared critically with brilliant artists DJ Shadow, The Beastie Boys, Tricky and David Lynch, The New Pollutants are making a big impact on the live arts scene in Adelaide and beyond. Featuring the talents of Benjamin Speed aka Mr Speed (vocals), and Tyson Hopprich aka DJ Tr!p (the 8-bit Wonder), The New Pollutants are intellectual hip-hop with an experimental edge. These guys have their own sound, it’s global and it’s local and it has evolved from who these artists are. In this sense, the experience of their work is intimate, leaving their audiences gasping—for air and for more! The New Pollutants recently

released their independent EP at Minke Bar in Adelaide—Urban Professional Nightmares, following their critically acclaimed debut album Hygene Atoms. These guys take lo-tech augmentation to the extreme, using the obsolete Commodore 64 S.I.D. Chip soundcard in the bedroom studio. The resulting sound is altered, embracing lo-fi technology with a familiar flavour. The New Pollutants are best experienced live, where the sensory atmosphere is addictive and the beats are phat. The live experience integrates visual experiments with original sound and a theatrical, interactive edge. The New Pollutants produce an honest sound with grounded ideas driving the creation of their work. There’s no doubt these guys are going to be huge, but only as huge as they want to be.

RealTime issue #57 Oct-Nov 2003 pg. 33

© Rachel Kent; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]

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