DJ
Lambchop
(Originally
appeared in Probemusic,
November 2001)
Who
is DJ Lambchop? Well, as Terry Wogan used to say, the clue is always
in the question. Lamb ironically fulfilling the Welsh stereotype;
and chop cut, scratch and mix, a turntablist. His cassette-only
release, Cashing In On Cool Cymru, confirms Wogan's Law by sticking
a lengthy slagging of Kelly Jones (for having a fake Welsh accent
and using the same hair dye as Tom Jones) over a distinctly non-funky
break. The two other tracks similarly accentuate the negative. Terfysgoedd
Daear is a maelstrom of babble, overloaded piano and a crushing
loop that builds up out of nothing while Distort The Truth, Distort
The Facts, Distort Everything Dub is just a nightmare of old electro
and confusion. But there's more to Lambchop than meets the ear.
As Steffan Cravos, he's editor of Brechdan Tywod, a Welsh-language
zine with a pleasing habit of ripping the piss out of Steve "indie"
Lamacq, and as MC Sleifar he's a founding member of Tystion, the
only Welsh hip hop terrorists you might've heard of.
And,
just for fun, in his spare time he runs a record label, Fitamin
Un. "I set up Recordiau Fitamin Un in 1996. At the time I was just
fed up with the scene in Wales, and just thought fuck it.
It was meant as an outlet for some of my projects, like Tystion,
and other underground stuff. Eventually Tystion got signed to a
bigger label, Ankstmusik and F1's output slowed down. Then things
picked up again in 2000 and to date we have put out a modest 12
releases including Llwybr Llaethog, Pep Le Pew, Trawsfynydd Lo-Fi
liberation Front and Continuous Sound Labordy Swn Cont."
The
label's output, along with the zine and Tystion's records are primarily
in Welsh, and Lambchop has run campaigns against corporations such
as AOL for inequal treatment of Welsh customers. "AOL don't give
a shit. They regard minority languages as non-profitable.
Many other multi-corporate companies refuse to give bilingual signage
and services to the Welsh people, even though they profit from their
operations in the Welsh nation. AOL give you web space to set up
your own site, so I put one up called AOL's Total Lack of Respect
for the Welsh Language."
He's
a pushy sod and his records are edgy, uncompromising affairs, but
having just become a father for the first time, is he going to be
less radical in future? "I'll probably more radical, now that I
am in direct contact with the next generation."
Talkin
'bout his generation, Fitamin Un are on the web at http://www.geocities.com/fitaminun
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