OLDER REVIEWS

ELUSIVE STYLES.CO.UK (NOV 2003)

Keith Lawrence ft Seanie T,Jeffrey and Symmetric
Shonoluv c/w Muzik-Ed Special

Shonoluv by Keith Lawrence feat. Seanie T drops 11th November '03 on Muzik-Ed. UK Beatcrafter/DJ extraordinaire Keith Lawrence comes through on fine form with the latest firing installment on his self-started Muzik-Ed imprint. Once again, long-time associate Seanie T joins Keith alongside fellow Dark Horizon collaborators Jeffrey and Symmetric on the bass driven lead jam, Shonoluv. Keith's reverance for dusty vinyl shines through as a soulful rare groove break backs T's cautionary "mans on road" scriptures: "You see the road's kinda gully, watch for K.Os from the backstreet fight breed, angels with broken halos." Keeping it gritty, Symmetric reps hard for the ladies on the harmonies whilst Jeffrey nices up the wordplay with a heavy ragga flow to cement the sound. Flip cut, Muzik-Ed Special is the smash standout lick for the hip-hop dancehall crew. Monster style retro beats mesh with rugged verbals and dutty soundclash drops to guarantee an essential pull-up as Seanie T holds it down on a solo tip with bashment finesse to rival the heavyweights. Believe me blood, kids are gonna' rock to this on corners and dancefloors nationwide.

DEEJAY MAG (NOV 2003)

Keith Lawrence ft Seanie T,Jeffrey and Symmetric
Shonoluv c/w Muzik-Ed Special

The second release from Kls Muzik-Ed label and this time he's hooked up with Seanie T for a club banger that's just totally irresistible.Jeffrey and Symmetric's b/vox turn this into a instant classic. On the flip, "Muzik-Ed Special" is awesome dubbed out dancehall-hop that immediately recalls old Supercat/Louie Rankin/Don Jagwarr twelves with it's mix of brutality and murderous fatness. Floorboard fucking bass and pure dubtronic synths combined to make this a stunning track to have in your racks on a saturday night. Don't miss. (Rating 4 stars).

BRIT-ISH.COM (NOV 2003)

Keith Lawrence ft Seanie T,Jeffrey and Symmetric
Shonoluv c/w Muzik-Ed Special

Keith has been dashing out from the safety of the DJ booth and has been making ever more frequent forays into the music market place. It can't be denied that his wax so far has been top notch, but it can't be said that making records has been the main focus of his career so far. This seems to be changing as he prepares to drop his second 12" on his own Muzik-Ed Productions record label. So far it has only been a showcase for his own talents, but with Keith's ear for quality it could, with enough time and effort being put in be a little hotbed of talent. For this latest 12" Keith has hooked up with another talent that to date seems to put out less material than they are worthy of. Seanie T has that ragga element that you would think should synch well with the musical backings Keith likes to produce. They have collaborated twice before in the past, on June 2000's Formidable and July 2001's Survival featuring Skeme.

The A side Shonoluv has Seanie T bringing in his Dark Horizon members Jeffrey & Symmetric. Jeffrey who adds additional vocals as well as back ups and Symmetric who adds her soulful vocals to the chorus. As ever the lyrics touch on the harshness of 'runnings on road' told via verbalisations of actual experiences and situations. The production is that classic and simplistic fusion between Hip Hop and elements of Dub Reggae, the rolling bass backed up by the strong drums sit sweetly with the guitar and echo box elements.  The rest of the A side is filled out with Radio, Dirty and instrumental versions.

And on the flip side Muzik-Ed Special Seanie T once again gets busy with a classic dub plate intro provided by Keety. There is much of the Bobby Konders era sound on this as Seanie T proceeds to start out sounding proper yard, but as the track moves on he drops into a more UK style. The deep driving bass and drums thump out with the rest of the music largely consisting of effects box sounds and an echo chamber. Then to finish up, the B side similarly to the A side serves up Main, Clean and Instrumental versions.

So with this release Keith Lawrence has maintained his foothold in the music business pool of piranha, might be up to his knees by now. Not sure if you want your foot in there, but this is another solid release that demonstrates that Keith has his finger on the pulse of what is getting people moving. He is bringing back the sound that was so popular in the late 80's and was truly a UK homegrown sound. Only the UK can fuse Reggae and Hip Hop like this due to our long standing acceptance of influences from both JA and the US.

P.S. Watch out for Seanie's Dark-Horizon Mix Cassette Vol. 2 featuring more from Jeffrey & Symmetric plus a host of others...

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