Daddy's Home: New Flesh

On their new LP New Flesh ask (and it is a relevant question): "Who's the daddy?" The answer, in this case at least, is New Flesh themselves. Their early productions fused the sounds of the thriving British underground dance scene with the rich cultural melting pot of urban and roots music: reggaeton, dancehall, hip-hop and dub. The landmark album 'Understanding' featured the vocal skills of veteran MC Juice Aleem and ragga don Toastie, while the productions of renowned graffiti artist Part 2 arguably laid the template for much of the grime, garage and hip-hop that was to follow.

"I think we laid down some of the blueprints. If you go back and listen to Stick Em, the way that the bass line is layed down, it's got that real garage feel to it," states Part 2. "I wanted to use New Flesh to conjure up all the different elements of British music and then throw them in the pot – that's how we forge our sound. In the older recordings we used some of the old-school British techno sounds, stuff like LFO, Nightmares on Wax, early Warp, Unique 3, that's also what grime's built on. The instinct's already there." Asked what the title of the new album, 'Universally Dirty' means to him, Part 2 explains: "We're broader than a strict UK hip-hop or a grime act. It's a universal thing. It's got that futuristic vibe, and the 'dirty' is about black music, the darker shade of our sex appeal."

MC Juice Aleem, member of many crews before New Flesh, dislikes the term UK hip-hop altogether: "A lot of people define themselves as UK hip-hop and stick themselves in that little box. There are people who do well defining themselves like that but for me, it's cul-de-sac music. That's what's interesting about working with artists in the breakbeat and drum and bass scenes, they've been giving us the spotlight – myself and Toastie have worked with people like Evil Nine, The Bug, Adam Freeland. And we don't have to be from the M25. They don't know us as UK hip-hop, they know us as musicians. That's been a real eye-opener."

The recording was vastly different to the 'Understanding' sessions: "Instead of recording and sending people away with beats to work on, we were just vibing in the studio, on the spot," explains Part 2. "We decided I would make the beats in the studio while Juice and Toastie were writing, and we pinned the concept and the vibes down there and then. It created a different shape and a different feel, so what you're getting now is the real New Flesh."

Neither is 'Universally Dirty' a crossover album: the range of musical influences is too diverse, with Juice Aleem and Toaster's contrasting styles intertwining and influencing each other rhythmically. It's an organic mixture. "It's a case of intentions: you can hear people contriving things or being totally free and loose, and real, with what they're doing," says Juice Aleem. "I know we're in the latter category. The way we look at it, we're coming from a hip-hop ethic, whatever we do. But I think people's ears are ready for something a bit more diverse."

We ask Part 2 how his graffiti work affects his music: "The main contribution is that as an artist you have a different way of looking at things – it gives me that depth and experimentation, and makes me want to do something a bit more revolutionary." New Flesh are certainly that: a musical revolution grown from the rich musical soil of the UK's various scenes. The Daddies are back to harvest the garden they planted.