B-Burg - Desert Island Disco

Livesciences guitarist B-Burg proved his musicianship on that band's debut, 'Bohemian Raps,' and now he comes to prove his production and scratching skills on his similarly-punned debut 'Desert Island Disco.' A cheeky My Name Is bootleg, cut with samples of an old Rumplestiltskin audiobook, starts the show, leading on to the mellow spanish guitar loops and strings of the second track. Highlights include a French MC, guest appearances from the 'Sciences own J-Seal, and an Irish rapper delivering a tune about the perils of having a hip-hop ego. Flies in the Night is as spooky and atmospheric as ever, It's Yours is a fantastic little scratch skit, ennervating and melodic. This is a polished, laid back album, deceptively simple at first but revealing more complexity with each listen, the scratching superlative and the samples fresh and eccentric. It sits well alongside Livesciences' album, and evokes the ghost of Wagon Christ and Mr Scruff without feeling derivative. Immensely likeable. [Bram Gieben]