Kano's Recorded His Classic 'Ps & Qs' At Abbey Road With A Live Band
Not content with taking the Royal Albert Hall by storm, Kano’s now reworked material at the iconic Abbey Road studios with a live band, including a steel pan section.
Recorded for Spotify Singles, the grime MC’s created a vibrant reworking of ‘Pan Fried’ - from the acclaimed ‘Hoodies All Summer’ - evoking the sound of Carnival with Ladbroke Grove’s full Metronome steel band and a live brass section.
He's also made a brooding version of the classic ‘Ps & Qs’, from his debut 2005 ‘Home Sweet Home’ - replete with heavy percussion and menace.
“We’re always going for it and trying to raise the bar and achieve more and more and just be as creative as we can,” he said. “So when Spotify called and said ‘Abbey Road, perform a song there’. I’m like ‘Cool, what about, a steel pan band and six brass and two percussion?’
“Visible success is important. It's important to be able to look on the TV and see yourself, turn on the radio and hear yourself. To see people from where you’re from actually becoming successful. I would love young girls to look up and see my string section or my brass section or the steel band and be like ‘Wow! I never thought I could do that, that’s wicked! I want to be up there doing that.’
“I just didn’t want to have an album of club bangers in such a critical time, I had to talk about the topics. Ultimately, I want people to be inspired.”
Kano’s reworked tracks are accompanied by behind the scenes footage, documenting the recording sessions.
By Emma Finamore
www.clashmusic.com
