Keep It Unreal

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
A product of post-Acid-House Manchester, Mr Scruff is a complete one-off; a cheeky innovator. His debut album is a bold statement, distinctive and confident. Keep It Unreal oscillates wildly between opposing styles--one moment Scruff's in deep, down-tempo dinner jazz territory, the next he's in Coldcut mode, chopping out superb big beat breaks with naughty hooklines to get you pogoing. At one extreme is the wacko humour of Spandex Man, bolshi Fatboy Slim breakbeat and a silly 1920s swing loop that'll make you grin. And then there's the even more ridiculous "Shanty Town", with samples of a Jacknory story about a whale. At the other end of the scale, is Scruff's accomplished acid jazz--like the serene, trip-hoppy "Midnight Feast" or the smoothie cocktail number "Honeydew", with it's loungey female vocals. This man is out there, the Salvador Dali of beats and breaks. --Sarah Champion

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Mixmag, June 99
One of the year’s most desirable albums. Keep It Unreal is stuffed with party crackers

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DJ, June 99
Its recently been scientifically proven that its impossible not to enjoy his music

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Jockey Slut, June 99
Keep It Unreal is something close to classic,. A genuine skew-wiff treat.

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Time out, July 99
Truly infectious

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Description
Andrew Carthy is one of the zanier beatsmiths. He's an obsessive collector of audio esoterica and a cartoonist with a charmingly childlike line in scribble. As Mr. Scruff, he combines both sensibilities to people his musical world. KEEP ITUNREAL is so overstuffed with quirky beats and pieces that "Keep It Surreal" might have been more appropriate. Like labelmates Amon Tobin and Coldcut, Mr. Scruff plunders his vastrecord collection for funk, soul, exotica, and jazz sampleswith kleptomaniac glee.
Mr. Scruff comes up with some wild combinations on his excellent debut album. "Spandex Man" jumbles Canterbury keys and swamp boogie guitar. Rhumba organs and sharp programming mix it up on "Blackpool Roll". "Geta Move On" choreographs '20s swing to a '90s house beat. Carthy's familiar sea-life fixation surfaces on "Shanty Town" and "Fish", irresistible Plunderphonic skanks with narrativeaffectations. Beyond his unfaltering sense of humor, KEEP IT UNREAL reveals Carthy's impressive range and a well-tuned ear for arrangements. Crashing breaks buoy the easy-listening vibes of "Chipmunk". On the luscious "Honeydew", Fi's pop-soul vocals are cushioned in wah-wah and strings but chastened by crisp, cold hip-hop rhythms. The spare, dubby "Jusjus"provides an attractive backdrop for Roots Manuva's toast-like rap.

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About the Artist
A lot of things have happened since a young Andy Carthy started answering to the name Mr Scruff -making a name for himself under the shadow Manchester’s snooty club scene of the mid 90s. A DJ who joined the musical dots others didn’t even know existed, he utilised hip-hop skills- not to impress but to maintain a flow for the dancers. A series of smashing EPs which initially seemed quirky but turned out to have a durable musical value, proved that our hero was more than just a DJ. Titles like 'Large Pies', the gloriously cranky 'Chicken in a Box' and 'Camels Foot' (housed in sleeves featuring Mr Scruff’s charming scribbles of potato-shaped chaps getting down as best they could), made it clear that though his music was unquestionably cracking, we were not dealing with some pretentious po-faced trance DJ.

Two LPs, a self-titled first in May 97, and 'Keep It Unreal' - released to universal acclaim in July '99 - cemented his status as maverick with the crankiest tunes on the playground. Even Madonna name checked Mr Scruff, claiming Keep It Unreal had been a regular spin on her hometown Hi- Fi. Big up yerself, Madge.

In the past few years, the Keep It Unreal night, which began in Manchester, has become a nationwide brand with Mr Scruff hosting his own club in cities across the country - allowing him free reign to jumble jazz, house, hip hop, ska, ragga, reggae, dub, blues, soul and rock and roll. At such hoedowns Mr Scruff makes a difference by making his own rules and adhering to Frank Zappa’s durable epithet - that 'if music be the food of love, nobody wants to eat cabbage all night'. He will play for as long as seven hours (if he needs the toilet he will put on a Fela Kuti record) and in that time he will be several DJs rolled into one.

But hang on. Maybe you know all this. I was just trying to introduce our hero to the stragglers at the back. This note is really just to let you know that the cavalry, in the shape of Scruff’s third long player, is about to arrive. You’ve heard the 'Shrimp' single? - an inspired fusion of Mizell Brothers cool and Roger Troutman’s squelchy funk. Those of us who hate records made by ordinary DJs with no more than a basic knowledge of sampling machinery were fooled into thinking it was a lovely old oddball disco record we’d missed.

The forthcoming 'Trouser Jazz' delivers on the promise of that single. Recorded largely in Mr Scruff’s newly constructed home studio, it features a collaboration with highly touted homegrown rap talent Braintax on ‘Vibrate’. Homelife’s octave defying Seaming To sings on another genre-defying carve up and I see we’ve not run out of great titles if ‘Come on Grandad’ is anything to go by. Mr Scruff tells me it’s a more rounded affair with a mix of dancefloor dynamite, some Brazilian influences, and further cheeky tunes about fish with commentary from children’s TV presenters.

There are some festival appearances coming up, a Keep It Unreal UK tour around the time of the album release in September (watch the skies and your local free newspaper), and another jaunt to the Americas in the winter.

On 13th July there’s the third birthday of Keep It Unreal in Manchester. Perhaps we’ll get to hear some plenty crazy Bollywood soundtracks as Mr Scruff tells me that he has recently purchased a huge collection of same- adding to an already extensive vinyl collection that threatens to test the foundations of his modest Victorian terrace. You’ll find me in the tea room at Keep It Unreal. Where those needing to rest aching feet can purchase a reviving Yorkshire blend and a biscuit before responding once more to the irresistible pull of a smiling dancefloor. It’s this kind of thing which goes to show that Mr Scruff is, aside from being an uncommonly decent chap, a man who has realised that a good night out has little to do with grumpy music and sweaty lads.

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Customer reviews

review by: voodoo_child date: 2007-07-18 rating:
uplifting
If you can listen to this album without smiling, you have no soul. My favourite tracks are Get A Move On, Midnight Feast, Honeydew, and Fish, but they're all great :-)

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review by: WTFPWNED date: 2006-01-17 rating:
Amazing
This is the work of a pure genius, Mr.scruff combines jazz beatz and electronica to create a wrok of art, unbeliveable, not only is this music a easy listen it also has great style and pulls out the happyness in all of us with such great songs as spandex man and shanty town thankyou Mr. scruff.

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review by: pete_991 date: 2005-07-05 rating:
What an album!
I brought this CD on recommendation of my friend and it is a killer album..it mixes some really good beats with some really good chill-out/ambient music. It also has some weird stuff with the likes of 'Shanty town'! Really worth getting...great for parties!

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review by: robthehogg date: 2005-02-20 rating:
Wonderfully cheesy!
I bought this sound-unheard, on the strength of the reviews on this site. So I gave it a spin with a little trepidation, which increased through the first couple of tracks (pleasant enough, but sounding like the intro to something which was reluctant to start). Then it started...

It's a mixture of some of the best mellow ambient-ish stuff for chilling out with a side order of pure silliness! IMHO, Shanty Town is the high point of the album:

What sort of fish are you? / I'm not a fish at all you stupid man! / What are you if you're not a fish? / You certainly look like a fish! / I certainly don't feel like a fish!

There's a whale / There's a whale / There's a whale-fish he cried / And the whale was in full view

Apparently based on a trad. song called Greenland Fishing, which was performed by the Almanac Singers (Woody Guthrie et al), and Utterly Hilarious! According to his website, Mr. Scruff has a travelling tea-shop which he takes to his live dos! I feel a strong need to go along and partake.


review by: date: 2004-11-26 rating:
jus jus get a move on ;-)
this album is the mutt's nuts!! get a move on invaded my brain a few years back & then i got keep it unreal. absolutely brilliant album, one of my favourites ever. so long is so blissed & chilled out..reminds me of long lazy summers!

best tracks on here are: jus jus, so long, cheeky, fish (wicked) and of course, get a move on.

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