FBC Fabric & Reindeer - Passenger

"Passenger" is a sample track from FBC Fabric & Reindeer's full-length release entitled "It's Not Who You Know, It's Whom You Know". To be completely honest, it's rare that I find myself splashing out for an entire album based on the strength of a single sample track. It's a great way to get a record collection packed with records that have one track worth listening to. But if the limited reviews I've read are anything to go by, this single track is just the tip of a fantastic UK hip-hop iceberg. Your interest in this track will of course be based upon how open minded you are towards hip-hop. If you're all about the grit, the grime and the glamour then go and buy the new Ghostface Killah (it's really fucking good) and leave us pasty little geeks to our experimental, inoffensive backpacking. However if you're into the idea of a damn fine, relaxed, fantastically produced and lyrically musing little hip-hop number, then chances are you'll adore FBC Fabric and Raindeer.

The first major point of note would be how well the string sample is handled, really letting the bleak image painting of the lyrics hit the spot. "Passenger" is an awkward tale of every day life, vaguely listening in on other people's conversations whilst you stare out the window of a train and note every little detail that you spot. A sense of grim reality that dull, once moderately interesting rappers (coughatmospherecough) haven't been able to recreate since they realized that making the same album over and over was a sure way to generate album sales. "Passenger" then lives out the duration of it's play time as an instrumental, allowing a soundtrack and mental image of the recent gloomy descriptions to be formed.

FBC Fabric & Reindeer - Passenger

Check out FBC Fabric's site where there are links to his releases and a few more mp3s.