Frankie Stew + Harvey Gunn Sift Through The Crates
Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn are an endless font of musical knowledge. Any genre, any year… and chances are, they’ll have some deep cut to offer. It’s not all audio one-upman-ship, however, with the production duo applying a real sense of fun to their work.
Building a singular catalogue, 2022’s ‘Nothing New Under The Sun’ blended hip-hop, R&B, pop, and more into a potent brew, joined by a wide-ranging crew of guests. Recently sharing another batch of instrumentals, the continual creativity from Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn shows no sign of slowing down.
Set to hit Corona Sunsets festival on September 2nd at Hatfield House, Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn will bring a dose of late summer heat to the laidback event.
Ahead of this, Clash invited Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn to sift through the record racks, picking out their favourite album decade-by-decade.
Frankie Stew’s picks…
1980s…
Slick Rick – ‘The Great Adventures Of…’
This has to be my favourite from this time period, Slick Rick’s voice is just too good… you know, when a rapper just has one of those voices he could be saying anything and it’s gonna sound sick. Special flow as well, his music still stands up tall even today.
1990s…
Outkast – ‘ATliens’
This is in my Top Three albums of all time for me, regardless of time period… or even genre for that matter. This – as well as all their other earlier albums – is what got me into hip-hop music, or just music generally. Can’t sing OutKast’s praises enough.
2000s…
This is almost impossible, there’s too many from this era. So here’s a couple. Fashawn’s ‘Boy Meets World’ is one of my favourite albums ever, it was what got me into writing. But I think my number one is Jay Z with ‘The Blueprint’. Classical. Can’t say much more, really.
2010s…
Chance The Rapper – ‘Acid Rap’
This album is iconic really, early Chance was too sick. Unmatched to be honest, wouldn’t be able to tell you how much this got played when it first dropped.
2020s…
It could and should be ‘A Written Testimony’ by Jay Electronica, a couple songs on there are the best writing I’ve ever heard. But for this answer I’m gonna keep it real: Little Simz, ‘NO THANK YOU’ takes the top spot. Special artist she is.
Harvey Gunn’s picks…
1970s…
Neil Young – ‘Harvest’
This was an album that my Dad would play as a kid, but that I didn’t really appreciate until I was more grown up. He has such a distinctive, fragile voice and I think it is a great example of how powerful and moving ‘laidback’ music can be.
1980s…
Kate Bush – ‘Hounds Of Love’
One of the first sample based beats I ever made was from the vinyl LP of this, recording straight off the turntable into the Mac. This sparked a love for sampling that has never died.
1990s…
Air – ‘Moon Safari’
I love how cinematic this album feels, which is a feeling I always want to get across in my own productions. You listen to it and instantly you can imagine images to go along with the music.
2000s…
The Streets – ‘Original Pirate Material’
My first solid memory of getting into this album was when I heard ‘Stay Positive’ in Kidulthood. I think to this day it will go down as one of the rawest, realest UK albums of a generation, and to this day feels like the perfect summary of a young existence in urban Britain.
2010s…
Pusha T – ‘My Name Is My Name’
This album hasn’t aged a day and probably never will. Such a great example of effortless excellence in his lane, and seems to have endless playback ability.
2020s…
Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn – ‘Breathing Exercises’
This album changed my life forever, so I can’t not include it.
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