SWS006 | Give It Away

When hedonism took him to the brink of self-destruction many feared it would be the last they saw of Kermit Leveridge. However, the driving force in his life – writing lyrics – kept him going through his introspective recovery and when he was finally fit enough to return, he had amassed a wealth of material aching to break out of his countless notepads.

Coming together with forward-thinking bass-maker, Luke EVM128, they channelled Kermit’s bottled up magic through Luke’s ‘Evermean’ beats to form the uplifting, life- affirming Blind Arcade. With an accessible but edgy balearic, somewhat psychedelic hip hop sensibility with real depth and substance, it was clear they were on to something special.

Drug addiction can chip away at the soul, leaving people bitter in the heart. Letting all the negativity out through his pen proved incredibly cathartic for Kermit, aiding his recovery and allowing him to move forward with a positive message.

This centred approach to negativity shines through the lyrics in Blind Arcade’s ‘Give It Away’, brought to life by the commanding voice of London-based songstress BB.JAMES and delicately supplemented by The Reynolds and Tracey Carmen.

First appearing on the ‘Blind Arcade Meets Super Weird Substance In The Morphogenetic Field’ mixtape that catalysed the beginnings of the Super Weird Substance label, ‘Give It Away’ brims with the soulful warmth and spine-tingling magic that connected with people as the mixtape spread across the sound-waves last summer and paved the way for the autumn ‘Happenings’ that swept across the UK.

Given a new lease of life with three brand new re-recorded versions to fit the label’s current direction, ‘Give It Away’ returns in the form of a sumptuous, slow-burning club dub, a deep and driving radio mix keeping the spirit of the original and a radio- friendly mellow vocal mix.

With their sights on an forthcoming album release through Super Weird Substance in 2016, Blind Arcade have expanded on the success of last year’s mixtape with more of the same serendipitous alchemy and a new and improved live show featuring Black Grape’s current backing band, which they rolled out at Festival Number 6 in Portmeirion – the highlight of a truly sensational twelve hour Super Weird Happening.

Written by Kermit Leveridge and EVM128, produced by Greg Wilson and mixed by Greg and Derek Kaye, the new versions of ‘Give It Away’ feature Kieran O’Malley on strings, Ché Wilson on guitar and Gareth ‘Misterlong’ Bailey, Craig Crofton and Gary Alesbrook aka The Longhorns on brass – trombone, tenor sax and trumpet respectively.