Dan Le Sac - laptop musician, producer and one half of polemical electro hip-hop duo Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip – is enjoying what sounds like an ideal lazy Sunday.
He puts down the phone momentarily to finish a pork pie and will later speak enthusiastically about slow-cooking a lamb shoulder for friends, who are visiting his home in Reading later that afternoon.
It’s all very friendly, domestic chit-chat – a far cry from the scathing social critiques that set Le Sac and collaborator “Pip” apart from almost every other British act working today.
The pair will be heading to Banquet Records on Tuesday, October 8, for an intimate instore gig in support of their third album, Repent Replenish Repeat.
“It’s going to be interesting,” says Le Sac, real name Daniel Stephens. “We’re doing the instore in Banquet and we might play some old stuff, but we might just do all new stuff and see how it goes down when you’re three feet away from the audience.
“You can see their faces and see what they really think.”
Previously both solo artists, Le Sac and Pip came to instant public attention with the release in 2007 of Thou Shalt Always Kill, their first original collaboration.
Ironically for a song decrying the sheep-like behaviour of modern pop culture (“When I say ‘Hey’ thou shalt not say ‘Ho” etc) the track quickly obtained cult status, and the pair were, for a time, the hottest property around. Of course they hadn’t planned it that way.
“If we had had those expectations we would have written an album before anyone got to hear anything,” says Le Sac.
“That was the first song we wrote together. Everything else we’d done was me re-working things Pip had already written.
“That single came out in March, and I think it was over a year between Thou Shalt being available and the album coming out.”
Le Sac, right, says Pip's lyrics address more personal issues on the new album
The new album has a “rougher” edge to it, says Le Sac, who provides the musical accompaniment to Pip’s – aka David Meads’ – acerbic spoken word.
“Pip actually seems angrier now than he did six years ago,” says Le Sac. “He still writes stories about things he’s seen or read, but he’s airing some more personal issues, which is nice.
“I think when you’re writing spoken word you can forget you’re a person with feelings too.”
Le Sac admits the duo have disagreed over Pip’s lyrics in the past – an indication that their collaboration is more than a musical platform for the magnificently-bearded poet’s personal rants.
“Yes it’s happened a couple of times,” says Le Sac.
“If it isn’t an issue for me he has carte blanche but when it starts encroaching on things he believes and I don’t then he gets to keep that spoken work for himself.
“It doesn’t happen often. And there are some subjects I know more about than he does, believe it or not. Not many though.”
Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Banquet Records, Eden Street, Kingston
Tuesday, October 8, 6pm £9.99 (CD and Ticket) £18.99 (LP and Ticket)
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