Sub Pop signing Spoek Mathambo is a little less out of the ordinary with Shabazz Palaces on the roster prior to inking the deal, but there's still a country mile between past Sub Pop artists like The Shins, Mudhoney, Sebadoh and Band of Horses (and yes, I purposely selected the whitest bands on the label) and Spoek. Nonetheless, SP is proving it is far from losing touch with the hip, as Shabazz just got BNM honors and there's a breath-holding contest surrounding the impending release of surviving chillwaver Washed Out.
This all has very little to do with Spoek Mathambo though, who simply deserves the proper U.S. distribution that Sub Pop will lend. It's a well-timed signing that only gets better after one listen to “Put Some Red On It”. Spoek is treating the dancefloor like a medium for recruiting terrorist cells, as the danger levels have been on red alert since his EP with Wool. “Put Some Red On It” explores the issue of conflict/blood diamonds, while Spoek adds nine tons of sleaze and bare bone percussion to his afro-futurism sound. The Put Some Red On It EP features remixes of the title track by Telepathe and Shabazz Palaces.
The EP is out digitally in late July.
