About this item

Micachu & The Shapes have collaborated with London Sinfonietta, one of the world’s leading contemporary orchestras, to create "Chopped & Screwed". Recorded live in front of an audience at Kings Place, London in May 2010.

The Sinfonietta invited Mica Levi, Micachu & The Shapes’ frontwoman, to compose a series of pieces that would reflect her interests and influences, whilst giving the Sinfonietta an opportunity to develop a relationship with a young and exciting composer. She then presented the ideas of Shapes Raisa, Marc, alongside her own, to the Sinfonietta’s players, who then helped the trio to expand and enhance their ideas during a series of workshops prior to the concert.

The concept behind the album was inspired by the popular ‘chopping and screwing’ technique in American hip hop which was developed in Houston in the 1990s. The technique involves halving tempo, skipping beats and affecting portions of the original music. The approach was thought to have been developed by DJ Screw and largely influenced by Purple Drank, a codeine-based cough syrup which creates the effect of slowing down the brain, giving mellow music its appeal. For this exciting, innovative project Mica Levi and David Sylvester handmade the instruments played by Micachu & The Shapes.

Accompanying both formats of the album will be a download code for a mixtape featuring the artist Brother May, repeats and extends the concept further by chopping and screwing the original album into grime tracks.