$hit & $hine – Cunts With Roses

This record was first passed to us by The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers who released it on their Noisestar label. They came to play with us in Manchester at Gnod’s first ever gig back in 2006 and we were passed a copy of this on CD. Chris and I were sitting there the day after the show having a smoke and at first I said: ‘What the fuck? Is this CD scratched or something? Is it broken? Or is the CD player fucked?’ But it turned into one of those lightbulb moments. We opened our eyes and it felt like ‘holy shit - actually, this might be one of the best things we’ve ever heard’.

It blew my mind and took me deep down into the world of Craig Clouse which is quite a musical journey. I didn’t know about Todd, I also found out about Valentina Magaletti because Valentina used to drum with $hit & $hine and when you go and see them live she’d be there. But Cunts With Roses is one of those records that was absolutely ‘wow’. It’s so interesting to see the way Craig Clouse works with editing and looping stuff in his samplers. It’s done incredibly roughly but with so much feel; not too much attention to things being over produced or perfect. It’s done with a huge amount of heart and feel and solid energy and so much vibe and this absolutely monstrous groove. It’s all about the groove, this record: grooving but also filthy and noisy.