Metrovavan - Retrofitting

Scott Twynholm aka HOBOKEN, aka LOOPER is a twenty-something Scotsman. With a French flavour stemming from two years spent living in Paris - amongst the keyboards and hip-hop break beats - Retrofitting marks the emergence of one of Scotland’s freshest new talents.

Since the first tender steps of Scott Twynholm's debut single The Lost Notes on Liquefaction Empire earlier this year, the body - poppin' Glaswegian has truly come of age with this collection of electronica, funk, hip-hop and Americana tinged songs. The comparisons between Scott's other band LOOPER (from whom he intends to take a step back from for a while whilst he continues full-time as Metrovavan) were in evidence at first but now, after a summer spent twiddling knobs, pushing buttons and strumming his guitar oh so dreamily, he has created a work that is unique yet strangely familiar such comparisons are few and far between. Listen to tracks such as 'Keep Breathing' where there's much more of 'Money Mark's Keyboard Repair' than anything post B&S whilst on the tearjerker 'Behind the Last Star' definite traces of Scott's more morose Scottish contemporaries can be found hiding amongst the beauty of those tender guitars. The sublime 'Because of the Sun' is in a different era all together, harking back to the early Eighties when kids would take out their mum's spare lino and windmill to the sounds of Nucleus and Hashim. 'I'm Glad I'm Not A Spaceman' on the other hand is simply one of the most beautiful songs to have emerged from 2000. The brilliance of Retrofitting lies in the fact that it encapsulates a vast array of genres: 'The Lost Notes' had many reviewers scratching their heads for descriptions of the Metrovavan sound and some found the only way to aptly pin the music down was to throw in a whole host of possible influences and contemporaries.

Metrovavan is indeed hard to pin down so let's not bother trying any longer...sit back and enjoy the sound of the future through rose tinted spectacles. Check out the track "French Lessons." What THEY said about the debut single, The Lost Notes... "looped hip-hop beats, piano melodies, lazy scratches and angelic vocals. Lovely.

"It's the stuff of daydreams, as brushed drums, fairground dub and sci-fi effects collide. Captivating and enchanting in two agile moves." -- DJ magazine

"Organic sample-led weirdness with breaks. Damn fine." -- Jockey Slut

"This Week's Most Wanted." -- Melody Maker

"Fantastic sampling and funky laid back drums that loop behind what sounds like a Japanese child singing the sweetest harmony. The melodies stick in your head - it’s both simple and childlike. A beautiful electronic record." -- Single of the Month, Record Collector