Sanjeev Mann has a lot of roles – he’s CCO of Hip Hop Scotland, a campaigner for disability rights, and as Supermann on da beat, a producer with a constantly expanding body of work in styles, from metal to phonk to jazzy chill hop. So a big part of the excitement of this EP was the anticipation of just what it might be.
In BREATHE, Sanjeev speaks eloquently about challenges but is not in search of sympathy (‘I am not your soap storyline’, he says), rather looking at systemic issues and the oppression of austerity that affects all of us. He’s fiercely rebuking tokenism, rejecting the idea that anything about him should be inspirational just for existing.
Despite that righteous anger, it’s a downbeat affair – the beats are hip hop but the guitars pull influence from post rock and midwest emo, the lyrics drawn from spoken word and honest confessional, enforcing over and again: life is short, so make it count.
BREATHE is out now
