> Live review: Conscious Route & Scott Bathgate – Pyramid EP Launch @ Sneaky Pete's - SNACK: Music, film, arts and culture magazine for Scotland

Live review: Conscious Route & Scott Bathgate – Pyramid EP Launch @ Sneaky Pete’s

Concious-Route-Scot-Bathgate-Pyramid EP cover

Conscious Route & Scott Bathgate – Pyramid EP Launch Event – Saturday 2nd April 2022 @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh

Feat: Kryptic, Nicola Taylor & Micall Parknsun

Put together by prolific Edinburgh-based rapper and collaborator Conscious Route, to celebrate his team up with Scottish composer Scott Bathgate, and the release of their new Pyramid EP. An eager and receptive Sneaky Pete’s crowd was treated to a veritable feast of underground British hip-hop, rap, soul, R&B and D&B. Conscious Route ably played the role of host, introducing the acts, keeping the audience on its toes, and giving each artist the chance to show off their unique styles and abilities. 

Scottish Alternative Music Award (SAMA) winning DJ and rapper Kryptic kicked off the night, spitting bars with an unashamedly Scottish twang – his new single ‘Demons’ standing out in particular – before retreating behind the decks, spinning beats for the other acts and keeping a sublime vibe going between each performance.


Photo credit: Christopher Sneddon

Glasgow’s Nicola Taylor then brought a twist of soul and R&B to the evening’s events. Her powerful singing voice, undeniable flow and effortless lyricism made for an impressive set with a strong sense of empowerment, an aspect most notable on the performance of her latest single ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

Next up, London’s infamous Micall Parknsun took to the stage, working the crowd like the seasoned pro that he is. Sporting an MF DOOM shirt and lighting up the room with seemingly limitless energy, the veteran MC blasted through banger after banger from a career spanning two decades of hip-hop, including cuts from his seminal album The Working Class Dad.

When Conscious Route’s turn finally came to perform, he welcomed each and every artist back to the stage for a song before being joined by Scott Bathgate to unleash tracks from the Pyramid EP. Bathgate made his presence felt from behind a thick cloud of smoke, adding moody synths and shimmering guitars to his partner’s socially aware lyrical poetry, rapped over a danceable, apocalyptic bounce. As it turns out, Pyramid is a solid record and standout tracks ‘Burn’, ‘Trojan’ and ‘Awakening’ were particularly satisfying live.

As the show finally came to an end, it became apparent that the evening had been much more than just the launch party for a new EP. It was an intensely collaborative affair with intertwining performances and, in a nice touch, the musicians were accompanied at various stages by the mesmerising moves of dancers Rita Hu and Nevil Jose. Ultimately the night became a touching tribute to hip hop in all its incarnations and a joyous celebration of the art form’s close-knit community. After being so isolated in recent years and doing without live music for so long, this sense of community is something we need more of, now more than ever.

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