These three minutes twenty seconds distill what is both wonderful and wrong with the UK today.
If we went ‘daily mail’ on their asses, the Blackout Crew look like the type of people who offer £5 carparking services outside a football game. On the surface it is the usual bounce based wank-house made by people with kids cartoon villain stage names and too much flamable clothing.
Look further and you will see the group behind it are a bunch of creative 19-21 year olds, formed four years ago via a youth project in Bolton. The Harmony Youth Project was started nearly ten years ago aiming to give an outlet and aim to those who may otherwise take part in negative behaviour.
The Blackout Crew’s first track was based on the issues surrounding the dangers of smoking, a latter track was the infamous ‘put a donk on it‘. This ‘donk’ reached around the world and became the byword for the mainstream revival of the bouncy techno genre (as mainstream as that can get). Both are noble causes in their own right.
This takes me on to Rumper Pumper, which samples Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Oompah Loompah song with the video featuring one “Willy Donka“. The Blackout Crew’s first ever ‘music video’ was based on a budget of eight quid, whereas this is a lavish affair with a set and everything!
The stage is set with five lads turning up at Mr Donka’s gates, who then entices them inside in a manner I can only liken to that of a young Shaun Ryder playing ‘scary wendy house’ as a kid.
The video is then a 150bpm orange sweetie fest, a kind of Easyjet explosion in the old woolworths pic n mix section being fast forwarded for fun.
It has all the ingredients for a great UK music vid, the dancing, women , nods to other media, a storyline, poking fun at itself and a shot showing the Blue Peter style set in a warehouse somewhere.
This sums up everything that is great about the UK, a group of lads can create something so off the wall crazy and get away with it. The video currently has 153,000 views which is a decent sized audience that they have entertained, which is the key to its warmth. In seperation the music, the group or the video may be repellant for some, but together it entices you in and is very watchable.
In an attempt to be abusive ‘hunterjore13‘ says in the youtube comments, “erm yeah this is shit this is a kids song with a fucking donk on“.
That is very true, but for that exact reason I see Rumper Pumper as a reason to be cheerful, and the lads obviously enjoy it so good on them 🙂