Flash Atkins was born a super hero who had his gravy days in the 80s saving the world with his ability to manipulate sound.
In his earlier days as a popstar he fell on hard times and can be spotted in the less salubrious parts of London, Manchester and West Yorkshire stoned or drunk on borrowed time & money. To make ends meet he used his special powers to DJ, remix and make tracks for Paper Recordings.
The Sweetshop was his first single and is a concise slice of low-fi electronic pop sitting in the hinterland somewhere between Hot Chip and Calvin Harris. Gabriel Olegavich’s alterego, Caspa Codina takes time out from producing Spektrum, Lady Sovereign and Envy to provide vocals.
On the remix front, Håkan Lidbo goes mainfloor with a glitchy 4/4 bass driven thumper, Radioproof veer off in to Hoxton Pop territory and new kids Dieter & the Gadabouts take it deep, big and bouncy. Flash Atkins also has a crack with his Into The Valley version that takes different types of house, sticks them through the mixer and emerges with a whole load of disco attitude and something that The Juan Maclean would be proud of.