Album Notes

Border Crossing reemerge from their West London studio with a record entitled ‘Freedom of Speech’. A potent mix of urban roots, soul, hip hop and r&b. The follow up to their critically acclaimed debut album ‘Ominous’ which was cited as ‘the record you wish Massive Attack had made after Protection’ by DJ magazine and heralded by Time Out as the UK’s answer to Jurrasic 5 and The Roots.

Alex Angol and Seorais Graham met in the late 80\'s during London\'s thriving illegal free party scene. Alex was deejaying and mc\'ing as part of the Radical Crew alongside early Wildbunch, Soul2Soul and Metro soundsystems. Metro went on to become Renegade Sound Wave (RSW), one of the first U.K. dance bands to stand out as a modern industrial and distinctively British sound. Aj became the deejay for RSW and developed a long standing friendship with Danny Briottet.

“Freedom of Speech is a triumph through adversity!” Seorais quips, reflecting on the last 18 months spent recording whilst making ends meet deejaying at various London venues. The record was conceived in a damp basement, returning to the low budget basics of 2 tuntables and a MPC sampler. Once the ideas and foundation developed, the recordings and production were undertaken with the experience of Danny Briottet (formerly of RSW) as co-producer/engineer at his Red Star studio in Notting Hill.

As the title suggests \'Freedom of Speech\' makes some unabashed political observations. Talking about the record Seorais explains that it was inspired by the “celebration of people’s differences and the prevailing human quality”. He goes on to suggest that “BC’s music portrays a social context, multiculturalism on wax, representing the unity of different people whilst trying to encourage their diversity.”

The extended B.C. family includes South London vocalist \'Ricky Ranking\' whose Jamican roots resonate firmly through B.C\'s reportage on tracks Blazin and City of Love. The latter of the two was recorded just days after the 7 July 2005 London bombings and is a subconscious rally for peace that reflects Ricky’s concern over the security of inner city life in the 21st Century.

Alex Watson and Vicky Virtue provide the soullful feminine touch to the album. Alex, the elder and more contemplative, features on \'Forget about it\' and \'Out with the Old\'. Vicky infuses more attitude on the engaging \'Militant style\', infusing a message of righteousness with emotive string stabs and affecting harmonies.

Hip hop is clearly a major influence although it’s not where Border Crossing choose to position themselves, preferring rather to embrace a fusion of genres. Their love and support for U.K. hip hop is reflected by featuring m.c\'s Lethal, Jhest,and the rookie Vice Man from the Kung Fu fraternity. The title track is handled by veteran m.c. Rakin, formerly \'Trim\' of the Cash Crew.

Signed to Kartel the U.K. management company / record label home to Fat Freddy’s Drop, Son of Dave, and The Mules. The partnership with B.C. reflects a desire by Seorais and Aj to expose their music to a wider audience and in particular to develop their live show.

Since completing ‘F.o.S’ Seorais and Aj have been working with Sacha Puttnam, who contributed string arrangements to Forget About It and Militant Style, on an original sound-track for British feature film ‘Dolphins’ by award winning director Mark Jay who directed 2 music videos from Border Crossing’s first album.