Hail the kings of hip-hop swing

The Correspondents, an electronica duo from Wandsworth, are MC Mr Ian Bruce — a portrait artist in his spare time — and his DJ, Mr Chuckles. For the past few months they have cut a swathe through London's club venues and were the sought-after feelgood act at Bestival, Glastonbury and the Secret Garden Party festivals this summer.

"It's time to get lovely and lusty, my friends," announces 26-year-old Bruce as he jumps into the air, bright pink legs sprawling, and breaks into a hip-hop remix of the Jungle Book's I Wanna be Like You before hyping up the crowd by rapping to a background of crackly Thirties swing beats.

Tim Dickinson, author of music blog Thebluewalrus.com, says that having witnessed the recent resurgence of Twenties and Thirties music and the continuing popularity of London's electro and hip-hop scenes, he is not surprised by the excitement surrounding what's also known as the electro-swing, or swing'n'bass scene.

"People are mixing old swing tracks and taking them in a completely new direction with electro and drum'n'bass. Because both of these types of music are great to dance to, the combination works well. It's not an aural assault, it's just that you can get up and dance with a partner."

Dickinson notes that Kid Koala, who put out a catchy dance-jazz record called Your Mum's Favourite DJ, "really fits into this" and when DCUP and Yolanda Be Cool collaborated to produce the number one chart topper We No Speak Americano last month, the bouncy swing and house song became a viral hit. Dickinson says: "With this, you get the best of both worlds."

In April, hip Shoreditch lair The Book Club hosted an Electro Swing night curated by Nick Hollywood, founder of the Freshly Squeezed record label, to which the Correspondents are signed. With Hollywood's mix of swing versus speakeasy jazz called White Mink: Black Cotton, the sounds of swing 'n' bass filled the air while a sweaty crowd of enthusiastic twentysomethings danced furiously in pairs.

Hollywood, whose first electro-swing album was released last week, agrees that the scene has exploded across London in the past few months. "There is a natural rhythm to this kind of music but there is also a big fashion story to it. The look and style of swing goes well with the beats. It has really taken off in the UK. Its big, blaring, brassy energy is appealing during these hard economic times when people just want music to dance to."

Next month The Correspondents will play at London Bridge's latest pop-up club, Counter Culture, but November will also see a gig at east London's Favela Chic supported by a Parisian quartet, Le KKC Orchestra, which fuses guitar swing with drum'n'bass, break-beat and hip-hop styles.
Another London hip-hop swing enthusiast is DJ Bingly Bongly, who last Saturday played a memorable set at The Book Club and has more gigs in the pipeline. Meanwhile, in Europe, Hollywood says that Austrian Parov Stellar, who combines jazz with break-beat and electro, will be the next best thing to arrive in London.
This party is one that is in full swing.

For upcoming gigs: countercultureproject.com; favelachic.com; myspace.com/lekkcorchestra; binglybongly.net; wearetbc.com