Live Review: Fly High Society ‘Fly Thai Green’ EP

We’ve got a timely release from UK collective FLY HIGH SOCIETY – the clue is in the name. This is an audio homage to 4/20.

The four track EP opens with ‘Beginning’ from Bolts and an esoteric sitar and few patted-hand bongos. A dull-thud digital beat is brought in as accompaniment, and the elements crescendo into a heady wash of far Eastern musical references and distant drums. You might want to light some incense to go with this one.

The second track on the A side opens with an amusing voice sample from some British  (I can’t identify which, suffice to say that it’s a really northern one), with multiple tongue in cheek drug references: "MDMA? Stop just chucking letters at me". It indicates to the EP’s very irreverent tone and the collective’s general philosophy towards drug use. ‘Stav In’ by Monto is a little more urgent than the opening track, with breathy whispers and a quick little drum beat mixed in with DJ spins and cut off samples.

The B side sees cuts from Tre’bore and Iglooghost – again, the vocal samples and rips from radio edits act as spoken introductions to the tracks, and once more we hear anonymous voices playfully chatting about marijuana and organising pick ups. ‘Hibiscus Shuffle’ by Tre’bore has a siren that gently rises and falls in the background of the track, whilst a truncated whistle plays and grainy female vocals add a dose of serenity to the track.

Iglooghost is an odd choice with which to finish the EP; it’s loud and a bit of an onslaught compared to the inoffensive ditziness of ‘Hibiscus Shuffle’. Nevertheless, it’s a fun track and one that makes you listen out for all the elements that have gone into it.

The EP lives up to the collective’s slogan of ‘bass, beats and bleeps’, and with the artwork for the release sketched by Mump, one of the label’s own producers, it’s a real crew affair. There’s also an interesting tumblr blog, a smorgasbord of videos and cultural references from Connan Mockasin tunes to Gil Scott Heron quotations, that explicates visually on the collective’s ethos.

The EP is available for purchase as a limited edition cassette, coupled with a high quality download, stream and sticker pack. Plus all UK purchases also come with a Fly High Society lighter, a subtle nod to 4/20. Actually, it’s not that subtle – the whole EP is about as ‘4/20’ as you can get.

Words by Katie Rowley

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