Sam and The Womp are a group that’s unafraid of pushing the envelope. Their catalogue spans from dub to Drum N Bass to big brass fueled Balkan Funk and beyond.
Their backgrounds in jazz and experimental songwriting is what fuels today’s desire to push the boundaries of music. Since university the duo of Bloom de Wilde and Sam Ritchie have been involved in experimental bands and events companies, showcasing the weird and the wonderful. It’s this love of the avant-garde, that led to the pair writing their biggest hit to date. ‘Bom Bom’ was a track conceived in their dingy rehearsal room that took them all around the world and to the top of the U.K Charts.
Since then, the duo have had another string of hit singles and took a well deserved bit of time-off. Bloom and Sam now have two kids, but have lost none of the hunger for live performance. Last year saw the band play a packed festival and touring schedule. Bloom even performed at last year’s Boomtown Fair festival while heavily pregnant.
After a number of additional projects, constantly striving to feed their creative hunger, the band have returned with a collection of festival ready anthems in time for summer 2018. The new “Bee Sides” EP is bursting with Balkan, Dub, Ragga & Dancehall flavours. The first track – Posh Ragga, features long-term collaborator MC Solomon and it’s an emphatic statement of intent.
There’s an infectious groove throughout the piece, exacerbated by Ritchie’s trumpet hook-lines. Solomon chips in with a gritty rap vocal, contributing to a piece with a stunning live appeal. 2018 festival anthem.
“The Bee Sides EP is a collection of previously unreleased songs that we think compliment each other, characteristically rich with fat brass and heavy bass, with a Balkan-Dub flavour, showing off our musicianship and experimental side. With the digital age B Sides have become a dated idea, but with this EP we are bringing back the concept and opening up a debate!”
