Slab

Like Lionrock and the Chemical Brothers, Slab are a Brit-hop outfit who've made the decision to not decide between guitars and synthesizers, combining the two in raucous, decidedly un-subtle ways. Formed by Nina Walsh and Lol Hammond in 1995, the group combine dirty, distorted breaks, bubbling acid lines, guitar blasts, and bits of dub, techno, and rave in simple-but-effective amalgams of cheap thrills and electric bombast. To date, the group has released three EPs and a compilation/mini-album on the Hydrogen Dukebox label and been remixed by the likes of Monkey Mafia, Carl Cox, and Sabres of Paradise/2 Lone Swordsmen's Andrew Weatherall. The last is a connection worth expanding upon; in addition to Slab, Nina Walsh is the force behind Sabrettes, an underling imprint to Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise empire, and released a number of popular EPs from the likes of Inky Blacknuss, Innersphere, and Turbulent Force. Lol Hammond is a former member of popular U.K. tribal/techno group the Drum Club, which he left in 1995 to focus on Slab. Both Walsh and Hammond are accomplished instrumentalists, and the group's live show is one of the most integrated (i.e., in terms of electronics and acoustics) on the U.K. scene. Slab's mini-LP Freeky Speed was reissued domestically in 1996 by Sm:)e Communications.