Hip-hop duo Flash Peasants return with new EP and hometown Corby gig

“We’ve got a mammoth line-up of pals from across the country together, We want it to be a real celebration of music and life in general, come hang out.”
Flash Peasants release their new EP this month.Flash Peasants release their new EP this month.
Flash Peasants release their new EP this month.

Hip-hop duo Flash Peasants are back - and want you to think about the way you look at work and what you might do with your time if you had to work less.

It’s the question posed on new track Three Day week, the latest single by the Corby act who release their new EP this month the same night they play a hometown gig.

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“We’ve been sitting on these tunes for a wee while now and we can’t wait to share what we’ve been brewing in the lab,” explains one half of Flash Peasants, Stephen Crook.

“The lyrics are about changing the way we look at work as a society,” he adds, talking about their new single.

“It’s essentially asking the listener to imagine what they might do with their time and energy if they didn’t need to work as many hours in order to ‘get by’.

“There are plenty of things that provide value to wider society that aren’t reflected in GDP and the lyrics are an exploration of those ideas with a satirical and cheeky Flash Peasants style.”

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Crook is joined in Flash Peasants by Shaun Flynn and the pair both feature in their ‘Anchorman meets Trigger Happy TV’ video for the track which was directed by Mike Pheasant.

The beat was crafted by ExP of Yorkshire hip-hop trio Flame Griller with Yard Acts’ Jay Russell adding an epic crescendo at the end.

Three Day Week is the title track on the duo’s forthcoming EP which is being released on 12” vinyl by YUK Records.

It includes previous singles The Boys and Do This alongside new tracks Get Loose and End Of The World on side A. Their 2017 five-track self-titled EP is on side B.

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Talking about EP opener, Crook said: “Get Loose is a strong contender for my personal favourite.

“The beat was made by our Jay and it’s got a real summer feel to it I think people will love.

“The main idea of the song is about allowing yourself to relax in this often crazy world and using music and dance as a tool to do so.

“Typically Flash Peasants is a vessel for change, channelling our angst and frustration with the state of the world we live in, but that can be quite alienating to people who use music to escape the stresses of everyday life.

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“With Get Loose we tried to find the sweet spot in between those two places.”

Three Day Week will be the latest physical release by YUK Records, which released the final King Purple single Need Your Love.

The label was set up in 2020 by Alex Horne and Marc Collins.

“We’ve been long time collaborators with Marc at YUK so everything has felt very informal, but the label support has been invaluable and allowed us to concentrate on the creative side of things,” explains Crook.

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“Although Shaun and I between us have released plenty of songs over the years, we’ve never had anything pressed onto wax.

“There’s something fitting about it happening with a project that has hip-hop at the core too.

“The main thing for me was to provide real value with the products, if someone is spending their hard-earned cash on something Flash Peasants related, we want it to be good value.”

While the EP is due out digitally this month, vinyl production delays mean the physical record may not be released until May.

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Flash Peasants have been working on their latest EP since 2019, with the duo working with DJ OP1, Jay Russell, Ross Lauder and Press To Meco guitarist Jake Crawford.

After putting the demos together, they travelled to Dub Why Studios in Leeds to record the vocals with ExP before the EP was mixed and mastered by Russell.

“Shaun and I never want Flash Peasants to feel like an obligation, it has to be something we’re compelled to do or it’s not going to feel right,” Crook explains.

“One thing we knew with this record was that we wanted to experiment with some other sounds and styles, so we made sure to have the rough demos of the songs ready before taking them to a proper studio.

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“Shaun crafted the skeleton of The Boys and then pinged it over to our DJ OP1 who refined it and added some scratching, which gave it that authentic ‘boom-bap’ feel.

“Get Loose was real easy as we were used to working with Jay on the first EP.

“He sent us the beat and we wrote some lyrics to it, job done.

“Shaun collaborated with our pal Ross Lauder for End Of The World which you could describe as a bit of a pop tune I suppose.

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“That one’s full of atmospheric guitars and a silky smooth bass line.

“Do This was essentially a love letter to The Prodigy and the music for this tune was crafted by our mate Jake Crawford.

“We couldn’t be happier with that tune as it takes Flash Peasants to another level in the live environment.

“Once we had all of the demos together we travelled to Dub Why Studios in Leeds to record the vocals with ExP of Flame Griller fame, we can’t recommend him enough.

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“Not only is he an amazing artist he’s a lovely chap and him welcoming us into his studio really brought out the best in these songs.”

With a sound which melds elements of hip-hop and punk rock, Crook and Flynn formed Flash Peasants in 2017 having both previously played together in Corby alternative metal band ACODA.

Flash Peasants draws on influences such as Flame Griller, Enter Shikari, MF DOOM, Wu-Tang Clan, Beastie Boys and 90s hip-hop.

Crook said: “Flash Peasants has always been about empowerment.

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“Both of us have been a part of musical projects that are seemingly all-consuming so it’s important to us that we can work at our own pace and the only ‘pressure’ is that which we put on ourselves.”

Flash Peasants play a release show on Friday, April 29, at the KK Club in Occupation Road, Corby.

They will be joined by DJ OP1, ExP, L3O Robinson, ghostofblu , Nailbreaker, Deadboi and RB Capone.

Crook said: “Honestly for me, all of this is about the live show, the performance and the energy you can share with an audience.

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“It’s all to get people to enjoy your music enough to come and see you do it live.

“We’ve got a mammoth line-up of pals from across the country together for this ‘cause we want it to be a real celebration of music and life in general, come hang out.”

Tickets cost £5 and are on sale now via www.yukrecords.co.uk. Three Day Week is available to pre order for £12. A vinyl and ticket bundle is available for £15.

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