The Weir profile picture

The Weir

Hip Hop Music For The Advancement Of Mankind

About Me


The Weir an up and coming musician from the south coast resort of Southsea, England. Producing experimental hip hop for around 8 years including collaborations with vocalists from all parts of the world including The Crusadists, of his native Southsea, New York underground collective Organic Substance, eclectic Canadian rapper Anonymous Twist and more recently, Tokyo based MC, The Skahlah.
While his earlier music was inspired by the beats of producers such as the RZA, Prince Paul, DJ Shadow, Pete Rock and DJ Premier, his sound has evolved over these years, his new projects have become more song based, fluid and melodic, inspired by the cinematic soundtracks he loves, from Bill Conti to Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota to Craig Armstrong but never forgetting his love for a crunchy hip hop beat.
Over the course of three self released EPs The Weir has consistently experimented with a wide range of off kilter samples and original arrangements but this fourth instalment, The Legend of Kid Icarus, is a culmination of this work. A myriad of textures and sounds bound into a single epic journey across 6 tracks of orchestral, atmospheric and underground hip hop and beats, it is his most adventurous and consuming project to date. The EP provides a backdrop to a mystical fantasy set against a distant stratosphere, a soundscape of slipstreams and turbulence, cool breezes and blue sky.
Colourful and rich elements from an eclectic mix of sources such as movies, television, traditional ethnic instruments, modern electronica and retro video games, are blended with a hip-hop sensibility to produce music which seems at first measured and simple but soon unravels itself to the listener, slowly drawing you in deep, holding you tightly to the end.
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UKHH.com wrote:
“Instrumental hip hop that paints a soundscape, certainly a journey that will start off with you in a darkened room smoking spliffs, but will have you ending up dancing around and shaking that butt.”
The October Issue of Stool Pigeon wrote:
“Whoah, this one is tasty: THE WEIR, who's a Southsea/Portsmouth-based bedroom producer doing very cinematic and faintly gnarly hip hop instrumentals. We're hearing the RZA, Company Flow and Shadow at the root of these songs, but they're far more than just breaks – to his beats The Weir adds bluesy vocal loops, strings, weird bleeps, and movie samples to build soundscapes that are graceful, otherworldly and impressive. Ninja Tune fans listen in.”
Distant Stratosphere was featured on the cover CD of Future Music Issue 180. They wrote:
“Some atmospheric abstract hip hop action here, which moves through three distinct sections, managing the shifts very well. The drums throughout have a great lo-fi feel to them and it's these, combined with the underlying atmospheres and swells that really give the piece its feel.”
The November Issue of Beatmag wrote:
“More a mini-album than EP, 'The Legend Of Kid Icarus' is the work of Andrew Weir from Southsea, UK, and contains six tracks of beat-tronica that occasionally veers onto the dancefloor (as on the 'Funky Brother' beats of 'Above The Clouds'). Mostly it sticks to orchestral atmospherics, live vocals, organic percussion and even a driving Joy Division vibe on 'Slipstreams'. It's imaginative and lively and has all the hallmarks of a bedroom studio obsessive. Someone should introduce Weir to a class songwriter and watch the sparks fly.”
Buy The Weir - The Legend Of Kid Icarus at iTunes Now....

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/11/2005
Band Website: theweir.co.uk
Influences: Various styles of music influence my sound, though some more directly than others. I'd say my initial reference point is hip hop and trip hop instrumentals but i gain much more from listening to as diverse a music spectrum as i possibly can. Some of the more direct influences i can think of are here: Aim, Air, Amon Tobin, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead, Angelo Badalamenti, Atmosphere, Autechre, Avalanches, Belle & Sebastian, Bent, Bill Conti, Bjork, Blackalicious, Blackmoon, Bloc Party, Blue States, Boards Of Canada, Boom Bip, Broadway Project, Brother Ali, Canibus, Cannibal Ox, Charlatans, Clor, Common, Courtney Pine, Craig Armstrong, Dan the Automator, Dangermouse, David Axelrod, Deckwrecka, DJ Cam, DJ HiTek, DJ Krush, DJ Premier, DJ Shadow, DJ Signify, Dusted, E S Posthumus, El-P, Ennio Morricone, Evil 9, Faithless, Flaming Lips, Fluke, Flunk, GO! Team, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Gorillaz, Henry Mancini, Herbaliser, Ian Brown, Jay Dilla, John Barry, Kasabian, K-os, Lalo Schifrin, Lamb, Led Zepelin, Leftfield, Lemon Jelly, Lewis Parker, M83, Madlib, Mandalay, Mantovani, Mark Ronson, Massive Attack, Max Richter, MF Doom, Mobb Deep, Moby, Morcheeba, Mr Scruff, Nightmares on Wax, Nitin Sawnhey, Non-Prophets, Orbital, Orbital, Overseer, Pete Rock, Plastikman, Portishead, Prefuse 73, Primal Scream, Prince Paul, Quannum, Quantic, RJD2, Rob Dougan, RZA, Saul Williams, Sole, Stone Roses, The Aloof, The Orb, The Rolling Stones, The Roots, Tricky, UNKLE, Wagon Christ, William Orbit, Wu Tang, Zero 7, Various Film Scores and Soundtracks, Stuff I hear on adverts and little bits of music that grab my attention and then I forget after a few seconds... The list is endless and grows by the day
Sounds Like: All four of my EPs are avilable for purchase priced £4 or $7 on CD. The Legend of Kid Icarus is also available for online download from iTunes. Click on the covers to stream tracks off my website and please contact me for details of purchase...

THE LEGEND OF KID ICARUS

DEVIL MAY CARE

AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT

FANDANGO!
Record Label: VIBRA
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

New Album - Skyhooks

I've finally completed the new album - 10 tracks in total, 3 instrumentals the rest feature vocals from a range of artists from both the UK and overseas. I'm really pleased with how its turned out, ma...
Posted by The Weir on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:55:00 PST

Vibra Online

If you've been wondering how to get a hold of some of my music, especially oversees i've finally begun to step into the realms of online music sales. I recently signed to an online music publishing co...
Posted by The Weir on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:32:00 PST

Beatmag.net Review

Slightly mixed review of The Kid Icarus EP from beatmag, i like being referred to as a bedroom studio obsessive.... i'm not obsessive honestly, i just like to tinker.... More a mini-album than EP, 'Th...
Posted by The Weir on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:55:00 PST

Future Music Cover CD

The first track off The Legend Of Kid Icarus was featured on the cover cd of Future Music Issue 180. Unfortunately the CD on the front of the copy i bought decided it didn't want to play the song.... ...
Posted by The Weir on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:47:00 PST

Stool Pigeon Review

The October issue of Stool Pigeon is running a review of The Legend Of Kid Icarus. If you haven't seen it already here it is in its entirety: Whoah, this one is tasty: THE WEIR, who's a Southsea/Ports...
Posted by The Weir on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:45:00 PST

New to myspace, New EP, New Website...

Lots of new stuff going on as i have finally finished my new music project and to celebrate have overhauled my website and set up this myspace account. The new project is called The Legend Of Kid Ic...
Posted by The Weir on Tue, 21 Mar 2006 01:18:00 PST

UKHH.com Review

This is a review of my last EP, Devil may Care, by UKHH website. This is a limited edition instrumental EP with 6 tracks from producer The Weir, who has been producing experimental hip hop for around ...
Posted by The Weir on Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:26:00 PST