"My best friends are long gone, but I’ve got runner ups," lyrics
to Kurt Vile's "Runner Ups" from 2011's Smoke Ring for My Halo.
It's used by Ceiling Demons first as a homage to Vile's work, and second as an
imaginative way of linking their song "Every Step Is Moving Me Up" to
Vile's message of hope, that there's always something (or in this case someone)
on the horizon waiting to come forward and carry through what may be hard
times. Ceiling Demons evidently feel the same way, as read in their formation
bio, (to): "Pay tribute to a lost friend." They capture
the emotion of the moment, the past, and turn it in to something for the
future.
Ceiling Demons are emerging out of the British hip-hop music scene, which is
re-surfacing as a straight component rather than a blind-Rascal labelling
everything with a rap and a beat, grime - or R&B. What Ceiling Demons do is
like fellow Yorkshire artist Jack Flash. They're hip-hop at the core, with
jazzy sounds and poetic delivery of lyrics to create a murky atmosphere of
thought.
"Every Step Is Moving Up" is like that combination of audience
thought and poetry, but with a lovely sampling twist. They pick up the string
riff from Arthur Russell's "This Is How We Walk on the Moon", and
just run with it. Russell's vocals are also taken, and used as the base for Ceiling
Demons song: "Moving, it's moving me up; every step is moving me up." The sample is instantly noticeable (if you're a fan of
Russell's work - I am,) and Ceiling Demons absolutely destroy the backing
percussion and synthesizers. It's not too heavy and not that light either. Bass
is present, but it's not overpowering or even pulling the listener away from
Russell's vocals on the chorus, and as backing vocals on the two verses.
Ceiling Demons present themselves with masks similar to the once MF partnership
of Doom and Grimm. And Grimm especially seems to have a musical influence on
the style of flow expressed by Ceiling Demons.
Their lyrics are very reflective: "The stars are
made for you and me, magic and tranquillity, this is how we walk on the
moon," referring to a
human high of emotion and feeling, and also a reference and homage to Russell. There seems to be an awareness on "Every Step Is
Moving Me Up", like they know you're about to do something wrong
or stupid, and this recording is a warning not to be 'that person' for doing
it. I find it extraordinary for a song of just two minutes in length to be so
effective on the mind. It makes me click repeat, leading me to believe it's too
short - though the two verses pretty much cover all aspects of what Ceiling
Demons are about, with the purpose of "Every Step Is Moving Me
Up" complete. If there's more where this came from, then they're
definitely going places.
~Eddie Gibson
