The Rise (and Rise) of Prospa, Sophie Duley

The unique sound of the London-based duo Prospa, aka Gosha Smith and Harvey Blumler, has been aptly described by independent music magazine Notion as “rave alchemy”. It is perhaps a coincidence, but only right, that they chose to name their freshly-launched imprint Rave Science, towards the end of last year: a perfect encapsulation of the stylistic interplay that has come to define their music. Their eclectic reinvigoration of the sounds that defined the rave scene of the mid-nineties can only be described in such ethereal terms, a seemingly magical process of sonic transformation and creation that has fuelled their stratospheric, although entirely well deserved, rise.

I distinctly remember the first time I saw Gosha and Harvey play, in an underground bar in our hometown of Leeds and, even then, their ability to create a palpable atmosphere of complete euphoria in that sweaty basement, felt like the beginning of something fresh and exciting. This was way back in 2014, when the duo were more inclined towards the soft synth riffs and deep basslines of house music. So many good memories of my late teens are associated with one of their first tracks together, ‘Love The Way’, a deep house bop which can still be found lurking somewhere on YouTube, and is definitely worth a listen.

It was in 2017, however, that their music career really began to gain traction, as they played sets for BBC Introducing at Creamfields and ADE, but, in October 2018, ‘Prayer’ was released as part of the relaunch of the nineties label Stress Records. An acid-inspired dance tune which exploded onto the scene, garnering widespread critical acclaim from the likes of 58

Monki and Annie Mac, who made it her ‘Hottest Record in the World’ soon after the release – a huge achievement by any standards, but an amazingly unreal moment for those who’ve known them since their school days. The song was such a hit that it is still introducing thousands to their music even now. Every time I return home to Leeds, my parents and I listen to their music together in the kitchen, a sentence I never thought I’d write, but, as a friend of the boys, I am so glad I can. I’ll never forget my dad asking Gosha if it was his vocals sampled on the track – an honest mistake for the newest fan of electronic music, but a hilarious one nonetheless.

Their inimitable sound has undoubtedly come a long way since the progressive deep house set at Creamfields. I recently asked the duo how they would describe the evolution of their music, particularly since ‘Prayer’ dazzled the dance scene:

“[It] is still in its early days… we started on a more house influenced sound, but we didn’t feel a hundred percent content with that music. It was kind of inspired by progressive house, but we liked to also have more unique sounds in there. As we have evolved into making breakbeat, more options open up rhythmically when you don’t follow the constraints of a 4/4 kick drum pattern.”

They cite a variety of inspirations, but mainly focus on “disco, electro, breakbeat and rave”, as Gosha assures me that they will only continue to explore these sounds more in their coming releases. Since the release of ‘Prayer’, it seems like Prospa are unstoppable. As they ventured further into the oh-so-familiar, yet somehow still uncharted, territory of the international rave scene, and the tracks ‘Intended’, ‘Get That’, and ‘Back to the Motherland’ (one of my personal favourites) followed in quick succession; characterised by heavy synths, acid bass, breakbeats, and soulful vocal samples that soon came to define their sound at the beginning of 2019. ‘Intended’ was included in DJ Mag’s ‘Top 50 Tracks of 2019’, with journalist Martin Guttridge-Hewitt citing their use of the iconic vocal hook, ‘believe it’s what God intended’, as “unarguably fresh… creating broken rave-y joy”. Describing their music as inducing “rave-y joy” really encapsulates Prospa’s reimagining of iconic nineties rave tunes – the boys themselves state that The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers are among their biggest inspirations, falling into the category of what they describe as “classic dance music”. In August, they released ‘Guitar Anthem’, a couple of months before the hardcore-influenced trance stabs and breakbeats of their three-track EP, Control The Party, was launched on their Rave Science imprint: the titular track of which was later included in the top 50 of Mixmag’s ‘100 best tracks of the year’, alongside ‘Prayer’. This was celebrated by an intimate warehouse party in North London, which was perhaps one of the most surreal nights of my life. It felt so far removed from their humble begin59

nings in the small clubs of Leeds, but the electricity of the energy and euphoria created by Gosha and Harvey in that room made it feel like nothing had changed.

An extensive tour through the festival scene in the summer further cemented their position as the rising stars of the electronic music scene, taking their vibrant energy to the likes of Glastonbury, Lovebox and Gottwood. They are now playing venues across the world, ending 2019 with a clear run of appearances at Mayfield Depot in Manchester, for Warehouse Project, as well as bagging an early morning slot at the legendary Griessmuhle in Berlin – less than a month before the devastating closure of their Neukölln location (#saveourspaces!). They have entered the new decade with no signs of slowing down. They have most recently embarked on a US ‘mini tour’, playing in LA, New York, San Francisco, and San Diego, as well as a set at Holy Ship! Wrecked in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. Having just finished this whirlwind of an American debut, I asked Gosha how they felt about playing to what I can only imagine is an entirely different crowd to the ones that they’re used to in the UK:

“We have only really touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this... From first impressions, we think US crowds are very open. They are actually not as far removed from UK crowds as we may think. We just played the warehouse party Lights Down Low in Los Angeles, and people kept saying to us, ‘This is the real LA!’ Or ‘I bet you didn’t think LA had this’. So, I think a lot of it is about perception. One thing we’ve learnt is that there is always going to be a scene for dance music in the underground. These places are full of people that care about good music and having a great time, it’s just about finding out where these spots are!”

The duo have just released a new track, ‘The One’, which they describe as “an ode to those final moments of the rave”. I have to say, this is definitely one of the best tracks from Prospa, a certified floor-filler characterised by their now-signature fusion of breakbeats, synths, and vocals. It may sound cliché, but the future is looking bright for Prospa. Their ability to evolve within their music, whilst keeping themselves firmly grounded by both their Leeds origins and the sounds of nineties dance, characterises their unique brand of “alchemy”. I may be biased, but watch this space: the new age of electronic music is happening via Gosha and Harvey’s East London flat.