East London brass juggernaut, Hackney Colliery Band, have seen their star rapidly rise over the past two years. Since the release of their enponymous debut and sophomore album, Common Decency, this riotous nine piece have toured the UK and Europe, playing at some of its finest festivals along the way, and gained support from radio and club DJs, broadsheets and tastemakers ranging from The Times to BBC 6Music funk and soul afficionado Craig Charles, as well as having the likes of Eliza Doolittle and the late Amy Winehouse joining them on stage.



The band's penchant for a canny cover has always been one of its strengths, and perhaps one that sometimes overshadowed HCB's frankly brilliant song-writing. After a string of singles led by a cunning cover version, the A Bit of Common Decency EP sheds light on HCB's original music, albeit with the help of a remix or two.



From bandleader Steve Pretty's high octane title track, available here as a useful Radio Edit and frenetic remix courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Fedka The Irritant, to drummers Oli Blackman and Luke Christie's respectively penned Dead Dialogue and Smile for the Webcam, the quality from the band's main song-writers is obvious. Add to that remixes of Dead Dialogue from label mates Paper Tiger and the mysterious Triangulator, as well as a stomping disco revision from re-edit king The Reflex (of another of Steve Pretty's songs, Superhero Disco) and you've got a worthy collection of original cuts and re-works that will help confirm HCB's status as a leading light in the global brass band scene.

"Brilliant!" - Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2)
"Hip-hop beats, funk and jazz collide with a tonne of trombones" - The Guide (The Guardian)
"The nine-piece band's mix of brass and beats has something of the flat-capped pit band, something of raucous New Orleans, plus a dose of East London hipster wit. Sprinkle in ska and Gypsy brass and you've got a sound to raise roofs. Inspired by the dance floor success of the Hot 8 and Young Blood Brass Bands, this homegrown alternative blasts out sharp originals and a spirited "Empire State Of Mind". Are trombones the new electric guitars?" - The Times (The Times)
"Amazing record!They are somethin' else!" - Huey Morgan (BBC 6Music)
"great musicians playing some seriously great music.. their razor sharp jazz chops are clear throughout, while the funk comes both heavily and effortlessly... with some scuttling drum'n'bass rhythms supercharging things even further, this is the capital's contribution to the nation's brass band tradition. Not a Davey lamp in sight." - Songlines (Songlines)