Ben Sharpa & Pure Solid - 4DLS
4DLS - Fourth Density Light Show

Reference : FX105
Available as : cd, digital
Released on : May, 21 2012
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The 4th Density Light Show (4DLS)
Since his debut solo album, B. Sharpa, was released back in 2008, Ben Sharpa has been on tour, rocking some of Europe's most prestigious festival stages, including Glastonbury (UK), Dour (BEL), Paleo (CH), Extrema (NL), Riddim Collision (FR) and Rio Loco (FR).
Inspired by the 2012 phenomenon, Ben Sharpa and collaborators Pure Solid, a live audio visual production duo comprised of members Dplanet (audio production) and spo0ky (visuals), are ready to start touring their live hybrid hip hop, electro-dub audio visual experience called, Fourth Density Light Show (4DLS).
Drawing heavily on his own experience, and against the backdrop of the 2012 phenomenon - where some believe that humankind will undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation - Ben Sharpa has created a body of work that challenges the listener to transform their own lives using the power of positive thought and action.
Ben Sharpa and long-time collaborator, Dplanet, have always shared the same obsession with pushing the boundaries of hip hop, whilst still maintaining a connection to its conscious and cultural roots. One of their earliest collaborations, Into the Black, caught the attention of electronic music maven and 'Queen of Dubstep', BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary-Anne Hobbs, who described Ben as "one of the most inspired and agile lyricists in the world today". Ben Sharpa and Dplanet continued experimenting with 140 BPM dubbed-out hybrid 'soundsystem' beats on his album, B. Sharpa (Off the Rails and Critical Mass). This became the musical foundation for 4DLS.
4DLS was primarily created as a live experience, not simply a reproduction of a studio recording. Ben Sharpa samples, loops and manipulates his voice. Dplanet sequences beats and creates effects using a performance controller and various pieces of home made electronics. And spo0ky performs live, bespoke, multimedia visuals that reflect and expand upon the themes within the music.
Because of it's meditative qualities, dub underpins the sound but there are elements of hip hop, grime and electro - the name for this sound is Robot Army Music (RAM). It allows the mind to focus on the message while the body responds to the drums and bass rhythms. It's more than just a dance show, it's a fully immersive, positively uplifting experience. In a time when hip hop has increasingly drifted from its more conscious roots, 4DLS is a refreshing antidote.

Ben Sharpa Bio
Considered by those in the know to be one of the African Continent’s most accomplished lyricists, Ben Sharpa has dedicated his life to his art, undertaking an epic musical journey characterised by an unshakeable self-belief that has seen him cheat death itself in order to fulfil his destiny.
Born in the rugged ghetto slums of Soweto, South Africa in 1979, Ben Sharpa (aka Oh Kaptin My Kaptin, or simply ‘Kap’ to his friends and fans) experienced the full force of the brutal Apartheid regime and the revolutionary turmoil that surrounded the struggle against it.
While Ben was still a young child, his father took the opportunity to escape the hardship of life in South Africa by relocating his family to Chicago, Illinois, where he took the post of Audiologist at Cook County Hospital before moving on to become a lecturer at the prestigious Michigan State University.
Growing up in an alien culture and intensely aware of the plight of his fellow countrymen back home in South Africa, Ben was inspired by the radical new voice that Hip Hop was giving to the disenfranchised and oppressed.
When Ben came back to South Africa in 1993 for the first free elections, he quickly set about establishing himself as a major force in the underground, forming cult crews GroundWorks and Audio Visual. Ben’s music addressed themes of social consciousness, politics, conspiracy theories and the hustle to survive.
In 2003, Ben Sharpa won a nation-wide freestyle battle competition sponsored by South African cellular network, MTN. This not only gave him notoriety and country-wide exposure, but also won him an opportunity to go to London and meet Eminem during the artist’s Anger Management tour.
Ben has shared the stage with artists such as Immortal Technique (June 2005), Jonzi-D (June 2003), Black Thought (August 2001), Mr. Len and Jean Grae (May 2001). In June 2006, Ben headlined alongside Wordsworth and Jonzi-D as part of the Tri-Continental Hip Hop Festival that toured South Africa.
In 2007 Ben was ‘discovered’ by electronic music maven and ‘Queen of Dubstep’, BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary-Anne Hobbs, who described him as "one of the most inspired and agile lyricists in the world today”. Soon after, Ben performed at the annual Glastonbury Festival (June 2007) on the BBC Introduces stage. Since then Ben has been a regular on the European festival circuit, including memorable performances at Dour (BEL), Paleo (CH), Extrema (NL), Riddim Collision (FR) and Rio Loco (FR).
In late 2007 Ben fell into a diabetic coma. A week later the prognosis was bleak. He had massive internal bleeding, kidney failure and was only able to breath with the help of a ventilator. Doctors had all but given up on Ben when he miraculously regained consciousness. Ben quipped, “I have seen the other side of the Matrix” as soon as he was able to talk. The veteran underground rapper made a full recovery, his new lease on life providing him with further energy to continue carving out his niche in Hip Hop history.

Pure Solid Bio
Pure Solid is producer Damian Stephens aka Dplanet and visual artist Anne-Sophie Leens aka spo0ky. Together they create an intense audio-visual assault on the senses.
Dplanet describes his musical style as ‘soundsytem music’, ‘robot army music’ or ‘dark’. This sound has influences of dub, grime, Detroit techno, Chicago house, acid, hip hop, juke and electro.
spo0ky creates bespoke graphic design and video treatments that interpret and enhance the music, providing a powerful, immersively hypnotic audio visual experience.??Formed in September 2011, Pure Solid have rocked crowds at Rezonance Festival, Synergy Festival and numerous Cold Turkey events, including warming up for Hyperdub's Kode 9 and Scratcha DVA.