Sporting Life is a seriously under-appreciated producer. After first coming across him during his time at Rat King, a trio which sadly no longer exists, I instantly fell in love with the instrumentals he was able to conjure up. His work on both So it Goes and 700 Fill embodied this underground New York sound, setting up a solid groundwork for Wiki and Hak to fully give themselves up to their lyrical expression.

However, since the collective broke up, I often need to wait till I am in the correct frame of mind before giving his new releases a listen. This is so that I can truly enjoy and appreciate the first listening experience. This happened in the case of his Labplex.Eco album which I initially listened to during the third UK lockdown where I was in dire need of new music to motivate myself and run to. Consequently, I ended up falling in love with THE World IS OUR LAB and Zaha Code, two tracks that had a bigger-than-life feel. Every time I would listen to those songs I would envisage that of an expansive mountain scape, escaping the small terraced house I was bound to. I had the chance to tell Sporting Life during one of his Lockdown Live Streams that Zaha Code was my “life anthem” to which he chuckled and thanked me. One of my fonder lockdown memories.

With a name like Sporting Life there was always an echoed homage to the Jordan era of Basketball and the Athlete mindset. With his EP’s named Slam Dunk Volume 1 as well as song title names such as Court Vision and Space Jam Money, the sports related references were obvious. However, since his album Black Diamond, which is a reference to a rock climbing equipment Company,  we would see Sporting move towards a Gorpcore aesthetic. This was yet another reason I could relate to his work because I had also moved towards this outdoors orientated inspiration. Therefore I could recognise the energy and culture that he was channelling within his music. With tracks named Spor’teryx, merrell and La Sportiva, these on-the-nose references to outdoor brand staples are ones that I fully welcomed. His latest Higher Ground even uses a Gorpcore meme as its actual album cover, an image that was heavily circulating the Community and Instagram pages. It’s not until I listened to the album today that I realised it additionally uses Anakin quote samples from the infamously critiqued Naboo scene from Attack of the Clones. With such heavy internet culture and meme significance, the album had a lot to live up to and it did exactly that.

Sporting Life once again delivers his unique style of production, whilst breathing life into a well-recognised section of dead dialogue. The lines used from Star Wars – Attack of the Clones are wonderfully implemented within the tracks, meshing elegantly with the soulful samples. He renders the once dead pan delivery of Anakin’s monologue to Padme on Naboo sound more like a snippet taken from a Scholar’s Ted Talk on Love.

My favourite track on the album is Padme due to its Rainfall by SWV sample that is elevated through the heavy use of bass and triplet hi hats. I recently came across this song and fell in love with in upon first listen so you can only imagine my joy when I heard its use on track 4. Another notable song is Force Spirit, a track providing a sense yearning with its Soulful vocal sample, amplifying the sense of want in a dutiful Anakin’s final “I miss you” line. Higher Ground is an interesting track, whether it is because of the sample used or it is Sportingpaying homage to, it is sonically close to Jay Z’s Marcy Me off his 4:44 album. Yet once again it fits the overall eye-squinting-in-overwhelming-feeling canvas that the Sporting is succeeding to paint. The last song, Pod Racing is a great finisher, the Jazz Flute juxtaposed with the almost Drill-like backing drums left me infectiously shaking my head like Jammer in the background of an iconic Grime DVD type of way. With the album only being 24:43 minutes long you will inevitably be left wanting to hit a rewind on the whole project. As I myself did whilst writing this review, I have probably hit a play count of at least 7 by now and I look forward to that number forever increasing. The soulful samples, signature drums from Sporting and the seamless meshing of Star Wars vocals left me feeling truly satisfied.

I think that Sporting Life truly hits the nail on the head with this collection of work with it being some of his most enjoyable work that he has put out since his former days in Rat King. A true masterclass in his unique style of production.