The duo formed in 2006 after dan le sac booked Scroobius Pip to play at a gig he was promoting at the Fez Club (now Sakura) in Reading, around this time dan le sac started remixing Scroobius Pip’s solo album No Commercial Breaks, a selection of the remixes form the core of their debut album Angles but the band didn’t garner any commercial success until they wrote the original song "Thou Shalt Always Kill" at the end of 2006. Although it is commonly thought[by whom?] that Rob Da Bank of BBC Radio 1 gave the band their first radio play, it was actually John Kennedy of XFM London, the band sent a demo CD to John Kennedy in December 2006 and he played it on his Xposure show within 2 hours of receiving it.
"Thou Shalt Always Kill" was re-released in 2009 with additional vocals by Pos Plug Won (Posdnous) of De La Soul. Both dan le sac and Scroobius Pip worked as solo artists before forming this duo, dan le sac as a laptop musician, DJ and promoter, Scroobius Pip as a Spoken Word artist. In 2006 Scroobius Pip undertook his "Relying on the kindness of strangers tour" which took him round the UK in a Toyota Space Cruiser performing in various venues and also saw him doing street performances outside gigs for the likes of Buck 65 & DJ Shadow. In 2007 the duo released 2 singles on Lex Records, "Thou Shalt Always Kill" and "The Beat that my Heart Skipped" but it wasn’t until early 2008 that they signed for Rob da Bank’s Sunday Best record label and released their debut album Angles; the album was later released on Sage Francis’s Strange Famous Records in the USA and Traffic in Japan.
On Christmas Eve 2007, whilst still unsigned, the duo released a free download of "Letter From God To Man" which includes a sample of Radiohead's "Planet Telex", to promote this the duo created and posted a spoof video on YouTube showing the pair auditioning for The X Factor in front of Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. A montage of clips of judges' comments are added to their profanity-laden performance of what Scroobius Pip says is "'It Ain't No Fun' by Snoop Dogg, featuring Warren G, Nate Dogg and Kurupt." The clip, titled "Le Sac Vs Pip Letter from X-factor", was featured in "The 10 Best Clips of the Month" in the October 2008 edition of Q magazine., the video also included a voice over from Zane Lowe.
They have also appeared on the BBC's Sound, NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, with Scroobius Pip appearing by himself on the BBC's Newsnight Review and Setanta Sport Channel, he has also been interviewed and performed live on Stephen Merchant's show on BBC 6 Music.
They spent 2009 recording their second studio album, "The Logic of Chance" which was released in March 2010, preceded by the single "Get Better".
[edit] Music and influences
The duo’s debut album and music is difficult to place into any one genre, as the only continuing theme throughout their music is Scroobius Pip's vocal style. Musically, they move around Hip-Hop, Electro, Electronica, Pop and Drum & Bass. On the duo's Facebook page they cite many influences including Sage Francis, Gil Scott Heron, Chilly Gonzales, KRS-ONE, Rakim, Atmosphere, Purple Ronnie, Joy Division, Kraftwerk, Clark, El-P, Gorecki, Devandra Banhart, Beta Band, and Mogwai.
Since March 2007 they have undertaken multiple UK, US and European tours. The band have also appeared at the Glastonbury Festival 07 and 09, Reading and Leeds Festival 07 and 08, Bestival 07, 08 and 09, Underage Xmas party 08 Lowlands, Fuji Rock Festival, Coachella, Monolith Festival, Greenbelt Festival 09 and have also supported RJD2, EL-P, Mark Ronson, Basement Jaxx and Fujiya & Miyagi.
The duo undertook a three-date mini-tour in July 2008, performing in London, Manchester and Glasgow. The shows were presented as "motivational seminars", using four forms of motivation — Love, Lessons, Storytelling and Religion — to link their songs throughout the show. The duo ended each gig with covers of the Sugababes' 2005 song Push The Button and Prince's 1991 track Cream.
