Kevin Richard Martin (a.k.a The Bug) has collaborated with Felicia Chen (a.k.a Dis Fig) on an album for Hyperdub.
Martin and Chen, a Berlin-based American vocalist, refer to their style on the release as “tunnel sound,” meaning a foggy, melancholic meltdown of narco-dancehall-zoned soul and dread-drenched, electronic dub.
Martin wrote the album’s prototype rhythms for a 2018 Solid Steel Radio show, which comprised his then freshly mixed instrumentals. Psyched by the reaction to the session, he decided that rather than simply move on, or release the tunes in their pure instrumental form, he obsessively searched for the right voice to complement them. He decided he definitely didn’t want to take the expected route.
Cue Chen, who had messaged Martin asking if she could include a King Midas Sound track in a mix she was putting together. In the same exchange, she had included a link to her recently released PURGE album. When Martin heard the torched soul-jazz glow of “WHY” from the record, he knew he had found his answer.
Almost two years of lab exchanges finally led to the album, which, we’re told, shares shades of King Midas Sound’s wrecked lovers rock alongside the bass immersion of The Bug. The album was mixed during lockdown in Martin’s new Brussels, Belgium home.
Tracklisting
01. Around Me
02. Come
03. Destroy Me
04. Blood
05. In 2 U
06. Levitating
07. Forever
08. Blue To Black
09. Take
10. No Return
11. You
12. End In Blue
In Blue LP will land on November 20 on CD and digitally. A vinyl edition will follow on December 18. Meanwhile, you can stream “You” in full below, and pre-order here.
