Album: London Zoo
Artist: The Bug
The Bug's sound was clearly influenced by dub masters Lee "Scratch" Perry and King Tubby, but it also fuses elements of dancehall, IDM (intelligent dance music), grime, dubstep and hip hop. In spirit, it reminds me a lot of Massive Attack, in the way it combines contemporary British dance music, Jamaican influences and a fierce political edge. Poison Dart, featuring long-term collaborator Warrior Queen, is one of the most impressive and powerful songs on the record, underscored by a deeply heavy bass. She also puts in an impressive vocal performance on Insane (I love the "whomp, whomp" before the main verse kicks in). For me though, Flowdan is the star MC on the record, and his vocal style really works well with Martin's production. As well as Skeng, Flowdan's performances on Jah War and Warning provide some of the album's best moments, his lyrics full of the thrills and anxiety of life on London's streets ("How long will I live, when will I die / Is there a heaven or was dat a lie?"). Some of the The Bug's growing success was due to the popularity of his monthly London club night called BASH, but he clearly has mixed feelings about the city. London Zoo aims to give voice to the city's increasingly marginalised underclass and reflects a lot of the tension of inner city life in the capital. Capitalism is a focus of his anger, and the rage comes to head on album closer, Judgement, which has an "end of days" feel but is more laid back than most tracks, allowing Ricky Ranking's foreboding lyrics and impressive vocals to come to the fore.
Born: Weymouth, Dorset
Released: July 2008
Genre: Dancehall Dubstep
Intense, very intense. Not just musically but politically too. The Bug's London Zoo reminds me of early Public Enemy records, and also The Specials' self-titled debut LP, in its searing criticism of modern society. The album is far from an easy listen, but in the same way as Burial, The Bug (Kevin Martin) manages to conjure up a completely unique and engaging sound. During the 2-3 years spent putting the album together, The Bug released three singles (Jah War, Poison Dart and Skeng) that were all successful in the thriving London-based dubstep community, which was enjoying some time in the spotlight thanks to Burial's breakthrough album, Untrue. Like Burial, The Bug owed some of his early renown to appearances on the Mary Anne Hobbs' Breezeblock show on BBC 6 Music radio, an opportunity to collaborate with various performers that ended up providing a lot of inspiration for this album. Seeing the benefits of bringing in a wider pool of MCs to create his musical vision, Martin recruited the likes of Spaceape, Flowdan and Tippa Irie, who all helped to create the record's underlying sense of menace. Right from the outset, Angry lives up to its title, with Tippa Irie railing against the neglect of certain communities (using Hurricane Katrina as a potent example) to a backdrop of thumping beats, pounding bass and dancehall rhythms. Skeng is even darker, its wobbly bass making the track sound like some kind of hellish dub music, and Killa P and Flowdan come across like the two Yardie horsemen of the apocalypse ("Doctor can't fix ya, send for da hearse").
Intense, very intense. Not just musically but politically too. The Bug's London Zoo reminds me of early Public Enemy records, and also The Specials' self-titled debut LP, in its searing criticism of modern society. The album is far from an easy listen, but in the same way as Burial, The Bug (Kevin Martin) manages to conjure up a completely unique and engaging sound. During the 2-3 years spent putting the album together, The Bug released three singles (Jah War, Poison Dart and Skeng) that were all successful in the thriving London-based dubstep community, which was enjoying some time in the spotlight thanks to Burial's breakthrough album, Untrue. Like Burial, The Bug owed some of his early renown to appearances on the Mary Anne Hobbs' Breezeblock show on BBC 6 Music radio, an opportunity to collaborate with various performers that ended up providing a lot of inspiration for this album. Seeing the benefits of bringing in a wider pool of MCs to create his musical vision, Martin recruited the likes of Spaceape, Flowdan and Tippa Irie, who all helped to create the record's underlying sense of menace. Right from the outset, Angry lives up to its title, with Tippa Irie railing against the neglect of certain communities (using Hurricane Katrina as a potent example) to a backdrop of thumping beats, pounding bass and dancehall rhythms. Skeng is even darker, its wobbly bass making the track sound like some kind of hellish dub music, and Killa P and Flowdan come across like the two Yardie horsemen of the apocalypse ("Doctor can't fix ya, send for da hearse").
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