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The Bug

The Bug is the principal outlet for Kevin Martin, the shape-shifting producer with an unrivalled reputation for his punishing live shows and a heavyweight catalogue of projects/collaborations including Techno Animal, King Midas Sound, Razor X Productions, and - most recently – Miss Red, ZONAL and The Bug vs Earth.

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The Bug's signature apocalyptic dancehall production style was forged at in London at the start of the millennium via collaborations with UK dub veteran The Rootsman and MCs including Daddy Freddy, Toastie Taylor and Paul St Hillaire, and through his involvement in the nascent dub step scene, resulting in key releases on Razor X, Hyperdub and Rephlex around this time.

These connections became the starting point for seminal album London Zoo (Ninja Tune, 2008), featuring vocalists Warrior Queen and Flowdan, which channelled London sound-system culture and multi-cultural meltdown to create a unique detonation of dancehall, grime, hip-hop, and noise. This was followed six years later by epic utopian/dystopian concept album Angels & Devils (Ninja Tune, 2014).

The first new non-collaborative full-length album under The Bug moniker for seven years could not be better timed, or more needed: ‘Fire’ is fourteen tracks that immolate the synapses, flail the body, that cinematically take you from arcing evocations of a bleak lockdowned city-scape to swooping deep-focus close-ups of Martin and his collaborator’s psyches at breaking point.

'Electrifying, cleansing, and cathartic' - Pitchfork

On stage he remains a force to be reckoned with, whether calling on an arsenal of MCs including Miss Red, Flowdan, Lady Chann and Manga Saint Hilaire to bring the noise, as a 7” selector, or with his increasingly deep instrumental club sets that join the dots between mutant strains of dancehall, acid ragga and grime.

'For me a live show should be unforgettable, should alter your DNA, or scar you for life in a good way - that’s always been my goal, to set up shows that are unforgettable. I like friction, chaos, fanning the flames with sound, and this album is the most reflective of the live show in terms of intensity and the sheer fuck-off attitude of those shows' - Kevin Martin

Contact

John Stevens

Territory

Worldwide excl. N America

Other Projects

ZONAL
King Midas Sound
Kevin Richard Martin
The Bug vs Dis Fig