Some things just land at the perfect time. The trite saying, ‘Everything happens for a reason’? Well, maybe it isn’t nonsense?
For the last couple of weeks, it’s not only felt like a slog finding new full-length releases, but also and writing about the few which have resonated. Is it summer burnout? Maybe, but apart from the releases in our latest Weirdo Rippers column and coupled with getting annihilated by the gale-force of Sunn O))) last week, everything else has felt somewhat fallow.
So, when in doubt, pivot! In this instance, the latest turn leads us into the clutches of Kevin Martin. The Bug, the nearest contender to match Sunn O)))’s seismic sound and tonal transcendence. And like his fellow worshipers of drone and sub bass, once again Martin returns with new innovations. This time presenting his LADYBUG series, where The Bug collaborates with a female vocalist for each instalment.
This is the right kind of way to illuminate brevity. The single format these days in particular, feeling more like bolt-on for artists spending their hard-earned cash on PR campaigns that end up down blind alleys. It’s a cynical take, but the way in which the single is presented today, it feels more like a devaluation of art.
But a series? And not only that, but a song mangled and remixed multiple times and billed as an EP. The story’s not only immediate, but you can also choose your own adventure in it. That’s the whole point of art, isn’t it? And with this series, it looks set to include many chapters, and hopefully ones as good as this. Ladybug 1, featuring Berlin-based vocalist, Felicia Chen, aka Dis Fig.
Straddling the orbits in a bid to remain futureproof, Martin has spent a career steeped in collaboration. And alongside Dis Fig, there isn’t a better way commence this series. The pair, following on from trading barbs on their excellent 2020 collaboration, In Blue. The “tunnel sound” that enveloped the release, dragged further into the vortex by Chen alongside The Body for their 2024 release, Orchids on a Futile Heaven.
The mist-laden dreamscapes of In Blue continue on Ladybug 1’s Vanishing. Dis Fig’s effortless melodies, anchored by The Bug’s primal sub bass. Together they bring trip-hop back into sharp focus, but with a heavier emphasis on textures that grow darker by the second. On Vanishing Dub, it mirrors the atmospheres of King Midas Sound while …Numb Mix, …Nub Dub and …Numbness Dub slide further into the void.
It comes at a perfect time, both thematically and artistically, as Martin finds yet more new portals to move through. Is brevity in art dead? No, it just needed its own pivot. Exactly like the one The Bug and Dis Fig have taken with Vanishing.
Lady Bug 1 is out now via Pressure Sounds. Purchase from Bandcamp.
