20 BEST TRACKS OF THE MONTH – MAY 2026

ALL TOGETHER


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TRACK BY TRACK

– 1 –

Band: REALLY GOOD TIME
Who: 3 heated, Irish punk rock
dropouts from Dublin.

Track: DO IT

“It’s a song about impossible tasks. It’s about trying to do everything you have been told to do in life, and never achieving what was promised. The goalposts have shifted, no, that isn’t how you do it.”

TUTV: Really Good Time are manic motherrockers, racing and rushing with puissance and roasting power. They develop a kind of Gilla Band disturbance, but less chaotic, way more movin’ and groovin’. Whether you want it or not, your head goes 360. Blimey.

Just do it!

Instagram – Linktree
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– 2 –

Band: FARVEBLIND
Who: Electro dance-pop-rock trio from Copenhagen, Denmark that fabricates
sonic touchstones ranging from Battles and The Chemical Brothers to Underworld
and Viagra Boys.

Track: KNOCKING DOWN YOUR DOOR.
Piece from their brand new debut LP, titled Micro Pleasures.
It features vocals by itcallsme i.

TUTV: A cocksure, motorik-feverish dancefloor filler for sweaty nightclubs. A tsunami of synth extravaganza hits you straight in the face, while rollicking vocals add a jaunty feel.

Bingo!

Instagram – Linktree
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– 3 –


Photo by Luke Bovill

Artists: ARAB STRAP
Who: Trippy Scottish electro-pop vets, Aidan Moffat and
Malcolm Middleton (1995–2006, 2011, 2016–present).

Track: YOU YOU YOU
First single from their new full-length Half-Told Tales,
their 9th, out on September 4th. Tracklist here.

AS: “A disco-metal sound and lyrics that explore
overcoming troubles and tumultuous times”.

TUTV: Trip Trip Trip! Hip Hip Hip! We We We!

“I’ve got a portly paunch I just can’t shift/I feel undesired, dismissed, adrift/
My get-up-and-go is long gone/ and the days keep dragging on/ But I’ve got
you, you, you”

Instagram – Spotify
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– 4 –


Promo picture

Band: WESTSIDE COWBOY
Who: Fast up-and-coming indies
from Manchester, UK.

They turned all eyes and ears on their spellbinding post-Brexshit-punk disturbance with
2 EPs, This Better Be Something Great (2025) and So Much Country ‘Till We Get There (January 2026), both together worth an ace album.


Album artwork

Track: KICK STONES (THE BOYS)
Single from their upcoming debut LP, titled It Goes On.
Out on August 21st. Tracklist here. Pre-order info here.

TUTV: A jittery, hypnotic, speedy guitar-riffin’ roller coaster ripper, spirited
with Geese-resonating duet vocals. All freshly galvanic and strangely thrilling.
They’re gonna be big. Pretty soon.

Tour Dates 2026 – Instagram
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– 5 –


📸 Charlie Pryor

Band: BLOC PARTY
Who: London‘s indie rockers,
fronted by charismatic songwriter
Kele Okereke.

Track: COMING ON STRONG
First single from their upcoming 7th full-length, titled
Anatomy Of A Brief Romance, out September 11th.
Tracklist here.

Okereke wrote the record in the wake of a more than decade-long relationship.
“Every lyric you’re hearing on this record was something that actually happened to me.
I had to tell the story, from start to finish.”

TUTV: Damn. Time flies with supersonic speed. BC are entertaining our eager eardrums since 1999. Well Okereke took time, now and then, for solo work, but it’s always a sonic pleasure to hear them coming up, again and again with firm, dance-spiked singles.

Play!

Instagram – Linktree – All Albums
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– 6 –

Artists: RADARBASE
Who: Two Brits knocking
dance anthems together.

Track: SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

TUTV: Soft Cell on adrenaline. Erasure on amphetamine. Enriching electro pop nirvana
at its most beautiful. Ignore the outside bedlam for about 6 minutes on repeat. The beat goes on and on and on. Twirl yourself dizzy.

Eureka.

Instagram – Linktree
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– 7 –

Artist: MARTIN CARR
Who: Former guitarist of Britpop
idols The Boo Radleys.

Track: WHAT FUTURE
The title song of his new album.

Carr: “I’ve been putting together these sounds for many years but this
is the first time where I thought ‘this doesn’t really sound like anything else
and decided to put it out.”

TUTV: Techno daft-punk on the run. Electro rock shock. Winding mix of paranoic synths, bass booms, and some helium-infused Carr interventions. Good grief. What a brainfucker.

Instagram – Spotify
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– 8 –

Band: KNEECAP
Who: The controversial and
outspoken Irish rap trio.

Track: COLD AT THE TOP
Cut from their 3rd LP,
named Fenian.

TUTV: Hip-hop-rotating vibes combined with non-stop
rap radiation results in one of their most mainstream
firecrackers.

Shake it.

Instagram – Linktree
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– 9 –

Band: ICEAGE
Who: Glamorous Danish indie outfit fronted
by charismatic frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt.

Track: THE WEAK
Piece from their 6th LP, baptized
For Love Of Grace & The Hereafter,
out today.

TUTV: This is a sassy, kind of fuck you stunner, that speeds all over your
trembling stereo with Rønnenfelt throwing sneers around. Vicious sucker
punch all the way.

Badass.

Instagram – Spotify – All Albums
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– 10 –

Band: THE CHRONICLES OF MANIMAL AND SAMARA
Who: London-based DIY duo – Daphne Ang (Singapore) and Andrea Papi (Italy)
that fills a gap in music by bringing literature, art, and history together into a
space where rock and metal meet electronica.

Track: GIROTONDO
Single from their forthcoming 4th album, named Misantropi.
Out June 22nd. Tracklist and pre-order info here.

TUTV: This Metallica-echoing shocker thunders unstoppably and peaks every time its fistpumping chorus kicks in. TCOMAS rock here as never before. They kick ass with this striking uppercut.

Helter skelter.

Instagram – Facebook – Website
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– 11 –

Band: SOCIAL DISTORTION
Who: The robust, generational Californian rockers fronted by the only
original member, voice/guitarist/songwriter Mike Ness, who beat tonsil
cancer a few years ago, are one of the most notorious and celebrated
American
punk bands ever.

Track: CRAZY DREAMER
Cut from their brand new, 15th full-length Born To Kill.
It features the wonderful country star Lucinca Williams
on vocals.

TUTV: This really fun country rock corker makes
my ears happy and is a top mood booster.

Catchy as hell.

Instagram – Tour Dates – All Albums
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– 12 –

Artist: JON SPENCER
Who: Flaming blues rock expert riffin’
around with different bands and solo
since 1983.

Track: ORANGE SLICE BLUES
Piece from his forthcoming album, named
Songs Of Personal Loss And Portest
out on June 12th. More info here.

TUTV: Vicious riffs, red-hot riffs, nasty riffs. Spencer never gets tired.
You’re never too old to run electrical amok seems to be his motto.

Let’s roll.

Tour Dates – Instagram – Linktree
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– 13 –

Screenshot

Band: CASSIUS WOLF & DAS ABS
Who: The musical project of Cassius Wolf and Don Watson. Formed in Liverpool during the original wave of post-punk and new wave. Now, decades later, that same spirit is driving the band’s long-awaited return.

Track: LOSING SLEEP
Single from their brand new full-length, An Afternoon in Bedlam. Stream here.

TUTV: When I say that this avid anthem has an epic Echo & Bunnymen sonority,
you should pay attention instantly. The flamboyant flair, the whirling drive, the
euphoric vocals. I see Ian McCulloch standing around the corner, with a big smile
on his face.

Top drawer tune.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 14 –


Photographer: Martin Sommerschield

Band: DELFOI ROAD
Who: A Finnish alternative rock act, formed at the turn of the millennium.
The four-piece blends artistic sensitivity, strong melodic songwriting, and
atmospheric depth with an energetic and dynamic edge.

Track: TAKE ME AWAY
New piece from their upcoming debut full-length, planned to come out in the fall.
“It’s one of the catchiest and most radio-friendly tracks on the album.”


Artwork single

TUTV: Think Mumford and Sons‘ arousing passion and vocal eagerness.
Take Me Away draws you into its stirring spirits, its intensifying orchestration,
and its exhilarating euphoniousness. Towering tour de force.

Tremendous bliss.

Instagram – Spotify
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– 15 –

Artist: BIZARRE FAE
Who: British eccentric non-binary
“fairy-witch” from Hull.

Debut LP, Revolting, came out in 2024.

Track: REAL PROBLEMS

BZ: “I’ve spent a long time thinking about where to take my musical journey next & Real Problems, ironically, has become an unexpected solution. I wrote this track off the cuff a while back, as an outlet for feeling disconnected from the so called “real world”. For my entire life I’ve been told “that’s just how the world is” but all I’ve learnt in my 23 years alive is that it seems the world was never meant to be like this.

Humans have this disturbing desire to disconnect themselves from the natural world & forget that we’re in fact all a part of it. Real Problems is my attempt to reconnect to that part of myself that I feel has been hidden away due to societal noise. I’ve never met ‘these people’ & they’ve never met me, so why am I expected to uphold their ideas of who I was meant to be!”

TUTV: Industrial slam-bang EBM for all dance-addicted misfits out there.
You need to be in top shape to catch up with Bizarre Fae. She zooms with
steamy swiftness throughout this boomtastic missile. Face your problems
and sway them into oblivion. Trust me, it’s unquestionably worth a try.

Fast and furious.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 16 –

Artist: TRICKY
Who: Trip-hop bigwig and former Massive Attack visionary, born
Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws in Bristol-UK 58 years ago.

Track: BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW
Newest single from his 15th LP, named Different When It’s Silent.
It’ll land on July 17th. Tracklist and pre-order info here.

TUTV: Tricky grooves in the dark again.
Tenseness in the air, twitchiness in motion.

Masterly piece.

Instagram – Linktree – All Albums
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– 17 –


Photo by Jenn Webb

Artist: KAT FIVE
Who: EBM songstress from London. She fuses together a raw
punk energy with a dark pop magic, she consistently creates
indefinable, politically-engaged glitched-up anthems.

Track: EMERGENCY START
Newest single.

 

FIVE: “This is a call out to all kinds of creators, and also a shout out
for some simple moves you can make against techno-feudalism.”

TUTV: Kat Five offers a both luring and foreboding-sounding EBM tune for
shadow-dancing fans. Despite the hazardous times worldwide, she suggests,
rightly so, that togetherness is the only way to get out of the intolerant chaos
we have to go through right now.

Action!


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Instagram – Linktree
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– 18 –

Artist: SOUTHPAW GRAMMAR
Who: British garage musician and producer. He has toured extensively with some
of the biggest names in popular music. His music speaks directly to the realities of working-class life while delivering dancefloor-ready grooves.

Track: THE NEW DANCE

“It captures the evolution of a generation raised on late nights and pirate radio, now navigating mortgages, energy bills, and nursery pickups. With his signature dry wit and unmistakably British storytelling, Southpaw Grammar delivers a relatable anthem for anyone who’s swapped the rave for responsibility but still hears the bassline in everyday life.”

TUTV: This is cheer fun. Its ska-esque beat and jumpy flow kick-start hectic body movements. Bouncy piano touches and frolicsome rappin’ piggyback the feel-good tone. Ideal to play when workin’ out, although I fear that many of us (certainly me) will fall over our feet when trying to follow the pace. Fervid ambiance.

Just a lot more coffee,
and ess Charlie Sheen.

Instagram – Facebook
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– 19 –


Photo by Kelly Davidson

Band: GIRL WITH A HAWK
Who: Boston collective fronted by longtime
musician and scene veteran Linda Viens.

Track: WASN’T IT JUST YESTERDAY
Single from the upcoming new LP Regenesis.
It will arrive on June 12th. More info here.

LV: “At least four or five of the songs on the record speak to a life lived being in bands, the bonds forged, and the life of a musician and performer, with themes of loss, addiction, death and redemption woven through. All the cliches about spending your time in bars, being on the road, being ‘out’ and not at home, are real.”

TUTV: Overall, this is a warm, hearty, and nostalgic energizer, spiced with classic textbook riffs and bright-eyed and bushy-tailed vocals. A stimulating upper for moody moments. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, but we’ll never stop liking it.

Forever.


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Linktree
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– 20 –

Artists: KIDS WITH BUNS
Who: Lauded dream pop duo from Belgium. They released
their debut album Out Of Place in 2023.

Track: HALF OF A DREAM
First single from their upcoming 2nd LP,
titled ‘Bell Jar‘. Out October 16th.

TUTV: Dream pop bliss with a romantic
melodiousness and heartwarming vocality.

Beautiful.

Instagram – Linktree
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TURN UP THE VOLUME

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KAT FIVE – British Sensuous Electro Pop Artist Activates Your Hips With A Bouncing ‘SWITCH’

Daily electricity to load your batteries

5 April 2025

Artist: KAT FIVE
Who: Electro-pop songstress from London,
operating solo, as well as with her band Feral Five.

Inspired by artists ranging from Kim Gordon and Peaches, to the likes of Massive Attack
and Hot Chip, Kat interweaves her musical influences with an in-depth knowledge of sound; never afraid to experiment with something new.

She has used a variety of different processes in her songwriting, from futuristic AI to intricate field recordings. Creating innovative sonic delights that are truly her own, Five offers something unique and multi-dimensional, with songs as catchy and fun as they
are experimental and avant-garde.

New Single: SWITCH
The song reflects on the different ways we can overcome anxiety,
it offers an empowering ode to self-love in all its forms.

TUTV: For all shadow dancers among us Switch will make you move and groove
in mysterious ways, on repeat. It’s a zigzagging EBM stomper with a mesmerizing guitar riff, injecting this electronic hip-shaker with luminous sparks and spiced with Kat Five‘s sensuous voice. It’ll bounce in your ears and your head all day long.

“If you wake up and you’re not feeling tall
Dial it down and switch right back to small

Take a look and find just what you need
A breath or a feather or a tiny seed”

STREAM


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BUY


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Instagram – Linktree

KAT FIVE Creates Shadowy Electro Atmospherics With New Track ‘PARTY TRICK’

Daily electricity to load your batteries

2 January 2025

Artist: KAT FIVE
Who: Half of British
electro-pop duo Feral Five.

Track: PARTY TRICK
New solo piece that’s on the massive
A Wormhole Xmas 2024 (non-profit label)

Think former Massive Attack maverick Tricky.
Otherwordly and far-out. Shadowy atmospherics
for midnight clubbers.


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Linktree

Remix Your 2022 With KAT FIVE And MISLED CONVOY

Daily electricity to load your batteries

11 January 2022


(Photo by Lara Bowen)

Artists: KAT FIVE and MISLED CONVOY
Who: An electronic dub wizard and
half of dance pair Feral Five (London)

About a year ago this technotronic duo released
collaborative single Apply The Pressure.

Turn Up The Volume said back then: “Apply The Pressure resonates like the missing link between two vibrating hallucinations, Massive Attack‘s Teardrop and Leftfield‘s Original. Spacey, outlandish and far-out. Like a new theme song for science-fiction classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Michael Hodgson AKA Misled Convoy creates a flying saucer vibe and Kat Five‘s futuristic thoughts and prophetic words of change reinforce the puzzling and obscure experience.”

Following the pressure of many requests to remix the original, the pair applied to
the like-minded artists’ calls and here’s the result. “A variety of genres including a vibey breakbeat and dance remix from a Berlin-based remixer South London HiFi, and also
a great drum and bass remix from a female artist from New Zealand called Unsub (@lilyunsub).”
says Kat.

For all those who are still dancing to celebrate the start of
a, hopefully, ‘clubs open’ 2022, here’s new fervent fuel to
keep your 24-hour parties going.

Anything you need to chill out, to freak out, to jungle out,
to space out and to cool out is just one click away, dance junks…


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KAT FIVE: Instagram
MISLED CONVOY: Instagram

Turn Up The Volume’s 15 KNOCKOUT TRACKS For February 2021

The best of the past month…

Turn Up The Volume‘s 15 Knockout Tracks for February 2021!
A fervid fusion of rhapsodic rippers and clashing crackerjacks.

‘One + One’ – DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 (Canada)
New album Is 4 Lovers comes our way on 26 March and One + One
is the trash & slash lead-slam. Welcome back noiseniks. Hallelujah!

‘Coma-Inducing Gibberish‘ – PIZZA CRUNCH (Scotland)
The young gunslingers hit the bullseye again with this new stunner. A fab-tastic masterstroke to shut up all narcissists. Beware of getting too excited. It can lead
to a rock ‘n’ roll coma. Whatever! Go for it!


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‘Middle-Finger’ – DROPKICK MURPHYS (Boston, US)
A booze-filled party cracker from upcoming LP Turn Up That Dial. A familiar
Pogues-like chant that unleashes the beer devil in all of us. Bottoms up!

‘Vendetta’ – ICEAGE (Denmark)
An intoxicating jam with a threatening pace. A glam power
punch from their new album Seek Shelter arriving in May.

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‘Night Is Mine’ – ULTRA SUNN (Brussels, Belgium)
Combine D.A.F.‘s industrial vibes, Sisters Of Mercy‘s gloom and doom hallucinations and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir thrills and you know it’s time for a dazzling party. It’s the title-track from their standout debut EP. Learn much more about this cool black leather duo from their interview with Turn Up The Volume!

‘Toxic’ – PUSSY RIOT (Russia)
The glorious Russian rebels hit again with a new cut from their upcoming EP. It’s an industrial-synth-whack going forth and back, bringing techno icons The Prodigy to mind.

‘Darkest Hour’ – N.O.A.H (Dublin, Ireland)
An instant killer with a harmonious, mood-boosting sing-along chorus and special guest the Booka Brass – Ireland’s first New Orleans style Brass Band – turning up the heat even more. Even in your darkest hour this vivid earworm causes an uplifting kick.


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‘LOUT’ – THE HORRORS (UK)
A mind-slashing, industrial drone that keeps on pounding and pounding until
the wall comes down. Hefty stuff, folks! Just the way I like it, any day, any time!

‘Ace Of Base‘ – THE FLAVIANS (Berlin)
Your feet and head’s movements get activated from the get-go. Unremitting piano bliss, glorious rhythm, pushed by a funky beat and colored with frisky vocals and cool sixties backing vocals. Synth-pop legends Eurythmics would say Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This.

‘Opaque Crater’ – RITUAL CLOAK (Cardiff, UK)
The power of resounding repetition here is just mind-boggling. In the end, you want the buzzing vibration of this adrenaline-charged tune on repeat in your head. And when this trip slows down for a brief moment it’s only to come back with even more dynamism. Top!


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‘Apply The Pressure’ – MISLED CONVOY and KAT FIVE (UK)
The missing link between two vibrating hallucinations, Massive Attack‘s Teardrop and Leftfield‘s Original. Spacey, outlandish and far-out. Michael Hodgson AKA Misled Convoy creates a flying saucer vibe and Kat Five‘s futuristic thoughts and prophetic words of change reinforce the puzzling and obscure experience.

‘Soho Bedroom Party’ – THE HIDEAWAYS feat. TINY DYNO (UK)
Blissful synth melodiousness. Tremendously sticky flow. Glorious duet chorus. Sparkling orchestration. Play this boosting cock-a-hoop stunner out loud in your bedroom so your neighbors can enjoy these spiffing pop sparks too. Sonic magic!


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‘Fade’ – VIOLET (Midlands, UK)
Imagine The Verve of the early days with madman Richard Ashcroft in the middle with their huge anthemic wall-of-psych-sound going sky-high. Add that cocksure Britpop swagger and you know that your stereo will shake, rattle and roll when this bittersweet amplified symphony bursts out of the speakers. A winner!

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‘Oxygen’ – SEASIDE HEIGHTS (Sweden)
A shot of pop adrenaline. Oxygen causes rhapsodic titillations. You can sing along, hum along, whistle along while pirouetting yourself dizzy to the vibrant vibrations. Fresh air to forget your lockdown blues for a while.


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‘There Be Monsters’ by FAR LANDS (USA)
A magnific sepia-colored musing. A tranquilizing stroll triggering your daily dream moments. McFarlane‘s warm voice takes you on a pacifying trip while a guitar gently weeps throughout the journey. This bluesy beauty invites you to forget the troubling reality we all experience for a while.


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‘Shouts Of The Coal Mine’ – JONAS AND I (Finland)
This beauty resonates as if it comes straight from a Tom Petty album. Its country-pop-
rock feel glows, scintillates and glisters and when the enlivening chorus sets in, with
those Beirut-like warmth of ardent trumpets a satisfying smile will emerge on your face. Topnotch tune!


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All together on Spotify…

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A Close Encounter Of The Third Kind With MISLED CONVOY And KAT FIVE Applying The Pressure

10 February 2021

Artists: Misled Convoy and Kat Five
Who: An electronic dub wizard and
half of Feral Five (London)

Single: Apply The Pressure

“About transformation and change. Inspired by the echoes of
a conversation found on a Soviet-era spying device bought at
a boot sale in East London.”
says Kat.

Score: Apply The Pressure resonates like the missing link between two vibrating hallucinations, Massive Attack‘s Teardrop and Leftfield‘s Original. Spacey, outlandish
and far-out. Like a new theme song for science-fiction classic Close Encounters of
the Third Kind
. Michael Hodgson AKA Misled Convoy creates a flying saucer vibe
and Kat Five‘s futuristic thoughts and prophetic words of change reinforce the
puzzling and obscure experience.

Be ready when the new light comes out of the darkness…

Full credits:
Misled Convoy – Beats and production
Kat Five – Vocals, Synths and Guitar
Greig Bainbridge – Bass
Dave Fullwood – Horns
Angus McNaughton – Mastering

KAT FIVE Surprises With Fascinating Debut Solo Single – Here’s ‘BUTTERFLY WINGS’

Daily fuel to load your sonic batteries…

28 February 2020

KATE FIVE is the female member and sensual voice of London’s raving
electronic two-piece Feral Five who cause ecstasy on the dance floor.
Today she unveiled her first solo release called BUTTERFLY WINGS.

A hankering song of hope in dark times. It was inspired by Racines In Morocco,
a non-governmental organization that promotes culture and advocates freedom
of expression in Morocco. Their belief and slogan is #LaCultureEstLaSolution.
The Moroccan authorities did several efforts in the past to disband this much
needed movement. This experimental tune’s message is that even the tiniest
actions can create change.

It’s truly a special, surprising and encouraging piece with both a darksome and sanguine touch reflecting the uncertainty of the troubled times we live in. A slow-moving, poetic meditation with Kat Five‘s absorbing voice drifting all over the hypnotic electronic effects. And you can actually hear the flapping wings of a butterfly. Fascinating solo debut!…

La culture est la solution
You can’t break with evolution
Turn the clock back
On the revolution
La culture est la solution

Butterfly wings
Don’t break me
Butterfly wings
Don’t make me


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KATE FIVE: Facebook – Twitter


You can stream and/or buy the single here. 

(promo photos via Kat Five)