Last year, Klein — one of my absolute favorite artists on earth — dropped two of the best releases of the year: Only and Lagata. It took awhile, but the quiet, self-issued Bandcamp releases eventually gained a cult following, leading to two vinyl pressings of Only (both of which sold out almost immediately) and a couple appearances during our year-end festivities, including #40 on our year-end favorites list. This year, the London-born, Nigerian-English artist is turning things up a notch: she just signed with Hyperdub and is releasing a new EP called Tommy on September 29. !!!!
According to Hyperdub, the EP is conceptually based, with separate acts and themes of “vulnerability, sisterhood and death.” Even more intriguingly, the label describes Klein’s performance on this EP as a play with “fifties-esque melodies before switching to familiar tones akin to Brandy and Rodney Jerkins, her live voice and live piano playing, filtered through hyper glitchy and looped production with a loose, internal logic; cutting from angular atonality to pockets of skewered harmony.”
Pre-order Tommy (digitally or on 12-inch vinyl), read a new interview here with Gal-Dem, and check below for both her scheduled dates and the video for the short yet exquisite EP track “Run Reprise” below.
Tommy tracklist:
01. Prologue ft atl, Jacob Samuel, thisisDA, Pure Water, eric sings
02. Act One w Embaci & Jacob Samuel
03. Cry Theme
04. Tommy
05. Runs Reprise
06. Everlong
07. B2k
08. Farewell Sorry
Tour dates:
09.01.17 - Dorset, UK - End Of The Road Festival
09.02.17 - Cambridge, UK - Wysing Arts Centre (Opaque Poetics)
10.11.17 - Krakow, PL - Unsound Festival
10.13.17 - Newcastle, UK - Tusk Festival
10.18.17 - London, UK - Village Underground
10.21.17 - Bristol, UK - Simple Things Festival
11.10.17 - Utrecht, NL - Le Guess Who