Leeds-based interdisciplinary artist Dangle Linton makes music that rages towards the chaos and brutality of contemporary life. They’re shortly turning into a must-see on the stay circuit: they’ve beforehand opened for Yard Act, and have been a latest recipient of Assist Musicians and DJ Magazine’s Digital Music Award. Now, they’re unleashing their sturdy inventive imaginative and prescient and dynamic lyricism on their debut EP ‘Demonstrations’.
The EP opens with the dramatic atmosphere of ‘Blue Mild Hike’, a observe impressed by a racist incident that Linton skilled with their companion, the place the pair have been unjustifiably profiled and detained by police just a few days earlier than a Black Lives Matter protest in Berlin. The observe’s instrumentation glistens because it builds to its post-funk centre, the place the mixture of pounding breakbeats and psych guitar merge to underline Linton’s political messaging. However the beatboxed outro is sudden: it’s playful, ridiculing the racial profiling ways of legislation enforcement.
In the meantime, title observe ‘Demonstrations’ is a strong piece on anti-racism that epitomises the EP’s emotive core. It begins with a cosmic (if marginally drawn out) backdrop, as twinkling, circling synths and a wave of digital murmurs envelop a stoic voice that declares: “Racist riots that erupted throughout the UK within the first half of August have been extensively geared toward Muslims, immigrants and any person who isn’t white.” However quickly, the soundscape turns bitter: as chants of “free Palestine” and “refugees are welcome right here” are heard, the observe adjustments key and turns into discordant, as if to spotlight the battle that hangs within the air.
There’s a way of tongue-in-cheek humour that runs all through, Linton amplifying the nonsensical parts of contemporary British dwelling with contrasting manufacturing. ‘Made in Gray Britain’, for instance, has an upbeat and bouncy melody that’s juxtaposed with Linton’s lyrics about gentrification and austerity, the sarcasm within the hook’s “la-la-las” including an air of bitterness. In the meantime, ‘Radiator’ is an ardent and confronting touch upon the price of dwelling, the place Linton takes intention on the unethical forces which have led us to a degree of disaster. Their pressing spoken phrase is underpinned by a gritty bassline (courtesy of Gorillaz bassist Seye Adelekan) and screeching post-punk instrumentation, creating turmoil and nervousness.
Closing observe ‘Wishbones’, with its two-tone and psych influences and nod to Jimi Hendrix’s ‘All Alongside the Watchtower’, is a compelling finale, described by Linton as “an anthem for anybody who feels constrained by societal constructions.” It recapitulates Linton’s manifesto on ‘Demonstrations’: a name to motion as a lot as it’s a critique of our present political and social local weather. With discontent and dogged persistence at its coronary heart, ‘Demonstrations’ is an EP with a lot to say – if you happen to’ll solely cease to hear.
Particulars
- Launch date: November 29, 2024
- File label: Come Play With Me / EMI North
