Electronic producer Kevin Richard Martin, also known as The Bug, recently announced his first solo album in seven years. Fire (Aug. 27, Ninja Tune) is the third installment in his triptych series, which includes 2008’s London Zoo and 2014’s Angels & Devils. Today (Aug. 23), he shares the final single from the album, “Vexed,” featuring Philadelphia rapper Moor Mother.
“Vexed” is menacing, with Martin’s sparse palette of brooding synths and clangs building into a war cry. Moor Mother asserts, “Who told you to come for me? / You better run from me,” as Martin’s sirens and bass swell to match her increasing intensity.
Speaking on how the collaboration came to be, Martin said:
I had worked/toured with Camae aka Moor Mother on the ZONAL album Wrecked, and we subsequently toured some The Bug ft Moor Mother shows together. We found we had a shared taste for musical pyromania, verbal intensity and dropping mindbombs. (That and both being rabid hip hop headz with an encyclopedic knowledge of its history, and particular love of Mobb Deep/Wu tang etc…). When I asked Cam if she would use the platform to unleash her frustrations, she replied, all guns blazing with “Vexed.”
Listen to “Vexed below. You can preorder Vexed ahead of its Aug. 27 release here.
