Lord Spikeheart
Hard-as-nails Kenyan noise/hip-hop, influenced by black metal
In 2020, we were unexpectedly blown away by the debut of Kenyan duo Duma. Their self-titled album – which was released via the authoritative Nyege Nyege Tapes – was an undiluted musical uppercut of hardcore punk-trash, metal-breakcore-industrial noise with a load of unadulterated black metal vocals. Despite their radicality, they were embraced by the likes of artist Jesse Kanda (known for his work with Arca and Björk) as well as by desert blues act Mdou Moctar. They had one of their tracks remixed by Duma.
Since then, we’ve been rabid fans of frontman Lord Spikeheart (KE) and enjoyed his album Drunken Love (with Welsh sound/noise artist Elvin Brandhi) as well as his just recently released solo album The Adept. The Guardian wrote: “Spikeheart displays the breadth and depth of his vocal experience, acrobatically veering from doom-laden growls to falsetto screams, fast-paced verses and textural noise, his voice a penetrating instrument that can compete with the distorted guitars and thundering bass.”
The live première of The Adept took place earlier this year at the authoritative Roadburn festival in Tilburg. Up next? Feeërieën!
