Words by Jesse Serwer—
Before Tommy Lee Sparta got all “Psycho” and started calling himself “Uncle Demon”—in fact, before Tommy Lee even hit puberty—Kevin Martin was making gothic dancehall under his pseudonym, The Bug. A veteran of Britain’s industrial scene, Martin’s music wasn’t exactly dancehall—it was too outsider-y to call it that—but a savvy derivative of it that combined modern Jamaican electronic production style with dark, less danceable elements of European electronic music. Now, they call what he was doing then dubstep.
After taking several years off from The Bug to focus on self-described “apocalyptic lovers rock” trio King Midas Sound, Martin recently founded a new label Acid Ragga—which is a pretty good way to describe his music. With a new album in the wings called Angels and Devils, he’s just released a video for a pair of songs “Kill Them” and “Louder,” which respectively feature UK MCs (and longtime Bug collaborators) Daddy Freddy and Flowdan. The video, fittingly, has a stark, horror-movie quality to it that would make Tommy Lee envious, with Daddy Freddy even donning some face paint.