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Also catch their show at Club Six on September 27th!

London-based producer Kevin Martin, a.k.a The Bug, has spent the last decade breaking ground in diverse musical projects under various aliases: EAR (experimental ambient), God (space jazz), Ice (hip-hop), and Techno Animal (electronic). As The Bug, Martin draws on grime, dancehall, and hip-hop for a post-apocalyptic sound that has critics and fans buzzing. Joining The Bug is vocalist Warrior Queen in her San Francisco debut.

From the Club Six website:

The Bug first came to be in 1997, when Kevin collaborated with DJ Vadim on Tapping The Conversation.  From 2001-2004, The Bug teamed up with UK dub veteran The Rootsman for a series of singles under the name Razor X Productions. The early productions of which would frame the template for the first proper Bug full length, 2003’s Pressure. The Razor X material was some of Kevin’s first foray’s into what would become a signature head-sheering apocalyptic dancehall production style. This was continued on Pressure but also with an ear to balancing out the sound with headier dubs. Classic dancehall M.C Daddy Freddy was brought in, New Flesh’s Toastie Taylor, along with The Rootsman, Roger Robinson, Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman), Wayne Lonesome, and more…

Steve Goodman, aka. Kode 9, interviewed the Bug for xlr8r a few years back and found they had many common interests with a new crop of producers in London that he was hanging out with that were revolving around the Fwd Club at Plastic People. Discovering that these people shared the same hunger for bass, space, and unaligned sonic trajectories, The Bug felt right at home alongside Loefah, Digital Mystikz, Skream, etc… Through his work with Wayne Lonesome, Kevin was turned on to the work of Warrior Queen. Instantly blown away by her delivery he made contact and the ensuing releases "Aktion Pak" (Rephlex) and "Money Honey" (under the moniker Pressure, which was released on Kode 9’s Hyperdub label) further shaped the musical direction of The Bug. The final piece of the new incarnation of The Bug came about when Kevin was booked for a Mary Anne Hobbs session of BBC Radio 1’s Breezeblock.

Martin has produced with many and under a slew of aliases such as Techno Animal/Ice/God (with Justin Broadrick of Godflesh/Jesu), King Midas Sound, Razor X Productions (with The Rootsman & various M.C’s), Pressure, Ladybug, the man behind Pathological Records, compiler of various compilations for Virgin Records (Macro Dub Infection, Jazz Satellites), production work/collaborations with noise-jazz outfit 16-17, Pete “Sonic Boom” Kemper’s E.A.R projects, John Zorn, Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), El-P, and Anti Pop Consortium, to name just a few. Bass booming remixes for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Primal Scream, Einsturzende Neubauten, Stina Nordenstam, Dalek, etc. A discography spanning labels as diverse as Ninja Tune, Virgin, Rephlex, Position Chrome/Mille Plateaux, Word Sound, Hyperdub, City Slang, Tigerbeat 6, Grand Royal… all of which shouts loud that Kevin Martin is a credible sonic survivalist and not some come lately producer.

All these connections became the starting point for London Zoo, the Bug’s latest album on Ninja Tune. Utilizing the aforementioned vocalists, along with UK reggae legend Tippa Irie, it’s a record grown out of the heart of London sound-system culture and multi-cultural meltdown. A record that although will be undoubtedly referenced to the dubstep scene will also redefine and stand on its own as a celebration of the capitals urban cultural clash, uniquely detonating dancehall, grime, hip-hop, and noise onslaughts. If any further proof is needed look no further then the reaction to the first three records lifted from London Zoo: "Jah War," "Skeng" (released on Kode 9’s Hyperdub), and ‘"Poison Dart."