Royal Rumble

Photo Credit: Alexander David Edward Denning

Dagenham’s Mezzy comes through experimental as ever on the hypnotic ‘Royal Rumble’, joined by frequent collaborator Lemuel Unaji. The pair go back to back, their voices layered seamlessly through an eccentric, leaned out soundscape - hip hop blends with funk, spoken word and the kind of tongue in cheek synth you’d hear on ‘Plantasia: Warm Earth Music for Plants and the People Who Love Them’. 

A laid back bass line carries the playful, retro feel of the track, perhaps a nod to the flamboyance of the WWE event its title refers to. However, the snatches of narrative that we can make out low in the mix, ‘I know things are different now/ that we’re on the mend/ I hope you don’t hit the curb/when I drive you round the bend’ hint at a more depressive foundation. Dark threads of story woven through strange sonic worlds seem to be a recurring theme in Mezzy’s work. Here, lethargic hi-hats and the sardonic ‘yeah right’ repeated to become part of the percussion overtake the lyrics. Time seems to bend, Mezzy takes us on a trip somewhere, interesting, unusual, slightly unnerving but we enjoy the ride.