stillworld by Nukuluk

NUKULUK’s lurching, unpredictable collages of hip-hop, punk, and electronica have marked them among the UK’s most furiously imaginative new groups. Exploring nostalgia, connection, and commodification, their third mixtape “stillworld” is released October 2024 on Colorburst Records.
Their most introspective project to date, “stillworld’s” realism and emotional range comes from contrast. Yearning, nostalgic indie clashes with gritty, futuristic hip-hop. Co-vocalists Syd and Monika go back-and-forth using different characters and styles. Synthesized sounds sit alongside old, salvaged samples. As Syd explains, “it’s being celebratory with the complexity of sadness or anger.”

At the heart of “stillworld” is the fencing between vocalists Syd and Monika, the former’s melodic singer-songwriter tendencies offset by the latter’s brash, free-flowing rap. Their contrasting perspectives enrich shared subjects, like feeling hollowed-out on ‘Taxidermy’: Syd considers this in terms of helplessness and disassociation, while Monika reflects on commodification and power.

Relationships are explored throughout “stillworld”, as in ‘Hand On Hilt’. Pairing cold synths with an operatic wax-cylinder recording uncovered by Syd and bassist Mateo, it explores paranoia through fantasy, mystery and being in a relationship with a protective person. This was influenced by Monika’s loving but dominating, religious mother, who is portrayed in ‘Faith’: the agnostic rapper here reckoning with his debt to God, as the source of his resilience via his mother’s love and support.

“stillworld” also deals with identity and masculinity, including ‘Son Of Star’ – largely composed in an overnight frenzy by drummer Louis, after a gig with Injury Reserve. Monika’s lyrics explore the vacancy of masculinity, and how much his script for being a black man had come from rap music.
Memory and reflection factors heavily into “stillworld”. ‘Faith’ revisits a beat from pre-NUKULUK sessions with their friend Patrick Fitzgerald of Deathcrash. ‘Raining’ reworks early NUKULUK song ‘Rain’, rooted in a field recording Syd took on a trip to a mountain range and a long-lost Ableton session rebuilt as a surprise for Monika.

While everything in “stillworld” is always changing, clashing and conversing, it’s a musical language that is true to life. “The difference between genres, instrumentation and production doesn’t matter so much,” says Louis: “it’s all in the same world – something that’s true.”

Nukuluk is an experimental hip-hop and electronica collective based in South London. Their chaotic sound draws off a series of eureka moments during studio play, a broad church of influence and a symbiotic relationship within the group. Alien field recordings, warped bass drones and clattering percussion create otherwordly production landscapes, stages where vocalists Syd and Monika battle it out.

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