Anglo-American duo Baba Ali have shared a new single, ‘Laugh Like A Bomb’, the title track from their forthcoming new album Laugh Like A Bomb, due 28 April via Memphis Industries.
Embodying the surging energy of lives lived in both London and New York, the new cut depicts the duo's view of the metropolitan experience. “We have an understanding of these two cities being a chaotic balance between endless possibility and cold ruthlessness.” tells Baba.
“Everyone’s here for their slice of the cake and you never know how far some will go to get it. It takes a certain level of madness, we think, to be able to endure all that the city demands and still come out smiling.”
Returning following the release of their debut ‘Memory Device’ in 2020 and 18 months of touring across Europe and the US, Baba Ali have created an incendiary follow up with one foot firmly placed on the dance floor, the other in a state of constant frenzy. Laugh Like A Bomb showcases anxious synths and scratchy guitars that collide with concrete drum hits, pulsing bass and Baba’s snarly vocals in a 40 minute collection that explores feelings of unease, abandon and desire as well explorations into the more sinister.
Having previously collaborated with Al Doyle (LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip) on their debut album, this time the duo absconded to Doyle’s studio in his own touring absence and took to production duties themselves. Laugh Like A Bomb was recorded in just three weeks before being mixed by Sheffield producer Ross Orton (Working Men’s Club / Arctic Monkeys / Yard Act).
The record’s title is a phrase borrowed from a passage of the early 20th Century radical art manifesto BLAST! that Baba had encountered by chance on one sleepless night on tour. “The moment I saw the phrase ‘Laugh Like A Bomb’, I was immediately struck by how accurate it described what I was feeling at a time when we were touring hard and constantly working to earn just enough to get by.”
“Personally I was going through a lot of feelings of uncertainty, and living in a foreign country intensified this sense of vulnerability. Despite this, there always felt a need to keep some sort of appearance of normality. Over time, though, there were moments where eventually the surface would crack and I’d lose control of myself or feel a need to escape by dipping more into a hedonistic existence. This record became a way for me to work through and document these emotions and triggering experiences, almost like therapy.”
To celebrate the release of Laugh Like A Bomb, Baba Ali will host a launch party and DJ set at The Social, London on 29th April. The duo will also headline a live performance at The Lexington on 9th June.
Laugh Like A Bomb - Track Listing:
01. Hold My Head
02. Burn Me Out
03. Gold Rush!
04. I’m Bored
05. Anaesthesia, Beverly Hill
06. Laugh Like A Bomb
07. Make U Feel
08. A Circle
09. Lip Service
10. Bankrupt Funk
11. Yves Klein Blue
Baba Ali - Live Dates:
April
13th - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Motel Mozaique Festival
20th - Cambridge, Portland Arms - Sound and Vision Festival
26th - Dublin, Vicar Street w/ Yard Act
29th - London, The Social - album launch party (DJ set)
30th - Salford, Studio Five Four - Sounds From The Other City Festival
May
5th - Wrexham, Penny Black, Focus Wales
20th - Amsterdam, NL - London Calling Festival
26th - Bristol, Catton Hall - Bearded Theory Festival
June
8th - Nottingham, Bodega
9th - London, The Lexington
10th - Ipswich, The Smokehouse - Brighten The Corners festival
16th - Oporo Portugal - Basquieral
July
21st - Macclesfield - Blue Dot Festival
September
23rd - Sheffield, Float Along festival
October
20th - 23rd - Cardiff, SWN Festival
