Slowthai announces new album ‘UGLY’, shares blistering dark punk track ‘Selfish’
Slowthai has has shared details of his new album, ‘UGLY’, alongside the release of first single ‘Selfish’.
The rapper, real name Tyron Frampton, has explored his early love of “emotional” rock music on the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Tyron’, and is said to incorporate more singing on his third effort. ‘UGLY’ is released on March 3 via Method Records (pre-order here).
This morning (January 25) a livestream is available showing Slowthai in a custom built room fitted floor to ceiling with two-way mirrors where he’ll spend the day with himself.
Fans can tune into the stream below to see what he gets up to throughout the day.
‘Selfish’, meanwhile, is a blistering lead single carried by a driving, punk bassline, ghostly echoes and Slowthai’s mix of spits and singing.
Speaking about what he thinks it means to be selfish, Slowthai said that he has conflicted feelings about not having enough time for those around him. “I want to be there for them but I’m always striving, working, reaching further,” he said.
The title of the album is an acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself, which Slowthai has marked permanently on his face with a tattoo.
“It doesn’t matter what or who people think you are, you’ve just got to stay true and respect yourself,” Slowthai said. “I have UGLY tattooed on my face because it’s a reminder to love myself, rather than put myself down constantly or feel the impression people have of me should determine who I am as a person.
“At the end of the day, the art I make is for myself, and the music I make is for myself, if I enjoy it then who gives a fuck. So, the way I should live my life should be without any expectations of anyone else. I think it’s something that we all need to hear because everyone needs a smile, and everyone needs a bit of joy and you need to look in yourself to really feel it because no one else can give you the real feeling.”
‘UGLY’ tracklist:
01. ‘Yum’
02. ‘Selfish’
03. ‘Sooner’
04. ‘Feel Good’
05. ‘Never Again’
06. ‘Fuck It Puppet’
07. ‘HAPPY’
08. ‘UGLY’
09. ‘Falling’
10. ‘Wotz Funny’
11. ‘Tourniquet’
12. ‘25% Club’
‘UGLY’ was produced by Dan Carey at his home studio in south London and, alongside frequent collaborator Kwes Darko, the album features musicians including Ethan P. Flynn, Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye, Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden and drummer Liam Toon.
Fontaines D.C., Slowthai’s friends, feature on the title track. “They’re men after my own heart, they love what I do, I love what they do. Together it’s amazing,” he said.
Slowthai continued, reflecting on his other two albums to date. “The first album was the sound of where I’m from and everything I thought I knew. The second album is what was relevant to me at that moment in time, the present. And this album is completely me – about how I feel and what I want to be… it’s everything I’ve been leading up to.”
The artist has channelled his love of acts including Nirvana, Radiohead and Daniel Johnston and finally felt that it was time to explore singing more. “This album was me trying to emulate the spirit of the brotherhood ethos that bands have. Music is about the feeling and emotion that goes into it. Like an artist making a painting, it’s the expression of that moment in time,” he said.
“I really felt like I didn’t want to rap, whereas before, rap was the only way I could express myself with the tools I had. Now that I have more freedom to create and do more, why wouldn’t we change it up?”
News of Slowthai’s album follows a one-off single release last November, ‘I Know Nothing’.
The song was shared in conjunction with Beats By Dre’s ‘Defy The Noise’ campaign, which focuses on the criticism and pressure levelled at footballers as well as abuse from social media.
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Charlotte Krol
NME
