LORD SPIKEHEART (Kenya), ABU GABI (AT)

Kenyan singer, songwriter and producer Lord Spikeheart, stage name of Martin Kanja, best known for his unmistakable harsh vocals as the live-wire frontman of his former project DUMA, has been haunting the darkest corners of the music underground for the past ten years. Building bridges between the African heavy music, and the international electronic and metal scenes, Lord Spikeheart has made a name for himself as a formidable force in the game pushing back genre categories and stretching limits to the extreme.
Lord Spikeheart has earned intercontinental attention via extensive tours in Europe and in the US, as well as multiple appearances at major festivals like Primavera Sound, Roadburn Festival, Roskilde, Sonar, Le Guess Who to name a few.
For THE ADEPT Lord Spikeheart hooked up with various producers and artists from the bass n’ shred universe, among others Brodinski, Backxwash, Fatboi Sharif, Safety Trance, Rully Shabara (Senyawa), and promises to bring a telluric big bang in sonic extreme experimentation. Expect a hallucinatory exploration of metal, aggressive beats, hard trance, crashing techno and abrasive rapping fronting terrifying abysmal screams, incanting chants and hellish growls in the native tongues Kikuyu, Kiswahili, and English.

Previous releases include the collaborative tracks I’m Tired feat. Catnapp on the LP KKUURRSSEE (Hundebiss) by Italian producer and collaborator Talpah, and Cyko Arctic feat. Chrisman as part of the official soundtrack of the legendary video game Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty.

Tanja Fuchs alias Abu Gabi lebt in Wien und ist Komponistin, Kuratorin, Performerin und DJ. Als progressive Kraft zwischen elektroakustischer Noise und beat sozialisierter Bassmusik sticht sie mit ihrer Arbeit nicht nur in die Wunden einer so called „Avantgarde“, sondern ebenso in die überholter Pop- und Klub-Klischees. In ihren Live-Shows ertränkt die Künstlerin persönliche wie sozialpolitische Texte unbeliebig roh und kathartisch empowernd in verzerrten Drones zwischen Improvisation und dekonstruierter Tanz-Elektronik. Ein ähnlicher Zugang zeigt sich auch in ihren DJ-Sets: Schonungslos einnehmend, aber doch mit dem gewissen Augenzwinkern, spielt Abu Gabi für kollektive Intensität und den finalen Tod des Genrebegriffs.