BABA ALI – NEW SINGLE – ‘HEART RACER’ – OUT 24 APRIL
RELEASED VIA MEMPHIS INDUSTRIES
MUSIC VIDEO HERE
Baba Ali return harder, faster and louder with their first single of 2024 titled ‘Heart Racer’.
Like a hit of adrenaline, the duo’s new song slams on the accelerator and takes you on a wild thrill ride full of seduction and danger. The track’s propulsive electro drumbeat and throbbing bass combine with Nik Balchin’s gnarly guitars and set the scene for frontman Baba Doherty’s vocals, delivered in a rockabilly twang that’s been dragged through gravel.
The London-based band cite cult 70s act Suicide as an influence, as well as Warmduscher with whom they share a mutual collaborator in Al Doyle (LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip). The duo fleshed out the song’s original demo with Doyle in his London studio, before speeding up to Sheffield to rev up the sludge and sex appeal with Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys/M.I.A).
The new release is accompanied by a video directed by Ashley Rommelrath. The guerilla-style video features the duo on a nocturnal prowl through the nooks, tunnels and underpasses of Old Kent Road and includes performances from East London scene-queen Kuntessa and LA-to-London transplant Poppy Jean Crawford.
Quote from lead singer, Baba Doherty:
“Last year we started working out of a new space on Old Kent Road. When we write we’ve usually hidden away from outside noise, so this new constant stream of blaring horns, speeding cars and sirens was an immediate influence. Instrumentally, Nik and I kept the agenda simple: fast, hard and loud. The song first took form as a loop of pulsing bass and a minimal drumbeat. In the early demo, we actually used the road sounds from outside as samples and eventually these sounds transformed into guitar and synth riffs. ‘Heart Racer’ then emerged as this demented speed demon character at the driving wheel, flying forward at breakneck pace and indulging in a seductive mix of raw freedom and danger.”
Heart Racer is the follow up to Baba Ali’s 2023 sophomore album, Laugh Like A Bomb, which received widespread acclaim from the likes of Loud and Quiet, DIY, NME (4*) and more with the lead single, ‘Burn Me Out’, earning a spot on the BBC 6 Music A-List and being performed by the duo on Later… With Jools Holland.
Alongside the release, Baba Ali will perform supporting The Kills in London, Berlin and Warsaw, as well as separate dates across the UK and in Paris.
Baba Ali – Live Dates:
May
1st – Troxy, London, UK*
7th – Columbihalle, Berlin, DE*
8th – Klub Studola, Warsaw, PL*
10th – The Ferret, Preston, UK
11th – In Colour Festival, Leeds, UK
June
1st – Supersonic Block Party Festival, Paris, FR
July
28th July – Deer Shed Festival, North Yorkshire, UK
*Supporting The Kills.
FOLLOW BABA ALI
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
