One of the best parts about becoming a fan of an artist early on is following their career arc, even after you think it’s over. If any of you are Arctic Monkey fans, do we have an update for you. Their bassist Andy Nicholson and fellow Brit Jamie Shield have been hard at work as the production duo Sticky Blood since 2014 and are ready for their debut EP, I.D.. They’ve worked alongside emcees already as Clubs and Spades but now they’re taking some “me time” but couldn’t resist bringing some friends along. Look out for the EP on August 14th as well as a Red Bull Studio Session later this month.
The title track from their EP contains a strongly syncopated mix of bass, synths, and horns. Sticky Blood invites you into a tribal ceremony deep into the woods and Ajay is at the head of it all as the shaman. Ajay is confident in his own identity and isn’t shy in telling you all about it. His flows fill in the blank space left by Sticky Blood perfectly. Nicholson and Shield had this to say on the creation of this thumper:
We wanted a much harder track on our debut EP which had a heavy percussive element. We designed the main synth from a recording of a drill, which we shaped and tweaked till we got the right pitch. We were introduced to Ajay and were blown away to know was only 16 years old. Bringing him into the project made a lot of sense, he was a good fit for the track and he is a big talent.
Bryan Hahn wants to give Eazy-E a shout out as well. He’s on Twitter (@notupstate).