Upon the arrival of
Tapping the Conversation (1997),
the Bug appeared to be a one-off concept from Kevin Martin, the prolific British producer then known for his work with
God,
Ice, and
Techno Animal, among other collaborative guises willfully deforming styles ranging from free jazz and hip-hop to noise and dub. Instead,
the Bug soon became and remains one of Martin's primary outlets, even as his discography has expanded with
King Midas Sound, Zonal, and a slew of ambient recordings under his full name,
Kevin Richard Martin. Since bending styles such as dancehall, dub techno, grime, and early dubstep on
Pressure (2003),
London Zoo (2008), and
Angels & Devils (2014), each one a showcase for a vast array of vocalists, Martin has both pared down and broadened his approach as
the Bug. Concrete Desert (2017) and
In Blue (2020) have respectively matched his bone-crunching rhythms and foreboding atmospheres on an intimate level with the guitar drones of
Earth and the hushed incantations of
Dis Fig.
The Bug returned to the guest-heavy album format with 2021's
Fire.
Allied with the Baltimore-based WordSound label, Martin hatched
the Bug in 1997 with
Tapping the Conversation. Inspired by The Conversation, Francis Ford Coppola's classic mystery thriller, Martin evoked its mood with instrumentation from some of his
Ice and
God associates and drum samples provided by A. Gurov (or Andre Gurov, otherwise known as
DJ Vadim). After a battering 12" for FatCat in 1999 (previewed the previous year on a compilation for
Techno Animal partner
Justin K. Broadrick's Lo Fibre label), Martin started to use
the Bug as a platform for vocalists, and with fellow producer the Rootsman established the 7"-only Razor X label.
The Bug and the Rootsman partnered for a handful of co-billed singles, such as the He-Man-fronted "Killer," from 2001 through 2003. "Killer" set the tone for (and appeared on) the second
Bug album,
Pressure, issued during the latter year with
Daddy Freddy,
Paul St. Hilaire, and future
King Midas Sound conspirator
Roger Robinson also taking turns in the vocal booth. The LP was released in the U.K. by
Aphex Twin's Rephlex and in the U.S. by
Kid606's Tigerbeat6. Intermediary
Bug singles, as well as the album Killing Sound, credited to the alternate and more explosive
Bug/Rootsman guise Razor X Productions, preceded the next
Bug full-length. Consolidating a partnership with yet another artist-operated venture,
Coldcut's Ninja Tune label, Martin unloaded the third
Bug album,
London Zoo, in 2008. The likes of
Warrior Queen and
the Spaceape were in the mix, as were
Killa P and
Roll Deep's
Flowdan, the voices of "Skeng," circulated beforehand on 12" through
Kode9's
Hyperdub.
Following
London Zoo, Martin directed more of his energy to
King Midas Sound, his comparatively dubwise group with
Roger Robinson and Kiki Hitomi, but he kept
the Bug afloat with singles, including a trio on Acid Ragga, his descriptively named Ninja Tune subsidiary.
The Bug's
Angels & Devils, an album of distinct halves, arrived in 2014 with side one vocalists
Liz Harris (aka
Grouper) and
Miss Red giving way to the aggressions of
Death Grips,
Warrior Queen, and
Flowdan on the second side.
Exit, a supplemental double pack, was out shortly thereafter. Through the latter half of the 2010s and into the next decade, Martin continued to split time between numerous pursuits. These included
King Midas Sound (itself a project with an unpredictable evolution), outside productions (such as
Miss Red's Murder and
K.O.), collaborative releases on his Pressure label (like
Flame 1 and
Flame 2, partnered with
Burial), and ambient explorations released under his birth name (the majority of them through another self-operated venture, Intercranial Recordings). This period also yielded a pair of
Bug LPs created in tandem. For Concrete Desert, released in 2017, Martin worked with
Earth, more specifically drone-riff master
Dylan Carlson, fueled creatively by the writings of J.G. Ballard and the gray landscape and grimy underbelly of Los Angeles. Martin made his next move as
the Bug beside
Dis Fig with 2020's
In Blue, a heady collision of dancehall, dub, and soul supported by
Hyperdub.
Fire, the third part of a triptych which began with
London Zoo and
Angels & Devils, appeared on Ninja Tune in 2021. Guests included past collaborators like
Flowdan and
Moor Mother along with newer names like FFSYTHO and Nazamba. ~ Andy Kellman