Two-time MOBO AWARD nominated alternative artist KID BOOKIE shares his brand-new single, ‘LOVE ME WHEN YOU’RE ANGRY’ taken from the much-anticipated new album, ‘SONGS FOR THE LIVING // SONGS FOR THE DEAD’. The album is set for release via MARSHALL RECORDS on SEPTEMBER 13, 2024. Fans can stream the new single and pre-order album bundles – HERE. Along with the new single, the London-based artist shares details for an intimate run of UK in-store events. Tickets can be found –HERE.
Bookie’s latest offering is intense and epic. It addresses the desire for lasting, meaningful connections in an era where things often feel fleeting and temporary. ‘Love Me When You’re Angry’ reveals the full extent of Bookie’s versatility and the depth of heart in his writing.
“In this generation where everything’s such a microwavable moment – it has 2 minutes, it’s hot, and then you take out, and it’s just done,” Bookie explains. “This song is asking to give a little bit of hope, a little bit of something to hold on to. It’s about how our heart changes for a person and how we learn how to adapt to each change and the shape of their heart.”
Consisting of eleven enveloping tracks, ‘Songs For The Living // Songs For The Dead’ was created with an array of collaborators, including Good Charlotte’s Billy Martin, Skindred’s Mikey Demus, producers Tom Mitchener (Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes), Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Nova Twins), George Perks (Enter Shikari, Skindred), and long-time friend and co-writer Ziey Kizzy. Each collaborator brought something unique to the album, resulting in a curation representing a bold step in Bookie’s evolution and artistry, seamlessly fusing multiple genres into something unique and authentically Kid Bookie.
Despite pressures to conform to stereotypes, Bookie embraces his love for genres like rock, metal, and rap, challenging conventional expectations of Black culture in the UK. Through his music, he candidly reflects on his experiences seeking acceptance and navigating the complexities of growing up in London. Amidst these struggles, his resilience shines through, remaining steadfast in his commitment to authenticity, self-expression, and a testament to music’s transformative force and individuality’s triumph.
‘Songs For The Living // Songs For The Dead’ sets him apart as a trailblazing artist whose music resonates on both a personal and a cultural level. These vulnerable and exciting works not only delve into personal heartbreak, self-loathing, and obsessions with death but also resilience, triumph, and defiance. He invites us to take part in an auditory hero’s journey and trial by fire with open arms.
“A lot of this album is about feeling inadequate,” admits Bookie. “There are different facets and layers of that inadequacy, and it covers most of my inadequate parts, whether that’s my art or feeling inadequate in terms of love.”
As someone who has never fit in, the irony of questioning where he fits in reveals a deeper thread at the heart of this record – Bookie’s vulnerability and insecurity as an artist. They’re separate concerns but interlinked. Yet there’s a double irony here because by being so forthcoming about those insecurities, Bookie has made his most self-assured record to date, transcending the uncertainty of its inspiration and flourishes defiantly as a result. Furthermore, it’s by not fitting in that he’s been able to connect with so many people – perhaps more than he would have done by towing the line. That’s not without its drawbacks, but not least the effect it’s had on his own psyche.
“I approach everything I do with the idea that it’s a game,” he says. “So, how do I become a glitch in that game? And sometimes you have to throw a grenade in places, blow it up and just rebuild the infrastructure. I only have one chance to revel here, so let me be as transgressive, as raw, and as authentic as I can be. I want to be that glitch, that little ‘fuck you’ inside the system.”
Kid Bookie has also been shortlisted for The Heavy Music Awards’ Best Breakthrough Live Artist in 2024 and is set to hit the stage at this year’s 2000trees and Bristol Sounds with Skindred. ‘Songs For The Living/ Songs For The Dead’ will be released via Marshall Records on September 13, 2024. Fans can pre-order vinyl bundles and more HERE. UK in-store tickets can be found –HERE.
JULY
13 – 2000tress Festival, Cheltenham
SEPTEMBER
13 – Rough Trade East, London
14 – Rough Trade, Nottingham
15– Crash Records, Leeds
16 – Rough Trade, Liverpool
17 – Rough Trade, Bristol
