The Blandboy duo, made up of Tyla Burnett (Black Math) and William Glendinning, have a new EP out, Bland Dub, and it’s an instrumental blow down the house, psyche yourself, sonic fantasy. Oh, and let’s not forget the EP’s resentment for a certain cigarette ban, instituted by a certain minister (*coughs* Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma).
Opener “Chant Down Dlamini-Zuma” takes full aim at the minister’s questionable actions during the course of SA’s lockdown, and Blandboy aren’t so much pissed about the whole thing as they are taking the piss. The track started out as a joke after Tyla’s father began chanting the phrase one night, who also happens to be a heavy smoker and features as the track’s Durry King, but after some heavy production and multi-instrumental layering, Blandboy found they were onto something.
The three-track EP is inspired by the duo’s love for Jamaican Dub, combining the style with an Ableton wizardry from Will’s side, and a shared appreciation for various forms of African music. You might say the duo steals from these more culturally rooted genres, mashing the sounds into their own brand of Dub. They’ve termed it blandub, hence the EP title, and seem to be forging a signature, electronic sound that’s psychedelic, groovy, and fun.
