Fatima Al Qadiri is back, taking a break from her Future Brown activities, to unleash Brute, her second album and follow-up to 2014's Asiatisch. We're told the new album (out March 4 via Hyperdub) "teeters between rage and despair" and that's more than apparent on the album's first single, "Battery". The single, and much of the LP, tackles concepts of authority, security, paranoia and surveillance. Despite the seemingly absurd imagery adorning the cover, it actually drives this theme home further, depicting an adaption of Josh Kline's Po-Po sculpture by art director Babak Radboy. Sonically, "Battery" still has its roots in the grime-informed club experiments of Desert Strike and Asiatisch, but the futuristic polish has taken a backseat in favour of glowering basslines and menacing atmosphere.
