This time last week, South West London-hailing producer MOEGLI dropped off his incendiary new single, “Maximum Black”. After years remixing and collaborating with others, the new track was his first in his own right and featured a stunning spoken word performance from elusive guest artist Kouba. Today he returns with the visuals and they’re really quite something.
Taking influence from the creative Wild West that is the LA Beat scene and filtering it through grime, garage and the UK underground, “Maximum Black” arrived with a deafening bang. We open with a spoken word soliloquy from Kouba before shifting on a hairpin into a speaker-shredding wall of bass and then, just as we reach the apex, there’s another about turn and we’re treated to the soothing saxophone melodies of musician Matt Hines.
The video from directors Isla Gaffney and Lucy Werrett stars acclaimed actor Alessandro Babalola, aka the unbelievably terrifying antagonist of Top Boy Season 3, who delivers an explosive performance. Bringing Kouba’s lyrics to life, he issues his call to arms with a presence few could pull off. As for the rest of the video, an expansive cast list of actors and dancers rise to the occasion with stunning performances that bring to life this powerful take down of colonialism and the cross-generational trauma its exacted on the world.
Taken from MOEGLI’s impending Sync Or Swim EP, hit play on the video at the top and be sure to add “Maximum Black” to your playlists.
