“
Probing, ambitious, and tonnes of fun” –
Clash
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It must be one of pop music’s biggest mysteries: how did Egyptian Blue manage to create such a singular sound within a genre that’s so densely populated right now? Surely someone should launch an investigation into it.” –
So Young
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Pinballs around like Foals roughhousing Radiohead” –
The New Cue
Egyptian Blue today announce their debut album: A Living Commodity will be released October 27th on Yala! Records. The Brighton band – who have ridden a wave of hype since their inception – also today share new single Skin. Following an enforced break during the dark days of pandemic and latterly pouring all their collective creative energies into creating a new sound that showcases an undeniable new ambition, hunger and dimension; Egyptian Blue are poised and ready to pick up their mantle as one of the best new guitar bands in the UK. Returning singles Geisha & Matador won support from the likes of DIY, Dork, So Young, Clash, Steve Lamacq at BBC 6Music and Jack Saunders at Radio1; the recent singles working as perfect aperitifs, setting the scene for the bold scopes and unadulterated ambition rarely encountered on a debut record. The band will tour extensively this Autumn, a run of dates which includes a stop at London’s legendary 100 Club.
Inspired by a tale of a surgeon with a twitch (itself a neat metaphor for the entire Egyptian Blue sound), Skin is an instant highlight, stretching from its initially tightly coiled attack before unravelling in thrilling style as it fires towards its denouement, all the while taking in guitar tones inspired by PiL’s ‘Metal Box’
On the new single, Egyptian Blue say: “Skin was a demo I wrote on my balcony on a hot summer’s day. I became completely infatuated by the shakers, insisting that this is a shaker song and the rest is just background noise. It’s a simple song and kind of structurally unorthodox. But again as many EB songs have the tendency to complicate simple ideas, Skin certainly wasn’t an exception. I see wide open spaces snapping into a tight and clean portrait and back and forth between them. It toys with the idea of being ok then not ok and pining to wear another’s Skin in the climate of discontent in yourself and your situations.”
The rise of any breaking band is a tumultuous experience, and that’s something that Egyptian Blue know better than most. They started out as an escape from small town suburbia, instead losing themselves in hours of ear-splitting, alcohol-induced jam sessions above a jeweller’s shop in Colchester. After relocating to Brighton and signing to new music champions YALA!, their momentum rapidly gathered pace, leading to acclaim for their 2019 debut EP Collateral Damage, a 6 Music playlist for its (near) title track, a tour with The Murder Capital and an unforgettable set at All Points East. Their second EP, Body of Itch, felt destined to elevate them to another level, but 2020’s well-documented lost year put the band – and indeed the rest of society – on hold.
While vocalist and guitarist Andy Buss admits to feeling like “we weren’t really a band anymore,” nonetheless he and co-frontman Leith Ambrose both continued writing their own demos at home until lockdown restrictions were lifted. Reunited, it was as if they had never been apart. “We had songs that had been formulating for a long time,” Andy continues, “and when we got back into the practice room they came together so quickly. You walk out with an intense pride in what you’ve done. That time was a tricky road, but I can only remember the positive things really.”
In the intervening time they have been heralded by their peers as one of the best new bands in the country; IDLES frontman Joe Talbot describing them as “fucking sick’’ and picking them as his act of choice for the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2022. Yannis Philippakis is another avowed super-fan, personally choosing Egyptian Blue as support for Foals’ run of arena shows in the UK & Europe during their Life Is Yours tour run.
Andy Buss and Leith Ambrose formed Egyptian Blue in their late teens first bonding over early Foals and The Maccabees and have played music together ever since. They’re the type of people you expect to find in an essential new band: two lifelong friends who share a seemingly telepathic connection.
Egyptian Blue – A Living Commodity – Yala! Records – 27/10/23
