Bad With Phones, the artist whose enigmatic blend of weirdo pop, spoken word, R&B and indie-electro has seen him hailed as a
“Unique voice and sound” by Complex UK ,
“Endearing sonics and raw narratives” by The Line Of Best Fit and ‘Arrestingly minimal’ by Clash, releases new single
‘TICKET’, out today now on
Don’t Sleep. Listen
HERE.
Bad With Phones follows the single release with a ‘CRASH’ album launch event on Friday July 5th at 7pm at the BBE Store in East London. ‘TICKET’ is the fourth single from forthcoming album ‘CRASH’ out 12th July, the album is inspired by and created after surviving a life-changing car crash, reflected by the album artwork featuring a jeep, destroyed, on a volcanic landscape.
With ‘TICKET’, Bad With Phones, aka Manny, has conjured up a stunning, psychedelic, blissed-out yet damaged indie anthem, that sweeps the listener away on the wings of redemption with its synth strings, devotional choral harmonies and rolling syncopated drums, wrapped in Manny’s intimate spoken word and mesmerising chorus “How am I supposed to tell you I’m alright now, maybe I should show you”. The ‘TICKET’ visualiser here features Manny, an angel in disguise to assist you in blowing your mind, as he rides onward into the sunset.
Manny comes complete with pink wig and shades for his ‘CRASH’ era, evolving from his ‘Marinade’ mixtape era and underground hits ‘ ON1’ (with over 1.6million streams), ‘Refrigerator’ , and Monica.
‘CRASH’ is a collection of 10 songs that take us on Bad With Phones’ shroomified, rollercoaster journey in what he describes as ‘my sonic therapy session’. ‘CRASH’ is packed with late night, intimate anthems, after hours love songs and comedown soothers for the day after a mangled night.
Standout tracks are ‘DennisRodman’, a warm-up track which dropped in mid-February, followed by second single ‘Don’t Talk To Me’, an infectious weirdo-pop tune which received critical acclaim and repeated spins on BBC Radio 6 Music from Don Letts, Amy Lamé, Huw Stephens and Deb Grant. Third single ‘drive.’ is an inspired slice of synth-pop meets indie-electro. An after-hours bop and gnarly love song, backed by that distinctive electric guitar and synth that has again received considerable support on BBC Radio 6 Music. Other ‘CRASH’ album highlights include the low-key hypnagogic bop of psychedelic spoken word ‘Devils’ and the warped, tweaked out insomniac fuelled ‘Emmanuelle’ with its lyric “come Triple XL with the vibes”.
Bad With Phones says of the new single “TICKET is the concept of making it to your dreams, the heavenly aspect of ourselves and our experiences on earth. Leaving the old behind and moving forward no matter the cost. We are spiritual beings having a human experience, so tapping into your unique set of rituals that brings out your divinity, that connection we all have to source – your personal key to a place that’s beyond your wildest imagination. We wanted to portray a sense of devotion and worship with this one, hence the dramatic almost war like mystical adventure theme. Such is life when we experiences glimpses of the divine within us.”
Bad With Phones’ name was born out of Manny’s 6 month phone-free social experiment. Following the debut EP ‘Bang Bang Chicken’ in 2018, he was hailed as one to watch in 2021 on the release of his mixtape ‘Marinade’. Another few singles and an EP ‘Living & Surfing & Remixing’ followed in 2022, but a near death experience explains the two year hiatus. The ‘CRASH’ album cover is also the back cover of the vinyl and features the crashed hired jeep, which tells the story of Manny’s real life car crash.
Brixton label Don’t Sleep celebrates its 5th anniversary with the label’s first album releases this year. Bad With Phones embodies how the label family works and what they care about, working with artists who expand the culture and push it forward.
‘CRASH’ Tracklisting:
