The Bug

About

Upon the arrival of Tapping the Conversation (1997), the Bug appeared to be a one-off concept from Kevin Martin, the prolific British producer then known for his work with God, Ice, and Techno Animal, among other collaborative guises willfully deforming styles ranging from free jazz and hip-hop to noise and dub. Instead, the Bug soon became and remains one of Martin's primary outlets, even as his discography has expanded with King Midas Sound, Zonal, and a slew of ambient recordings under his full name, Kevin Richard Martin. Since bending styles such as dancehall, dub techno, grime, and early dubstep on Pressure (2003), London Zoo (2008), and Angels & Devils (2014), each one a showcase for a vast array of vocalists, Martin has both pared down and broadened his approach as the Bug. Concrete Desert (2017) and In Blue (2020) have respectively matched his bone-crunching rhythms and foreboding atmospheres on an intimate level with the guitar drones of Earth and the hushed incantations of Dis Fig. The Bug returned to the guest-heavy album format with 2021's Fire.