Lord Spikeheart
Over the past decade, Kenyan vocalist, songwriter and producer Martin Kanja, AKA Lord Spikeheart, has become a figurehead of the African metal scene cultivating a distinctive blend of guttural growls pulled from the death metal tradition, screeching screams and gravelly rap verses that seep menacingly through head-banging instrumentals. His debut solo album ‘The Adept’, released on his own label HAEKALU Records, Africa's premiere label dedicated to darkest and heaviest music from the Continent, has acclaimed widespread recognition from prestigious media outlets such as The Guardian, BBC Radio, Pitchfork, Arte, Dazed, The Fader, NTS, Crack, Resident Advisor and The Quietus, — captivating audiences globally from East Africa to the rest of the world as a new frontier in extreme music. The list of collaborators is an inspired one — Cardopusher/Safety Trance, Fatboi Sharif, Brodinski, and Backxwash are some of Kanja’s guests — but The Adept never feels like anything less than something only Lord Spikeheart could have made. It’s the sound of an atom of the soul being split, unleashing an eldritch new energy. - The Fader Lord Spikeheart is also known for his captivating stage presence and high- energy live performances breaking out into fun-filled mosh pits at some of the most prestigious festivals such as Primavera Sound, Roskilde, Sónar, Le Guess Who? Roadburn to name a few. Attending a Lord Spikeheart show is a definite must see. An electrifying experience evoking a strong sense of belonging and spreading fireballed enthusiasm over the club.
Allow yourself to sit in this chaos and you may begin to feel strangely liberated, as if screaming into a raging wind or, like Kanja himself, harnessing a prodigiously expressive power. - The Guardian
Kanja’s debut solo album surpasses the might of his past work by several degrees. Listening to it feels like moshing in the Mariana Trench, being hurled by the currents through liquid darkness. - Pitchfork
Line-Up
- 31 Jahre Cheap Records
- 33Emybw
- Abigail Toll
- Antonina Nowacka
- Bianca Scout
- Carrier
- Ca.tter
- Chloe
- Christopher Just
- Chuquimamani-Condori
- Ghost Dubs
- Lord Spikeheart
- Mariam Rezaei & DJ Edward George
- Monomono feat. Maria Reiter and Gündo Vural pres. Schwarzschild-Radius
- Pulsinger Tunakan
- SPIME.IM
- Tin Man
- Shapednoise