Much sooner than we expected, Synth-funk singer Nukubi has put out his second single “Local Champion” off his debut project Bronze. We’re still not quite over the eponymous “Bronze” and its references to the synth pop movement and visionaries like Dev Hynes. “Local Champion”, despite its misleading name, stays true to Nukubi’s interest in specific sonic influences, but expands the influences from which he draws inspiration, mimicking the emotion monotonous drone of post EDM electronic music, made popular by vocalists like Alice Glass of Crystal Castles. The music arrangement is sparse, barely there even.

Nukubi puts his vocal arrangement through a wash and spin through a vocoder for that effect of being played through a cassette player instead of the lush vocal arrangements that we’ve come to expect from contemporary Nigerian artists. This effect is heightened when he layers his voice for a chamber pop choral effect emphasizing the dour refrain before dipping back into the song’s extended chorus. A fitting follow up to “Bronze”, but not quite on it’s level of ingenuity.

The EP will be released later in the year, and while Nukubi hasn’t confirmed, we suspect there will be a third single before the EP drops. How long is too long to wait for a project, we’re about to find out, because Bronze should have been here yesterday.

Listen to “Local Champion” here.

https://soundcloud.com/nukubi/local-champion

Listen to Nukubi’s Bronze