Melt Yourself Down

A London-based outfit, among the most prominent on the British neo-afrobeat scene straddling the 2010s and 2020s. Technically a supergroup, its founding members include musicians from the city's avant-jazz-rock scene: saxophonist and leader Pete Wareham (Acoustic Ladyland, Polar Bear), singer and guitarist Kushal Gaya (Zun Zun Egui), South Tyrol-born bassist Ruth Goller (also of Acoustic Ladyland), percussionist Satin Singh, and two of the scene's key names, drummer Tom Skinner (Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming) and saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings (Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming).

Starting with their first single in 2012 on Leaf Label, they released two studio albums built around a fiery, urban blend of dance-punk and afrobeat: "Melt Yourself Down" (2013) and "Last Evenings On Earth" (2016), plus a live record ("Live At The New Empowering Church", 2014). The following "100% Yes" (2020) marked a label change (the band moved to Decca) and the departures of Hutchings, Skinner and Singh (the latter later joining Ill Considered). The band regrouped, bringing in drummer Adam Betts (Three Trapped Tigers, Shobaleader One) and saxophonist George Crowley. Stylistically, the formula became even more energetic and centrifugal. The same lineup returned in 2022 for the album "Pray For Me I Don't Fit In".