Suffering Jukebox

This morning's episode features an interview with gallery owner, publisher, author and worldwide authority on the art of Louis Wain, Chris Beetles. Each year Chris Beetles Gallery holds an exhibition celebrating the best in cat art, Louis Wain and the Cat Show and this year the exhibition runs from 9th-23rd of August. Find out more about Chris Beetles Gallery here https://www.chrisbeetles.com/ and view this year's Louis Wain and the Cat Show exhibition here https://www.chrisbeetles.com/exhibition/342/louis-wain-and-the-cat-show

I also caught up with Tom Lyngcoln by phone to discuss his latest project Metho and their new album Metholated Spirit. Metho play That Sound Over the Fence this Saturday, August 9th and they have additional shows scheduled for Friday August 8th and Season Three Space and Sunday August 10th at Via Studios. Metholated Spirit is out now through Solar/Sonar Records, it is available in all the usual places and you can purchase it here https://solarsonar.bandcamp.com/album/metholated-spirit

Nick's Pick of the Week is MC Yallah and Debmaster's Gaudencia. You can hear the whole album in all the usual places, or purchase it here https://hakunakulala.bandcamp.com/album/gaudencia and my review can be read below.

MC Yallah & Debmaster: Gaudencia (Hakuna Kulala)

Released 25th July 2025

I don’t review rap or hip-hop often, not because I don’t enjoy it, but because I find the genre daunting due to my own lack of knowledge regarding its long and complex history. What I have learnt, in my attempts to explore even a small cross-section of the genre, is that my interests lie in the more experimental edges of hip-hop and that I am neither a traditionalist nor a fan of anything that reeks of nostalgia. It is no surprise, then, that Kenyan rapper MC Yallah and French producer Debmaster’s latest collaboration, Gaudencia, has caught my attention, for it sounds unlike anything I have encountered before.

MC Yallah, the stage name of Yallah Gaudencia Mbidde, raps with an intensity that few can match —in no fewer than four languages: English, Luganda, Luo and Kiswahili. Meanwhile, Debmaster (Julien Deblois at birth) provides the perfect foil with his industrial-tinged beats and broken-down club breaks that intertwine seamlessly with Yallah’s words. Gaudencia is their third collaboration, the latest release in an ongoing musical partnership dating back to 2018’s Ndi Mukazi and continued on 2019’s Kubali.

Opening with the epic Higher, the duo go for the throat early and don’t stop until the album’s completion, almost forty minutes later. This is a dizzying, high energy record that will appeal to fans of forward-facing hip-hop or experimental electronica. Omulinji is perhaps the most “traditional” sounding song, echoing the classic sounds heard in some of rap’s more iconic moments, but this soon gives way to the intense, bass-driven Tunyedde, an album highlight and one of Gaudencia’s more unique tracks.

Gaudencia’s final trilogy of songs are perhaps its most compelling, but also its strangest and most challenging. Yalladana’s woozy instrumentals fade in and out, distorting the shape of the song in a way that is equally disconcerting yet deeply engaging. Deception commences with an ominous bass drone, but quickly degenerates into an urgent noise-driven song, whilst Hatari starts somewhat softly before ending with a blood-curdling, distorted scream.

With Gaudencia, Yallah and Debmaster have created something truly singular that will no doubt continue to be appreciated and rediscovered in years to come —it will also take time for many to properly grasp its complexity. This is a record that requires a few dedicated listens to truly appreciate its artistry and idiosyncrasies; a powerful statement from two artists who are deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of their chosen genres.

Nick Stephan