For the latest episode of his webseries The Cave, Kenny Beats linked up with IDLES frontman Joe Talbot and guitarist Mark Bowen to mint what Talbot declared would be “an instant fucking classic”.
The banter-heavy episode sees Talbot and Bowen explore the realm of hip-hop from their unique perspective as “the Nickelback of noise-rock”, wholly embracing their motto that “sometimes worse is better”. The pair clash often with Kenny, who attempts to produce a beat for Talbot to rap over, with suggestion such as “a mid hum” and some “Sting-style Spanish guitar” throwing the producer off his game.
They come to an agreement, however, when Kenny pulls up a sample of the late Italian composer Alessandro Alessandroni, although the friendship becomes fractured once more when Talbot’s freestyled verse shapes up to be, per Kenny, “a mockery of hip-hop”.
Check out IDLES’ episode of The Cave below:
The episode comes amid a slew of collaborations between Kenny and IDLES, including the Bristol-native hardcore outfit’s recent fourth album, ‘Crawler’. Kenny also appeared on an episode of Talbot’s own webseries – the virtual talk show BALLEY TV – last year.
NME gave ‘Crawler’ a four-star review, saying: “On their first three albums, IDLES instructed others to interrogate their feelings and live their lives being as emotionally open as possible. With ‘Crawler’ they take their own advice, adding a whole new dimension to an already beloved band.”
The album – which Bowen and Talbot told NME was shaped by sobriety, accountability and trauma – will be toured throughout 2022, with an Australian and New Zealand run lined up amid festival appearances at Creation Day, 2000trees and Roskilde.
Earlier this week, IDLES put a gritty techno spin on the St. Vincent track ‘Pay Your Way In Pain’. In a statement shared with it, Bowen said the band’s intention with the remix was to “ramp up the camp and the violence” of the original tune.
Kenny, on the other hand, has kept busy throughout 2021 with a slew of production credits. In addition to his work on ‘Crawler’, he produced the entirety of Vince Staples’ self-titled album, a couple of tracks on Slowthai’s album’s ‘Tyron’, and the song ‘Roaring 20s’ by Flo Milli. He also released an updated version of his collaborative EP with Denzel Curry, ‘Unlocked’, titled ‘Unlocked 1.5’.
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