Ladan Hussein, known on stage as Cold Specks, announced her highly anticipated new album Fool’s Paradise, set for release on 22nd September via Arts & Crafts.  The single ‘Fool’s Paradise’ shows Hussein singing in Somali for the first time, calling out to a semi-mythical Somali queen of female empowerment named Araweelo, who was rumoured to castrate male prisoners. Like Cold Specks, Araweelo is a polarizing dream, always dangling between varying abstracts. Within the track is a Somali idiom, “kala garo naftaada iyo laftaada,” which translates in English to “understand the difference between your bones and your soul.”

'Fool’s Paradise' arrives on the heels of the recent single 'Wild Card'. Quickly receiving accolades from The New York Times, Indie Shuffle, Consequence of Sound and more, both tracks were produced and mixed by long-time collaborator Jim Anderson at Easy Life Studio in Toronto, with Tim Kingsbury of Arcade Fire performing bass.

Intimately exploring her identity as a Somali-Canadian woman, Fool’s Paradise is Hussein’s most personal work yet. The album encapsulates the naturalness of existing during difficult times. Hussein recently learned about her family’s former life in Somalia - including her father’s musical legacy. During her 2015 Neuroplasticity tour in Australia, Ladan discovered that her father helped form a famous band in the ‘70s called Iftin. During the writing process, she dug deep into grainy VHS recordings found online of Iftin, and of many other Somali musicians, songs and videos that had survived war. “My parents never talked much about life in Mogadishu growing up” Hussein explains, “the war split up my family, scattered them around the world, left many missing, and those that made it were forever changed.” Saling her way to shore after grueling trial, error, and musical acclaim - Fool’s Paradise is the sound of finding home, identity, and self-love.

Cold Specks is set to launch the Fool’s Paradise World Tour 2017 in the UK at the end of September:

30 September 17 - The Cluny - Newcastle,

01 October 17 - Lending Room - Leeds,

02 October 17 - King Tut's - Glasgow,

03 October 17 - Night & Day - Manchester,

04 October 17 - Cube - Bristol,

05 October 17 - Omeara – London.

Northampton, MA duo Boy Harsher have shared single & video ‘Motion’, taken from their forthcoming debut EP. Country Girl EP will be released via Ascetic House (Marshstepper, Varg, Puce Mary, Helm, etc) on October 13 digitally and followed by 12” vinyl on October 27. They tour Europe in November, including London and Newcastle – dates below.

Boy Harsher is a dark electronic duo producing gritty techno beats infused with enigmatic vocals, creating a sound that is eerie, intense and compulsively danceable. Augustus Muller develops the underbelly of sound with minimal beats and grinding synths, where Jae Matthews whispers, screams and chants over the top. Together, the music created is somewhere between industrial, drone and confessional storytelling, capturing the duo’s background in film.

Boy Harsher started in early 2013 under the name Teen Dreamz. The project was based on short stories written and read by Matthews then live scored by Muller. As the project matured the instrumentals became more dance influenced and Matthews’ delivery became more dynamic and spontaneous. In January of 2014 Teen Dreamz took on the moniker Boy Harsher.

Country Girl features four brand new tracks and was written & recorded in Northampton, MA by Boy Harsher. The EP was produced by the band and Jordan Romero (Shy Violet, R&R Unlimited) in the summer of 2016. Maurizio Baggio mixed & mastered the EP in early 2017. The artwork was designed by JS Aurelius (Destruction Unit, Marshstepper).

Boy Harsher tour dates:

Nov 27 London, UK – Shacklewell Arms

Nov 28 Newcastle, UK – Little Buildings

Country Girl EP tracklist:

1. Motion

2. Country Girl

3. Underwater

4. Westerners