Hooked // Church & AP

Hello! Welcome back to my little corner of the internet (suss the new look if you’re on Reader xxx)

Hope you’ve all been good and are well. Today’s post is one that has been coming since probably the middle of January, when I first discovered the duo I’m about to share with you all.

If you read my January Tunes as well as my February Tunes, and come to think of it…my March Tunes, which you definitely should check out if you haven’t already, you might have picked up on the little obsession I currently have, with a young duo from New Zealand, known as Church & AP.

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Compromised of of Elijah Manu and Albert Purcell, Church & AP having been on a steady rise since 2018. They released an album, TEETH, in 2019, literally packed with bangers. They also released Cathedral / All Purpose in 2019 as well, so it’s not like these guys are short of stuff to prove just how hard they work.

Alladat was their first release in 2018, a fun lil spin on Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani, and I may has well have lost my mind when I heard it. So clean. Everything just fits together super well. I’ve always been honestly upfront about how much I struggle to get into rap that isn’t American, namely Australian rap, but for some reason, New Zealand rap just does it for me, and a lot of it is down to these guys. They’re introducing a whole new audience to the rap and hip hop music that’s coming out of New Zealand, and there’s plenty of it.

Roulette is definitely my favourite song of theirs, purely for how heavy and hard that bass line goes in, and how catchy the opening chorus is. I also love how smart they are with their lyrics?? It’s not overly explicit, but every time you listen to it, it’s like you discover some new quip or clever remark and I love it.

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The song that really propelled them to the level of success they’ve currently reached is a track called Ready Or Not, which was the highest Shazaam’d song in New Zealand when it was released, which is a feat. Listening to it, I have no doubt why. For me, Church & AP are like a harder, slightly grimier version of BROCKHAMPTON, with a New Zealand spin on it. It’s a super unique sound, and I’m yet to come across an artist or group who just body their music so confidently and entirely.

One of their most recent releases, Aston Martin is also a track and a half. It’s a great example of how diverse these guys are, with the Latin influences dripping off this track’s production, yet still remaining true to the Church & AP sound. The hook is stupidly catchy, and it had my jaw on the floor the second I heard the opening bar.

Honorable mentions have to go to their latest single, War Outside, as well as Dandelion, moneytalk and Dera Meelan’s remix of Fire Sale with deadforest. All favourites. Hands down. It’s hard to pick.

 

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I’ll let you pick your favourite for yourself. You’ve heard me rambling about these boys for the last three months, so it’s probably time you checked them out. You can find their Spotify page HERE, their BandCamp HERE and their Instagram page HERE. Let me know what you think.

x

Priya

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