Brut Thoughts: CD

One of the UK’s most singular voices, Murkage Dave has spent the last decade crafting a body of work that refuses to fit neatly into any genre box. His music, loosely pop but informed by indie, outsider art, and an instinct for storytelling, is built on honesty, empathy, and fearless social commentary.

With his forthcoming album Brut Thoughts, Dave connects the inner turbulence of modern life with the fractured world around him, reflecting on internet culture, overstimulation, immigrant experience, political extremism and the power of community. The album channels present-day anger and disillusionment while refusing to lose sight of hope. “It’s millennial meme culture music,” he explains. “The cacophony of what’s going on in my head spilling out into song. Living in the shadow of 80s Thatcherite/Reaganite economic policy, the broken social contract, the unkept promise of a life we were supposed to get if we did our bit.”

A cathartic soundtrack for life in late capitalism, the album draws inspiration from Talking Heads, Sampha, The Smiths, and The Streets. It came together in an unorthodox, nomadic way, across living rooms and borrowed studios in London, Manchester, Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and the Danish countryside.

The record’s collaborative spirit is woven into its DNA, featuring contributions from James from Yard Act, Kayus from Young Fathers, Ellery from WU LYF, and Lauren Auder.