The Bug presents: PRESSURE

Tikiman w/Scion
JK Flesh (Avalanche Rec./UK)
The Bug ft. Dis Fig (Pressure/Ninja Tune/UK)
Ghost Dubs (Pressure/Germany)
Gorgonn (SVBKVLT/JP/D)

Kevin Richard Martin, aka The Bug, regularly hosts Pressure nights at Gretchen, and we spend an entire day setting up his massive sound system to make the blend of grime, dub, hip-hop, dubstep, electronica, and other facets of bass music not only audible but also physically tangible.

Justin K. Broadrick, aka JK Flesh, already broke down the boundaries between industrial, noise, and experimental hip-hop back in the 1990s alongside Kevin Richard Martin under the name Techno Animal. Broadrick was also briefly a member of Napalm Death and is known for his work with the industrial metal band Godflesh. As JK Flesh, he has been channeling his musical vision in the realm of heavy/mutant techno and electronica since around 2012—influenced by industrial, dub, and power electronics, as well as the extreme offshoots of beat- and bass-driven electronic music.

This time, The Bug can be heard alongside Dis Fig. The New Jersey-born, Berlin-based producer and vocalist has traveled the path—as vast as it is, in a way, obvious—from jazz to dark, noisily distorted sonic distillates. Together with The Bug, she recorded the album “In Blue”—a hazy, melancholic fusion of narco-dancehall, ethereal soul, and a dread-infused electronic dub-techno texture that, over the course of twelve tracks, is perfected into a mesmerizing “tunnel sound” . They shot the video for the track “You” here at Gretchen.

Ghost Dubs is a project by dub heavyweight Jah Schulz. The debut album “Damaged” (2024) was, of course, released via Pressure and features twelve dark soundscapes that pulsate and draw you into their spell. A distillation of 50 years of bass music—minimalist and pure—essentially the essence of dub. On the split album “Implosion,” created in collaboration with The Bug, this approach further condenses into hypnotic, bass-driven soundscapes that straddle dub, ambient, drone, and dub techno.

Drawing on roughly 20 years of sound engineering experience, Gorgonn crafts a powerful neo-dub sound that he himself calls “Sci-Fi Steppas.” This translates to a fierce combination of deep industrial dub, noise, techno, and no wave. Check out his album “Six Paths,” for example—a magnificently distorted fusion of industrial and bass intensity.

For this event, we’re offering discounted tickets to make culture accessible to people on a tighter budget. These tickets are limited and available only through TixforGigs. We trust your judgment: If you can, please book standard tickets and leave the discounted tickets for those who really need to save money right now.

Presented by HHV