Mike D's return to action has been one of 2026's genuine highlights, three songs out so far, a short run of gigs recently (including one in a bingo hall in North Shields near Newcastle) and an appearance on Jools Holland last weekend. The singles/ songs started with Switch Up, a frenetic uptempo number, and continued with the Beastie sounding rap of What We Got and then the rattly sci fi funk of True Colours.
All three have the inventive energy of classic Beastie Boys, only one of the three voices obviously, but that adventurous, a million ideas a minute spirit is resent and correct. The music comes as least partly from the band 5D, his two son's group. True Colours is very much a band song, a psychey blur with Mike's vocals on top.
Jools Holland's Sunday night music programme Later... continues. I haven't watched it regularly for years but Mike D being on it piqued my interest. Here he is with the band, all in red tracksuits, doing Switch Up, blurring boundaries and hopping across genres with ease...
This is What We Got, heavy distorted guitars and synths/ FX and loads of Space Echo unit mayhem...
Mike agreed to be interviewed too talking about his return, the imapct of Adam Yauch's death, time, his sons Davis and Skylar and the band 5D, New York in the 70s and 80s and his return to the live stage. Mike's album Thank You is out at the end of August and I'm really looking forward to it.
3 comments:
I haven't got to this show yet but I'm looking forward to seeing Mike D, if nothing else.
I haven't watched 'Later...' on transmission for at least a decade, possibly two. However, I would always record it and more recently view on iPlayer. 99% of the time I find myself skipping huge chunks.
I think there's been at least one show I sampled a few acts but nothing captured my interest enough to stick with the whole performance.
I posted about it the other week, but I'd recommend going back to catch TOMORA (Tom Rowlands & AURORA) - their song and interview was a treat.
Good to see Mike D back and both. looking/sounding impressive.
I gave up on Later years ago...it's not just Jools Holland's tired old schtick (someone I know who worked with him reckons he's surprisingly diva-esque too) but the awful, never to be heard of again bands he has on, and the apparently terrific ones he has turned down.
I can believe that about JH NickL, being a diva (and not in a good way).
Thanks Khayem- will check that out.
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