2024 Breakthrough Artist: Mermaid Chunky
I still remember the first time I heard Mermaid Chunky’s “Céilí.” At first, I wasn’t totally sure if their label DFA Records had sent me the correct link, which was ostensibly to listen to the new single for a band they had recently signed from South London. The first two minutes of the song featured a recorder playing what sounded to me almost like a sea shanty. I wasn’t far off: A quick search of the definition of “céilí” reveals the Gaelic for “party,” typically one involving Gaelic folk music and dancing. It seemed like an odd choice for an introductory single on a label like DFA, home to dance music heavyweights like LCD Soundsystem and The Juan Maclean, and progenitor of era-defining electronic cuts like “House of Jealous Lovers” by The Rapture and “Blind” by Hercules & Love Affair — but that’s also why I trust them. As lore tells it, DFA founder and LCD frontman James Murphy happened to hear Mermaid Chunky’s early single “Friends” over the speakers of Brooklyn cafe, which was enough to invite them to open for him in the UK, and then sign them.
Listen to “Céilí” and you’ll get it. Something magical happens around the two-minute mark: First, an organ fades in, then a voice hums — and then “céilí” takes off. It radiates a sense of wonderment across its 8:21 runtime, building and building to ecstatic crescendo before easing back to its original form.
I premiered “céilí” on my show FREAKS ONLY on April 25 this year, a couple of weeks before its official release, and it so wasn’t yet Shazamable or Google-able outside of what was posted on the KCRW playlist. I’d hear from multiple listeners every time I’d play it asking for more information on this strange and beautiful track. It was definitely resonating with many of you as much as it had with me. The video for the track accompanying its official release perfectly captures the mischievous, off-kilter joy of “Céilí”.
Mermaid Chunky’s audio-visual duo of Freya Tate and Moina Moin — self-described “maidens harvesting in the mud club enclosures” — proved they were more than a novelty bit with their follow-up single “chaperone.” It’s a rhythm-driven, leftfield disco cut loaded with come-hither vocals, a fatty synth, and — yet again — a build that leaves you breathless and euphoric. The cut would become a KCRW-wide staple throughout the summer.
By the time their second LP (and DFA debut) slif slaf slof dropped in the fall, the idea that the proudly-quirky duo could not be pigeonholed was a firm fact. With a foot in dance music, Mermaid Chunky’s music is even more heavily influenced by elements of British folk, experimental electronic music, baroque pop, free jazz, and even an occasional burst of country and Western. More than any particular genre labels, the sound of Mermaid Chunky is a feeling coursing through their work, primal and free of any trace of self-consciousness.
That feeling is catching: In addition to their DFA debut, 2024 saw Mermaid Chunky hit the festival circuit, get profiled by The Guardian, and drawing rapturous crowds opening for LCD Soundsystem — most recently for four consecutive shows at the band’s Hollywood Palladium residency. And about those live shows — they’re pure magic, not just musically, but in the theatrical surrealism of their presentation, featuring Tate and Moin adorned in Seussian costume, backed by a troupe of puppeteers parading sparkling sea creatures around the stage throughout their set.
While in town, they dropped by KCRW for a Guest DJ set and interview, sharing how their first gig as a musical duo was a disaster, but so much fun they couldn’t wait to do it again. That freewheeling spirit and utter lack of fear is what sets Mermaid Chunky apart and makes them one of the most exciting acts to keep your eye on in the world of music going forward.