Nairobi based Punk rock band are set to add fuel to their engine with the release of a new single ‘Leopold’. Coinciding with my own reading of the Belgian despot’s biography, Crystal Axis announced that the single will drop on the 29th of August.
Their five year hiatus, characterising a lengthy punctuation on the page of their musical career, was halted with a return to the stage in March of this year at Hardcore Help Foundation’s bi annual rock showcase at The Alchemist Bar, opening for American hardcore punk acts, Stick to Your Guns alongside Kenyan acts, Seismic, Rash and The Seeds of Datura.
After a well-documented string of local shows that has reignited the local scenes interest in their outfit, Crystal Axis began setting in motion what would be their release material since their debut. On guitars are the bands founding member Djae Aroni who teams up with new-boy Fox Elijah and the charming Ahmed Bulhan on vocals. Jazz Odongo is behind the songs production and engineering.
While we wait to hear what the song sounds like, it will be instructive to take a look at the band’s previous work which can be found on Bandcamp as well as their live performance which you can access on their YouTube channel. The song’s theme seems to be loosely inspired by King Leopold of Belgium, a man who Otto Von Bismarck of described as “displaying the pretensions and naive selfishness of an Italian who considers that his charm and good looks will enable him to get away with anything.”
Until then, keep your eyes peeled and expect a review from us when the song comes out.
Crystal Axis is also scheduled to play Uganda’s annual Nyege Nyege Festival, as only the second rock band from Kenya to grace that platform, following in the footsteps of the local hard rock band, Rash who played there last year.
