Selections: Wu-Lu

London’s newest one-day festival, RALLY will make its debut in Southwark Park this Saturday (5th August), with an eclectic bill spanning electronica, techno, post-punk, and leftfield indie. From the team behind GALA, the festival is a celebration of the underground spaces and sounds that make up the city’s grassroots scene, from the genre-defying grooves of Wu-Lu, Obongjayar, and Loraine James, to the celestial house and ambient/experimental sounds of Kelly Lee Owens, Space Afrika, and Leon Vynehall, who will go b2b with Yu Su. For those in search of intrepid, international selections John Talabot, Erika de Casier, and Princess Nokia will also be on call. Take a look at the full line-up, and be tempted by the last remaining tickets, here.

Stepping up for the mid-afternoon slot on the Channel stage is South London native Miles Romans-Hopcraft, known musically as Wu-Lu. The DJ, producer, and vocalist — who got a taste for the more eclectic strands of psych, jazz, and hip-hop from his trumpeter father — released his debut album, ‘Loggerhead’, through Warp Records last year. 

On stage, Wu-Lu is a force to be reckoned with. Compounding thick, grungey guitars and glowering basslines with socially-conscious bars and explosive flourishes of breaks, his sound lurks somewhere in the space between Sonic Youth and Public Enemy. The multi-hyphenate artist is currently part-way through a summer festival tour which has seen him make pit-stops at Primavera, Outbreak, and Roskilde, before returning to London for RALLY’s maiden voyage this weekend.

In his Selections, Wu-Lu spotlights underground LDN sounds, music from friends, and maximalist guitar jams. Dive in below.

“I love this song because it makes me think of the relationship I had with my grandma before she passed. Almost like a nervous love. Someone who is always gonna squeeze my hands tight when thoughts and ideas get too much.”

“The beat on this song is ridiculous – the grooves, the melodies, it makes the hairs on my arms stand up. Really cool video on Instagram that reminded me of my favourite anime ‘Akira' and once I heard the beat and saw the visual I was sold! I needed to find out more about what Eliza was doing.”

“Straight wall of guitars and attitude; two of my favourite people for a link up. Lewisham’s finest repping. It reminded me of early Smashing Pumpkins.”

“Sam is one of the bros. We got tunes coming out and also just one of the dudes from the ends that I can't stop playing. But mainly going to shows and seeing it in the flesh is nuts. Gotta love it.”

“The tune has been going round and round in my head since my young g Jkarri showed me what he was working on. Since then, it was dope meeting her. But when the tune dropped it brought a tear to my eye because of the level of musicianship and melodies and production, so catchy.”

“First met him in a house party in Brixton and then someone told me that he made music. I went on Bandcamp and found his Brown Loops project and it was sold out. On first listen I was absolutely mesmerised that I had to message him from Instagram and see if he had a copy. I was so taken back by how the piano could represent such a diverse range of genres of music with only one instrument.”