LUEK / BOUNTYDAVE Chelsea, 06.10.'21

LUEK is the new solo project by Lukas Maletzky, one of the masterminds behind the band NAKED CAMEO. His first song „Acetone“ sounds dreamy and gloomy at the same time. Lo-fi vibes meet artful songwriting and merge in sublime moments with ear-catching details. „Acetone“ is a song with rough edges and yet room to experiment …

Rap’s increasing proneness to personal and intimate topics often drenched in melancholy is not news to anyone even vaguely familiar with the genre. What distinguishes Vienna’s Bountydave from the majority of so-called emo-rap is the surprisingly optimistic and constructive spin he is able to give usually sinister topics like depression, trauma or rejection. Bountydave doesn’t surrender to such feelings, but he doesn’t romanticize the struggle either nor does he idolize himself as a misogynistic lone warrior. He is looking to connect with the likeminded when he challenges society’s status quo on mental health or patriarchal, hierarchical or reactionary constraints all the while displaying a pop-sensibility akin to the late Mac Miller.

As you can hear in his debut Yang Yin when he recounts recovering from traumatic experiences and coming back stronger. Bountydave encourages to reject society’s view of what is normal, productive, valuable, to accept all facets of one’s being and to do whatever feels right, flowin’ like a river.