London-based artist Brudini crafts an immersive post-punk enthrallment on recent track “Rogue Oligarch,” where suave vocals, escalating guitars, and brass-forward invigoration combine cohesively within a sturdy rhythmic pulse. The horns are an especially magnetic element; they were recorded in Istanbul with trumpet player Taskin Akarsu and trombonist Baris Dogukan. Also featuring on the track is drummer Derin Bayhan and bassist Christos Fanaras (Elephant House, Tim Burgess, Daniel O’Sullivan).
“Taskin and Baris were phenomenal,” Brudini says of the brass section. “We had this loose, iterative framework of me singing out short phrases and giving directions, Derin chiming in and translating into Turkish, and the two of them just going off, improvising along the way. As it came together, it sounded like regal gold and ominous swagger, lit by free jazz fire.”
A heavy bass bounce consumes from the get-go, delectably sludgy in its tonal disposition. The debonair vocal entrance thereafter — declaring “I’m a rogue oligarch,” — melds with the steady rhythmic pulses for a darkly gripping post-punk spell. A radiant brass emergence flourishes with sporadic appeal; both whirring electric guitar adornments and the dark-jazz brass maneuvering weave in and out artfully across the first half, with the brass elements maintaining a fairly constant force across the final minute. Brudini’s enjoyably eerie vocal tone maintains a seamless entrancement, particularly as the rousing guitar distortion infuses within the orchestral fervor past the two-minute turn. “Rogue Oligarch” is a wonderfully stylish success from Brudini.
The fantastic “Rogue Oligarch” has us firmly anticipating Brudini’s upcoming album, Vanishing Point, out later this year. His 2020 full-length, From Darkness, Light, is also strongly worth checking out. “Rogue Oligarch” was originally a b-side from 2020, though has found new life in 2025, and for good reason.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
