One half of Sink Ya Teeth grazing in solo pastures
Who They?
You’ll recognise Maria Uzor as the frontwoman of post-punk dance duo Sink Ya Teeth. Rewind five years and the Norwich-born Barbadian-Nigerian artist was releasing under a lesser known bluesy-synth guise, Girl In A Thunderbolt, and go back another 10 years and Uzor was lead singer of grungy punk trio The Incidentals. Digging out recordings of both outfits will help you understand Uzor’s path towards electronics.
Why Maria Uzor?
“Hyper digital electro-soul” is how she describes her new solo EP, ‘Innocence And Worldliness’, but even that downplays how varied her sound is. Opener ‘Molecular Restructuring’ is lethargic electro, while the pacier lead single ‘Innocence’ transitions from breakbeat to new wave to house. ‘Donuts’ is pure mutant pop, with its catchy hook and deformed synth work. Closing track ‘Now Is The Core’ makes for supremely dubbed out electro, and even Uzor’s lyrics juggle several ideas at once, juxtaposing imagery through her dissonant vocal timbre.
Tell Us More…
For almost a year, Uzor made no music. Sink Ya Teeth’s UK tour was cancelled in March 2020 and then May 2020 happened. “I was processing a lot after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent worldwide reaction,” she admits. It took until December for her to feel the creative impulses bubbling again. “When I started writing the EP I knew I wanted to create something that felt like turning a corner, like a new dawn,” she tells me. “I wrote it all on Ableton, which I’d never used before because I wanted to produce in a different tongue. It took a lot longer than it would have done if I’d written it in Logic. But I’m proud of it.” And so she should be. Keep an eye out for upcoming live dates in a city near you.
‘Innocence And Worldliness’ is released by Hey Buffalo
