A Certain Ratio have shared the newest slice of what to expect from their forthcoming studio album, 1982, due out on Mute on 31 March 2023. Across the slick and punchy funk grooves of ‘SAMO’ – named after the graffiti tag of American artist and wunderkind, Jean-Michel Basquiat – Jez Kerr namechecks a string of figures from New York’s 1980s art scene, an environment which has held massive sway over the band since their time recording there in the 1980s.
He explains, “The song is all about Basquiat and the birth of Hip Hop. We were lucky enough to be in NY around that time, and some of the lyrics in the song are the unique phrases SAMO sprayed around the city.”
Listen to the track and watch the lyric video that pays homage to SAMO’s graffiti and the work of Basquiat below.