CONSCIOUS PILOT + BIKINI BODY

CONSCIOUS PILOT

Conscious Pilot was founded by Joe Laycock and Jack Sharp as a successor to theatrical punk group Cheap Teeth, the pair birthed the project from their joint love of immersive, beat-driven soundscapes and an exploration of subtle shifts.

After recording the debut EP ‘Epoxy Plains’ in their native West Yorkshire, the pair moved to Glasgow and enlisted the services of acclaimed producer Chris McCrory (Catholic Action, Walt Disco) and guitarist Emmy Leishman (Big Girls Blouse). The group will be releasing their follow up EP later this year, off the back of their latest single ‘Me & Marcel’

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When Bikini Body first forged post gutter skunk funk in the fires of Edinburgh’s musical underbelly back in 2019, little did they know of the power it would come to wield. Since then, they’ve played shows across the UK with the likes of Mdou Moctar, Pictish Trail, Deadletter, Los Bitchos and Pussy Riot; toured Scotland with The Bug Club; and chivvied up festival crowds, most recently headlining stages at Manchester Psych Fest and Kelburn Garden Party. Everywhere they’ve gone, Bikini Body have found the message of post gutter skunk funk has resonated, despite they themselves not quite knowing what it means.

Whatever it means, if you like the danceable punk of ESG, Viagra Boys, Squid and Liquid Liquid, vocals informed by the likes of the Slits, Bush Tetras and X Ray Spex, and an objectively ‘good’ time, then Bikini Body is for you.

‘Weird Party’ is a collection of tried and tested post-funk punk tracks, each with a personality that evokes the oddballs and tearaways you met at that weird house party the other week. ‘Mr Tinnitus’ leads the record with disco doggerel and plenty of cowbell, signalling the desire to be dancier than post-punk and punkier than dance. Personal experience of disappointing encounters, chauvinist male stereotypes and gendered ideals pepper the remaining tracks without compromising the irresistible groove inherent to the Bikini Body sound.

‘Weird Party’ is out now on Optimo Music Rocks, a new offshoot label from legendary Glasgow label Optimo Music.