Neneh Cherry still going as part of the cirKus

Neneh Cherry. There’s a name you probably haven’t heard in a while, if at all (depending on your age). Me, I’m ancient enough to remember the classic “Buffalo Stance”, while young ‘uns might recall 1994’s “7 Seconds”, her huge hit with Youssou N’Dour.
Well now she’s BACK as part of an act called CirKus, which is a collaboration with her husband Cameron McVey (going under the guise of Burt Ford) and some folk called Karmil and Lolita Moon. Their album Laylow has been floating around Europe for a while, after being released in France a couple of years back - and it’s now slated for a release in the UK at the end of this very month (28th July to be precise).

It’s an interestingly-timed release, with much talk of a trip-hop revival thanks to recent/upcoming releases from Portishead, Tricky and… er… maybe some other folk who can be pigeonholed in a similarly lazy fashion.
Because, make no mistake, CirKus are destined/doomed (delete as appropriate) to be labelled as such. Ignore the reductive genre associations, however, and you’re left with what is a pretty good album full of hooky yet moody tunes. “Starved” is one of the stand-outs, but it’s also great to hear Neneh Cherry - a grandmother now, mind you - castigating someone for driving “a sports car” and having “a small dick”. The only time my gran ever spoke like that was when she lost her mind. Let’s hope these lyrics don’t indicate a similar fate has befallen Neneh.
Check out “Starved” below, and keep an eye out for the album Laylower which is released on July 28th.
starved + cirKus