NEWS: SQUARMS release new EP as a bag of mints

Having continually embraced technological advancements in the industry, North East experimental duo SQUARMS have revealed their latest EP, entitled Right Click, Save As, will be released in the form of a bag of mints which will contain a hacked USB device including the music, lyrics, credits and digital in-sleeve, complete with AI generated artwork and custom designed mylar sweetie bags. “The ‘mint’ thing is a bit of a pun for the crypto crowd as NFTs are ‘minted’ onto a blockchain at the point of conception. Geddit?” They say.

The EP itself features guest appearances from the likes of John Dole and Kv$hnoodle, and – as ever with SQUARMS’ output – the music spans and expands genre boundaries “express[ing] a deeply relatable disdain against society’s accepted repetitively boring mundane, with one foot firmly rooted in an alien VR future”.

Intrigued? Us too…

You’re releasing your music as a bag of mints! Tell us more.

Making music is meant to be about fun. Not about grinding Tik-Tok and the rest of the attention economy racquet, some grovelling dream of maybe possibly seeing meagre crumbs of success. The stuff we make never did well on the circuit anyway. It was pretty fun to design SQUARMS sweetie bags for the EP, with AI generated artwork and a hacked-USB “digital in-sleeve.” That’s why we did it. For fun.

What sort of sonic flavours can people expect from the EP?

Minty fresh, no doubt. It’s raucous. It’s a mysterious entity. It’s bizarre. Unquantified. It’s outrageous. It’s contagious.

What are some of the themes that run through the tracks?

Some of it is pure pissed off. It’s amped up definitely. Some of it’s more like hedonism and escapism? Maybe…people latch onto different things I guess; we wrote it in such a deconstructive way that it really should be interpreted at your own perils, for sure.

How did the AI go about creating your artwork? What were your instructions?

“Aliens enjoy barbecue sushi with Jesus on the Tyne Bridge” and such…

The release features contributions from local talent like John Dole and Kv$hnoodle. What did this collaboration bring to the table?

Joy. Those guys are REAL as fuck. They are so real. Eternal respect.

Do you have any launch shows to support the release?

We play Cobalt Studios with Gonzo Dog and Smuj on Saturday 1st October, we’ll be selling mints in the flesh. We’re also planning a secret takeover night in Mosaic Tap later that month. Shhh don’t tell anyone. It’s likely these parties will be our last shindigs of the year because of reasons – so come get SQUARMed.