Bambie Thug is either a curse or a blessing, it depends on which side of the political spectrum one finds themselves at. For those on the right, the non-binary, self confessed witch is definitely a nightmare representing everything they hate: liberal, woke, socially conscious, trans and queer supportive society. For the leftist, Bambie is a hero: a feminist, artist, LQBTQ+ ally, open and inclusive person who attracts attention with their colorful scenic image and songwriting skills. A true DIY visionary, Bambie gave a proper shaking to the industry, forcing magazines, streaming services and managers to catch up. If David Bowie was still alive, Bambie Thug would be opening for him, no question asked. With weird clothes, mixture of hundreds of genres in their music and a penchant for writing radio friendly earworms, Bambie is going to cause a lot of noise. And God knows, we really need it badly.
Cover for “Doomsday Blue”
Official bio: BAMBIE THUG (they/them) is a force to be reckoned with, an independent artist with a unique, self-styled “Ouija Pop”. Known for incredible live performances that captivate all who see them, in May 2023 Bambie was seen mesmerizing the crowd at their packed-out Download Festival Debut. Having received BBC Radio One airplay on every release, landing multiple plays on the Rock Show, Future Artists, Future Alternative, and Introducing Rock. Bambie also performed at the iconic BBC Maida Vale studios for their Introducing Christmas Eve Special. Support at this early stage of their career is already extremely impressive. Bambie Thug were featured in Kerrang!, Rolling Stone UK, Gay Times, NME, The Evening Standard, and on many curated playlists. They are also a prolific songwriter with amassed over 50 million streams on music written for other artists of varying genres including Cassyette, Kidbrunswick, Fabich, Fika and more. In January 2025, Bambie Thug will participate in a televised national selection show for Eurovision on RTE (The Late Late Eurosong. If they are successful, Bambie Thug will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2024 in Malmo.
To say that Bambie Thug took the industry by surprise would be a huge understatement. They basically blinded them silly. In times where everybody looks and sounds identical, Bambie is bringing back avant-garde weirdness, willful disobedience to follow the same artistic patterns and willingness to experiment. Born Cuntry Ray Robinson in Macroom (County Cork), they initially trained to be a ballet dancer. Dreams of a dancing career brought them to London at 18 years old, yet their performances soon drew wilder and bigger. They found themselves not only dancing but creating their own stage clothes, doing elaborate make ups and writing music. And this is how Bambie Thug, the performer was born. Extraordinary attire, bombastic dance moves taken from the proud tradition of East End musicals, well designed scenography and a pop hit with a huge dose of rock, alternative, metal, gothic rock, heavy metal, grunge, hardcore, metal core and something else. Halloween all year and you can’t get enough.
Bambie photographed by Katy Cummings
I’m not sure if Bambie are going to represent Ireland at Eurovision (fingers crossed) but if they do, then Malmo better prepare for a show like no other. Bambie will bring a hell of a spectacle with them that surely will be remembered for a long time. I’m really happy that at least one EU country is finally sending an unsigned, truly independent person who worked for years to establish themselves on the alternative scene. With all the industry plants that are being shoved down our throats in recent years, one would expect The Last Dinner Party to represent the UK. And maybe they would if given a chance. If one single and inability to sell out 100 capacity venues seem good enough to give TLDP a Brit, then with all their achievements, Bambie Thug should easily replace Ursula von der Leyen. Think of the benefits: trans and queer folk would enjoy increased protection, their rights would be respected, it would be easier to transition, conversion therapy would be banned, more musical education, more representation for working class and minority people. Are Bambie Thug running for office? They should! I would vote for them!
Anyway, we need to say a word or two about the song.”Doomsday Blue” is a 3 minute song that would give a starting music journalist an apoplexy. Bambie Thug refers to their style as ouija pop (or Halloween pop, curded pop as labelled by Kerrang), but I think we can safely call it a cross between metal-core and bubblegum variety of J-pop. Why J-pop? Mostly because in Japanese music, everything goes and nobody has a problem with anything. Japanese alternative is known for mixing anime pop with black metal, melodic heavy metal, avantgarde thrash and Abba beats and no critic bats an eyelid.The weirder the better and Bambie Thug will have their own doujinshi before this year is through, mark my words. The song is written by Bambie, Sam Matlock of Wargasm, Cassyette and Tylr Rydr, who also doubles as the track producer.
“Doomsday Blue” starts with a NIN inspired, EDM infused industrial beat with semi spoken, rhythmic vocals reminding me of Napoleon XIV’s “They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha-Haaa!” from 1966. Then it cuts to a very modern metal core for the pre-chorus and then into Radio 1 pop for the chorus itself – all within 35 seconds. From there it gets even better: the semi-spoken vocals speed up to the point where Bambie sounds properly possessed, the beats gets harder, going into hardcore techno territory and the screams “I, I, I know you are living a lie” would get a nod of approval from the gents in Bathory. We (merry)-go-round in crazy circles to the end without a breather, from one genre to the other, from one extreme to the next until our head spins but we are happily singing along. I seriously do not remember reviewing a tune that would be so awkward and so charming, so crazy yet so cute, so polarizing and so irresistible. This is a perfect Eurovision song, kicking Sam Ryder’s lovely backside to the back of the queue. Eurovision is known as a festival of kitsch, but it also gave platforms to the best acts in the world like ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Lulu or Bonnie Tyler. I have no doubt that Bambie Thug would be a great addition.
Let’s hope they make the cut!
Follow Bambi on socials:
https://hausofthug.com/
https://www.instagram.com/bambiethug
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6g3orasGcMPn0gwcE3JMAC
https://www.facebook.com/bambiethugofficial
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9dWFQRj0lNgAvZWe0FaGg
https://www.tiktok.com/@bambiethug
https://twitter.com/Bambiethug
https://soundcloud.com/bambiethug
Further reading:
https://www.tmrwmagazine.com/features/music/get-to-know-bambie-thug
https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/local-news/non-binary-cork-artist-unveiled-28432418
https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/music/queer-and-now/queer-now-welcome-to-bambie-thugs-witchy-soundscape/
https://www.kerrang.com/bambie-thug-interview-new-artist-ouija-pop-new-ep-cathexis
Rita Dabrowicz
PS. They did made the cut! Bambie Thug will officially represent Ireland on Eurovison in Malmo!!!
Indieterria 