Exclusive premiere: Listen to neurodiverse electro band The Fish Police's new single 'Cactus'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Some songs are inspired by multi-decade-spanning relationships, some by the plant sat in front of you on the meeting table of your record label.
The latter was the case with "Cactus", the new single from London-based band The Fish Police, who are heading to Austin, Texas next month to perform at SXSW and take part in a discussion exploring neurodiversity and its impact on music.
"Cactus" is joyful in its simplicity, a funk guitar line, glitching synth and 808 drums sitting under frontman Dean Rodney Jr.'s matter-of-fact, resolute vocals suffused with positivity.
Rodney Jr.'s autism gives him a different lens through which to view the world and consequently a unique lyrical style, sometimes profound, sometimes humorous. Truly, SXSW is the only place you're going to hear a band sing about why you shouldn't eat cocoa butter and why helicopters don't wear shoes.
The Fish Police, who take influence from 16-bit-era computer games, cartoons, fast food and Japanese culture, have earned the chance to transcend from the DIY UK scene to a major international platform like SXSW thanks to a collaboration between arts charity Heart n Soul, Arts Council England's 'Future Art and Culture' project and the PRS Foundation International Showcase Fund, with supporting coming from UK music showcase producer British Underground.
"I’m really happy going to Texas," Rodney Jr. said. "It feels really exciting to be performing there and I’m looking forward to meeting different people."
The SXSW panel will look at the creative role neurodiversity (the idea that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome) is playing in UK culture.
"Neurodiversity is a recognition of how many different brains there are in the world and all the different ways of thinking there is," Heart N Soul’s Robyn Steward stated.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments