Despite his exhaustive back catalogue and hyped, impossible-to-get-into live sets, nobody really knows much about Roy Chukwuemeka Nnawuchi, the London musician who goes by Dean Blunt. A cross-medium artist with an expansive discography, Dean has spent the better part of the last 20 years littering his work with red herrings and pranks – and setting the bar for pop-adjacent experimental music in the UK.
It’s futile to try and tell a linear story about Dean’s career – which has traversed his work as a bassist for Graffiti Island, to his skewiff work with Alina Astrova, aka Lolina, under Hype Williams – so we won’t. Instead, here are some discombobulating highlights: in 2015, he listed four toy cars, each containing one gram of crystallised weed, on eBay for £250; during a concert in New York in March 2016, he required media guests to check in under aliases provided with their ticket confirmations; he once claimed he used to make money by playing in fixed boxing matches in Bethnal Green. His visual art can be equally formless: a show at Cubitt Artists in London featured a single stock photo and a high-pitched soundtrack that closely resembled tinnitus.
Dean’s music, at least, is a little easier to grasp onto, tapping into a diverse range of influences, including 90s jungle-pop, dancehall, progressive rock, reggae and dub. His side project, Babyfather, explores contemporary British and American hip-hop and club music. Despite his elusive public image, his back catalogue is detailed and expansive. Keen to spend some time with experimental music’s biggest trickster since Aphex Twin? Here’s how to get into Dean Blunt.
The entry point is… Black Metal, 2014
Dean’s defining album, Black Metal traverses a range of genres and sounds from indie-pop to dub. Compared to his earlier releases, it features more traditional pop song structures. Released on the legendary label Rough Trade, known for era-defining debuts from Mazzy Star and The Smiths, the album is peppered with pop culture references, from a nod to Destiny’s Child’s “Soldier” in the outro of “X” to song titles like “50 CENT” and “MOLLY & AQUAFINA”. You could play a song like “100” – one of the best pop songs in Dean’s catalogue – on loop forever, making Black Metal a perfect entry point into his (sometimes obtuse) body of work.
The one everyone has listened to is… The Redeemer, 2013
Best described as a breakup album, The Redeemer is one of Dean’s first solo releases post-Hype Williams. Slow and atmospheric, the record is rich with orchestral arrangements and wounded lyricism: “Call me when your heart is empty/Happy we can still be friends,” he sings on “The Pedigree.” The samples here tell you as much as Dean’s lyrics: “Demon” is built from the intro of Kate Bush’s “I Sat In Your Lap”, tapping into the album’s longing explorations of heartbreak. It’s a surprisingly intimate look into the mysterious artist.
Necessary listening… One Nation, 2011 and “BBF” Hosted by DJ Escrow, 2016
A surreal blend of lo-fi electronica, ambient music and hip-hop, One Nation is disorienting and intoxicating in equal measure. The pop culture references that are central to Dean’s work are very much present here: “Your Girl Smells Chung When She Wears Dior” references Wiley and samples Cassie’s “My Addiction”, while disjointed beats, warped samples and cryptic lyrics add to the dreamlike atmosphere.
“BBF” Hosted by DJ Escrow is the debut project by Babyfather, a group featuring Dean, DJ Escrow, AKA James Massiah, Gaika, and hype man Gassman D. Released in 2016, BBF features production from Arca and Mica Levi, who contribute to its hook-filled choruses, heavy distortion, and occasional grime inflection.
The underappreciated gem is… Zushi, 2019
Zushi, released in 2019, is unpredictable and overwhelming, even at a relatively slight 37-minute runtime. First premiered on NTS, the mixtape features appearances from A$AP Rocky, Panda Bear, Joanne Robertson, Yung Lean and more. “2”, “9” and “17” are highlights, showcasing the album’s meditative nature. Featuring French Montana samples and a piano cover of SZA’s “Love Galore”, Zushi is all over the map, which adds to its rough-hewn appeal. Featuring no vocals from Dean himself, it feels like a classic pirate radio mix.
The deep cut is… Stone Island, 2013
Stone Island was supposedly written and recorded in a hotel in Moscow, and was released on the Russian website Afisha four months after The Redeemer. While it doesn’t stray far from Dean’s comfort zone, it remains one of his lesser-known records, perhaps due to its relative inaccessibility. It’s a personal album, navigating the same themes of heartbreak and emotional suffering Dean first explored on The Redeemer. Released without much fanfare or press coverage, Stone Island has slowly become a fan-favourite among Dean’s catalogue – a vulnerable, wounded hidden gem.