Stream/ download TONY MADONNA [DADA] here

Pre-order/ pre-save MAQAM on vinyl, digital or streaming here

Today - 10th January - London’s Alt-Electronic artist BODUR releases her new single, ‘TONY MADONNA [DADA]’, and announces her forthcoming debut album ‘MAQAM’ due 21st March via PACE. Inspired by the Dadaism art movement, ‘TONY MADONNA’ was satirically created as the albums “commercial pop single” in an experiment-meets-protest act, produced by Tokyo-based producer, Lapsung (645A4, Denzel Himself, Keyah/Blu). The accompanying video was produced by BODUR’s visual director, Furmaan Ahmed (Travis Scott, SOPHIE, Shygirl, Eartheater, Celeste, MENA DAZED100), as part of a 35-minute album film to be released alongside the project. Continuing to cement her name as a tastemaker amongst her peers, BODUR closed 2024 with a live performance at NT’s Loft as well as London Fashion Week attendance where she was dressed in Sinead O’Dwyer, Karoline Vitto and Marie Luder at their respected shows.

“On almost every commercial album of the last couple decades, I can always pick up on which song is the ‘generic lead single’ the artist has been forced to include on their project. When creating the album I was intrigued by this formula and set out to do the same with ‘TONY MADONNA [DADA]’. It’s a satirical act of dada, as absurd and nonsensical in its nature as our current world politics. I’ve used an art movement born out of rage and rejection, grounded on the idea that anything can be art to make a point about the state of our world and the music industry…I’m glad the songs on this album, in various ways, represent resistance”

The North West London native harnesses a pioneering sound that embraces her Irish, Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage. BODUR's creative process has shaped her as an artist, inspiring a generation of SWANA women across the UK through her authentic sonic and visual aesthetic. When crafting the album, BODUR’s focus had been set on MAQAM, a traditional Arabic style of musical moods as signaled in square brackets beside each song title. Having launched MAQAM's campaign in 2024 with single's 'TAPESTRY [HIJAZ'], 'MY BLOOD IT'S IN THE SOIL [SABA], 'UGLY [NAHAWAND]', BODUR has gained support from Azeema Mag, CRACK, Jyoty, Jamz Supernova, Rinse FM, Radio 6, COLORS, Notion, The Line of Best Fit and Wonderland. Her most recent body of work, 'ÖZ' (2023) portrays early elements of MAQAM and successfully reached most, if not all, corners of the world with performances in the US, ESNS Festival, and London's Roundhouse for a homecoming headline. It's easy to enter BODUR's world if you witness a live show combining powerful choreography, styling, a backdrop of archived visuals from Middle Eastern films symbolising the messages within the music, and her band of contributors she's collaborated closely with since forming at university. 

On the upcoming album, BODUR embraces a new musical language delving into narratives of racism, islamophobia and how that makes young people feel worthless. The conceptual project is a precise example of BODUR’s artistic and political potential as she tells stories about the realities that the world is witnessing before them.

BODUR artist Biography:

BODUR embraced a new musical language to make ‘MAQAM’, her debut album. It was 2022, when she was ready to expand on her knowledge of Western Music theory and began attending The Arab British Centre to learn how to play the Oud, a fretless, Middle Eastern string instrument. “I felt inspired to create within the maqam system and to adopt its traditional narrative principles to tell my own story. As hard as I’ve tried over the years, I’ve never been very good at speaking my mother tongue but the musical language of where I am from, the maqam - I was able to understand and speak fluidly.”

According to BODUR, this is where the overarching musical themes of the conceptual album began to develop before finalising the narratives of racism, islamophobia and how that makes young people feel ugly and worthless, "when I boil it down, the album feels like a desperate cry for humanisation. Aside from the Maqam concept, I didn’t set out for there to be a clear overarching narrative for the whole project; however one formed, one way or another, over time anyway". She will maneuver from Alternative-Electronic - which sits as the core genre of MAQAM - to Avant-Pop and elements of Rock & Jazz.

All of this is to say MAQAM feels like the arrival point for BODUR's career. The album opener, ‘DOGTOOTH [INTRO]’, began as an introspective poem written in response to the ongoing dehumanization of the Palestinian people and the values of the Western world. BODUR has actively supported Palestine using her platform to speak on events from her own lived experiences, educating her followers and ultimately standing by her integrity as a human before an artist. Last December, she performed at a fundraiser for Gaza alongside Joy Crookes raising over £90,000. According to BODUR, ‘UGLY [NAHAWAND]’ was the most appropriate place to begin contextualizing the album. The track simultaneously aligns with the first moment listeners hear her voice for the first time on the opening lyrics "If I was brave enough to end it all years ago." It’s a track that provides full transparency with BODUR opening up about previous struggles with mental health, intentionally beginning with the somewhat superficial reasons why and journeying towards deeper meanings on the closing track.

‘ALONE AT LAST [KURD]’ continues the journey of MAQAM, a traditional Arabic style of musical moods as signaled in square brackets beside each song title. As you hear BODUR say "Your tears fall from my eyes", you experience the same heartbreak and loss after moving into the house her Father in law passed away in which provided a conflicting feeling of freedom, all in real-time. You can feel pain in the album's lead single, ‘TAPESTRY [HIJAZ]’; a song inspired by Maqam Hijaz offering the feeling of a desert transitioning from sunset to midnight. Distorted vocals contribute towards the building tension within the production as BODUR tackles generational trauma and the impact that has on her family

BODUR - who is of South Asian and Middle Eastern heritage - has never been afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve, both within her artistry and personal life. You can hear that in tracks like ‘VIADUCT [JAIYA]’ - produced by Manni Dee (Sleaford Mods, Daniel Avery, The Horrors) and ‘OFF BALANCE [NAHAWAND II]’. The latter half of the project begins with ‘TONY MADONNA [DADA]’ which she intentionally created to be the lead single but one that is precisely void of any emotion. “[DADA] isn’t a maqam but it’s an art movement (Dadaism) which reflects my choice to make a nonsensical track for the album”. BODUR’s reason to create a conceptual album aligned with her goal of establishing a higher standard of musical proficiency for herself. She took that same attitude and discipline into her artistic direction. BODUR headhunted director-partnership Furmaan Ahmed (SOPHIE, Shygirl, Eartheater, Celeste) and Rukaiyah Qazi to curate a visualizer for each track to support the narrative of the album that will essentially support the music as a full length, 35 minute film.

With her parents playing an integral part in her life story so far, ‘THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME EXHALE [BAYAT]’ is dedicated to BODUR's creators. The love and bond of a 28-year relationship are expertly crafted through voice notes arranged into spoken word performances from her Mother, and Father sitting between Oud and Maqam principles. The track marked the first time anyone has merged modern day AI with Maqam, a centuries old system. BODUR says “it's something I treasure so dearly now, and I know I will only value the song more as time goes on. I like how my Father, a Middle Eastern man, is honestly portrayed as the romantic, endlessly kind, uplifting, and gentle person he is. The ongoing dehumanization of Middle Eastern men, in particular, is hard to bear when they are some of the kindest souls I've ever met, and I wanted to tell my father and mother's story here.”

Closing the album with ‘MY BLOOD, IT'S IN THE SOIL [SABA]’ - produced by Gabriel Gifford (Harvey Causon, Lucy Lu) - BODUR wrote the song during a time when she was overcome with emotions from the increase of displacement and suffering of the Palestinian people. BODUR adds, “throughout history songs have been written in Maqam Saba about Palestine, so it felt fitting yet disheartening that in 2024 it was relevant to write another song about Palestine in Maqam Saba.” It purposely follows a song about a beautiful love story to remind us that lives worth living are being ended.

The North-West London artist recounts her debut three-track EP, ÖZ (2023) as the prequel to MAQAM. The project earned support from Jamz Supernova, Rinse FM, Radio 6, COLORS, Notion, The Line of Best Fit and Wonderland citing it as an "unparalleled aesthetic". You can hear early elements of MAQAM in ÖZ, which reached most, if not all corners of the world with performances in the USA, ESNS Festival, and London's Roundhouse for a homecoming headline. It's easy to enter BODUR's world if you witness a live show combining powerful choreography, styling, a backdrop of archival footage from the Arab world used as live visuals, and her band of contributors she's closely collaborated with since forming at university.

Although MAQAM marks BODUR's expansive debut, it is the first step towards something more significant which she intends to build on. BODUR who wrote and executively produced the album is always willing to explore new meanings of music, art, film, and life; she tells stories about the realities that the world is witnessing before them. The sense of infinite potential will make you want to spend time with MAQAM which is a precise example of where her artistic intuition can take her.

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