Blackhaine Releases Bracing Debut Album Saints in the Wethouse on XL Recordings

Tom Heyes, the creative force behind the moniker Blackhaine, has officially launched his debut album, Saints in the Wethouse, via XL Recordings. While Heyes previously gained broader attention through collaborations with Playboi Carti and work alongside a pre-cancellation Kanye West, his own solo output remains intensely experimental and distant from traditional commercial sounds. The project is executive produced by Wraith9 and bridges the gap between harsh power electronics and bleak, noir-infused UK rap aesthetics.

For music fans tracking the outer edges of contemporary rap and electronic experimentation, this release offers a distinct and uncompromising sonic journey. Incorporating influences that range from industrial pioneers Whitehouse to Japanese butoh theatre and northern working-class realities, the record rejects standard genre conventions. Tracks like 5 Days dispense with traditional rhythms entirely, replacing them with walls of feedback and distressed vocal deliveries, while songs like Consumer use disquieting synths and raw dancehall samples to subvert typical hip-hop boasts.

Despite his high-profile art world exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, and Centre Pompidou, Heyes continues to challenge listeners with claustrophobic soundscapes and frantic, breathless vocal performances. Even when touching upon more conventional structures, such as the stark rap elements on Pyrex or the surprising acoustic melody of The Wind, the surrounding chaos maintains a deeply unsettling and visceral atmosphere.

What to watch next: Saints in the Wethouse is available now on XL Recordings.