SILVERWINGKILLER make an explosive entrance on double trouble single “HOLD UP (ALL FIREARMS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM)”

It's a debut drop that promises an absolute assault on the ears, not unlike the sonic shots of a rifle. Emerging with call-to-action A-side “HOLD UP (ALL FIREARMS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM)”, and big beat B-side “S.W.K”, James Baca and Ni Yushang are ready to serve up a freshly forward Molotov cocktail of cyberpunk chaos far and beyond the British Isles. Ingredients also include a double shot of time-travel 90s acid rave juice, and aggressive multilingual punk rock vocals split between English and Chinese.

They’re a bit Kumo 99 by nature, a bit The Prodigy in spirit, part influenced by German digital hardcore bands such as Atari Teenage Riot and EC8OR. Already making seismic waves for their unrestrained live shows in London and Manchester’s underground, they’ve joined tour dates with Machine Girl and Fat Dog, even landing themselves a spot at Left of the Dial Rotterdam. It’s a momentous time for the two mates who didn’t think anyone would actually like their music.

“All the local Manchester bands practice in old industrial mills where we used to host parties and bands would play,” says James. “We had a party for my birthday and the both of us thought we should play as SILVERWINGKILLER, see if people liked it. Live music is like a drug so after that first show we wanted more, taking bookings up and down the country, people started noticing us. It’s great that there are a lot of new electronic bands coming up in this country, there’s less rules so everyone has their own style and flair, it’s an exciting time.”

Right out the gate with “HOLD UP (ALL FIREARMS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM)”, SILVERWINGKILLER hit hard and encapsulate the energy around them. Nodding to Manchester’s acid house roots with 303 basslines, the track is relentless like an air-raid siren that demands giant megaphone play outside the Haçienda or (realistically) The White Hotel. James explains “One time whilst at a shooting range in Poland we thought it would be funny to write an ironic gun positivity song. Playing devil’s advocate a bit, but metaphorically it feels as though the world is coming to an end and together we need to be strong and be ready to fight tooth, nail and Glock? The weapon is a symbol, that’s what we’re trying to say.”

Originally from Peterborough, James was involved with music ever since he was young, having played guitar in South London band POSA along with other “sludgy stoner rock” bits, he describes. “I was involved in the metal scene there and bands used to beef each other like gangs. It gave me a territorial fight or flight stance on music.” Eager to create an electronic project, the ferocious idea of SILVERWINGKILLER is one he’s glad to have chased, and a magical coincidence for Yushang, who has been close with James ever since her move to Manchester from Shanghai during the pandemic.

“He really showed me the Western world,” she says. “I was discovering and listening to a lot of grime and jungle. He was always trying to convince me into shouting over music he had made, it took some time for me to have the confidence to do it but now I can’t live without it.” Growing up in China, Yushang played bass in a folk rock band. Culturally very different from her very strict upbringing, the local scene in Manchester embraced her as their own, opening her up creatively and allowing her to find herself. “I loved writing poetry and short novels, but as a writer you rarely have opportunity to share your work, music is a way to get this out and be relevant. Lyrically I really look up to Dou Wei, a renowned musical artist in the East.”

As a singer, Yushang likes to makes fierce, heavy music as it helps let out her anger. “I wouldn’t make music that contradicts me as a person.” While the shouty intensity of Yushang’s voice is muted on this track, “S.W.K”’s bite is just as strong as its industrial bark. Originally an intro track to their live set, SILVERWINGKILLER wrote it as an accidental soundscape with afrobeat inspired drums. On writing electronic music “The whole process is quite natural and free as opposed to being overly polished,” says James. “I feel there’s a lot less boundaries with electronic instruments, there’s only so much you can do with a guitar without hitting a wall or sounding unoriginal.”

They didn’t properly form until 2024, but up until then SILVERWINGKILLER’s early days included a lot of collaborative demo writing, bonding over Japanese video games by SUDA51, and discovering unknown East Asian dance tracks. “Language is a tool,” says Yushang. “Not all my lyrics are in Mandarin, I also write using Shanghainese dialect which is not as commonly known. It’s nice to open a dialogue between the East and West.” Yushang was also studying anthropology, and asked for James’s help on atmospheric “Vangelis’s Blade Runner” synth lines as a soundtrack for a documentary she was filming. “Yushang turned to me and stated the Chinese name for Blade Runner mistranslates back to English as ‘Silver Wing Killer’, it was too hard of a name not to use.”

SILVERWINGKILLER are set to release their disorienting debut EP, TRIAD FUNDED, on November 28, exploring human interaction under the weight of violence and disconnection in a dystopian present. Fusing Crystal Castles-style distortion, Eastern melodies and tense Shanghainese spoken word, their next single “JING’AN TEMPLE” (out November 3) is based on a real night in Shanghai where they accidentally disrespected the deity Guan Yu, ended up in a street fight, and came away convinced they’d been cursed. “We begged Guan Yu for his forgiveness,” says Yushang. “He gave us our blessing and that’s when SILVERWINGKILLER started getting opportunities. We owe it to Guan Yu so he ended up on the cover.”