You have to go back to 2023 to find when we last shared the work of Belgian group BAÏKI. Their new single, KosmoX, is a timely reminder of their surreal genius.
By Graeme Smith
The act hit my radar through their single Les boites, an insightful exploration about how we’re prone to live in boxes. KosmoX continues their tendency to unpick the human condition, this time with a more expansive topic.
There is much talk about space travel and colonising other planets nowadays. Technological advances mean the dream seems to be at our fingertips, and we could see an extraterrestrial colony in our lifetime.
Rather than seeing this as man’s salvation, BAÏKI worries that we will simply export our love of conflict into space. I must say they’re probably right based on their new track and video.
KosmoX starts suitably spacey before launching into a heavy punk riff. Things continue in lively, pacy style as the track’s story unfolds through French language lyrics (don’t worry, the video includes English subtitles for those who don’t understand French.)
Subtle, tongue-in-cheek references are universally understood (including a faint snippet of the famous Close Encounters melody), and the video brings the story to life through humour and plenty of digs at a well-known bald billionaire with space travel ambitions.
There’s a lot to unpack so more than one watch is recommended.
KosmoX was written by BAÏKI frontman Phil (who also performs 30 different on-screen roles in the video). The video was filmed in a workshop on the outskirts of Charleroi, Belgium, directed and edited by Yves Huppen. Vocal recording, mixing, and mastering was done at Philmarie, Studio La Rivière, Lasne, Belgium.
BAÏKI comes from the Polish word “bajki” which means “tales, stories” and Phil sometimes sings in Polish as well as French, English, and Spanish. Whatever the language, he speaks to something distinctly human, reflecting our absurdities back at us, and has done so over three albums, one EP, and several singles.
Whether KosmoX causes certain prominent individuals to wonder if humanity is really mature enough to colonise other planets instead of looking after our own remains to be seen, but at least BAÏKI are keeping us entertained in the meantime.
If you want to keep up to date with what they’re doing, you can by heading to their website, and by following them on Facebook, Spotify, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram, and Tidal.
KosmoX is out now, and you can listen to it below.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator
