Friend of the Quietus and ass-kicking rap superhero Akira The Don has produced the theme tune for the new comic book by Darick Robertson and Adam Egypt Mortimer’s, Ballistic, and is generously giving it out free of charge – get hold of it below:
The collaboration began when Akira headed to last year’s Morrisoncon, the one-off convention for Scottish comic artist Grant Morrison in Las Vegas – have a read of his excellent reports back from said event here. From there, well, Akira, deep from his hideout somewhere in Hackney, tells the story better: "Darick Robertson, Grant Morrison and I were sat on a panel about music and comics, closing the rapturously received Happening with an impromptu cover of ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’. Later Adam Egypt and I explored the luxurious Temples of Luxor and rode a magic carpet. That they would all work together was as inevitable as it was the righteous thing to do.
The track’s lyrics come from Mortimer’s script, while Robertson lays down the guitars, which Akira, after first hearing it soloed in the mix, said: "sounds like fucking Suede in a rocket or something."
Explaining the plot of the comic book, ATD tells us it’s: "[A] madcap, psychedelic, transreal, utterly-wacko buddy adventure about a man and his best friend Gun, a drug-addicted, genetically-modified, foul-mouthed firearm, as they attempt to elevate Butch from air conditioner repairman to master criminal in the twisted, post-eco-apocalyptic Repo City State, a reclaimed trash island built entirely from DNA-based, living technology with bad attitudes."
You can get hold of both vocal and instrumental versions of the track at iTunes and go to the official store of publishers Black Mask to buy the comic.
