binki shares new single ‘Rocket Ship’, ‘Antennae’ EP confirmed for June 16th + US headline Tour

binki has premiered new single ‘Rocket Ship’, as well as announcing details of his upcoming EP. Introduced recently by the thrilling ‘Hotel Window’, binki will release his Antennae EP on June 16th on Fader Label. Having just opened for The 1975 – and cut his teeth Live with shows alongside the likes of Alex G, Gus Dapperton, King Princess, Role Model and Glass Animals – binki has further announced news of a US headline tour, with a 16-date run on sale now.

“Baby I’m a rocket ship” binki promises on his new single, a boisterous blast of alt-pop in part about overcompensating for a lack of confidence – until one day, you let go and take off. ‘Rocket Ship’ is accompanied by a surreal video recalling the VHS-heavy, 90s MTV aesthetic, in which binki plays a masked street magician trying to hold onto his powers at all cost.

Describing ‘Rocket Ship,’ binki writes: “in my personal life, I’m really easy going to the point where people can take advantage of me. I don’t really like confrontation, but typically there’s always a breaking point where things just become very clear to me. Often I’ll just cut people out of my life if I feel like they’re mistreating me or being toxic. I’m not draconian about it I wouldn’t say but you really ought to be selfish with your time and look after your mental, over anything else. ‘Rocket Ship’ is about that moment where you just realize the vibes are off, and you’re ready to go. Sometimes people try to gaslight you when this situation happens but you just gotta remain solid.” 

Trusting your instincts is true, too, of binki’s upcoming EP, Antennae – a collection of cathartic off-the-cuff anecdotes, with deeper meanings that zero in on where he stands in the world right now. A first generation American whose family originates from Kenya, Baraka Ongeri (binki) grew up in Pennsylvania before moving to New York in 2018, after getting a degree in acting at UNC Greensboro. binki retains that sense of drama and voyeurism within his songs, with a sound that remains kinetic, urgent and increasingly unbound: today, iconoclast influences range from Siouxsie Sioux and King Krule to Tyler, The Creator. binki’s debut EP Motor Function – alongside viral moments ‘heyBB!’ and ‘Sea Sick’ – set out this polymath’s stall: support followed from the likes of BBC Radio 1 & 6Music, Apple, FIFA, and saw binki surpass 150 million streams. Its followup, Antennae, goes further still. With new material written between London, Los Angeles, New York and amidst the constant motion of touring, first track ‘Hotel Window’ witnessed binki at his most bitingly self-deprecating; a born-performer’s vent on intimate social anxiety, and the sound of a young man examining his place in the world like never before.

“Songs should be high stakes,” binki emphasizes, and his new EP sounds like Ongeri’s biggest risk (and greatest reward) yet.  It’s binki coming into focus as an artist through the choices he makes, with unguarded and at times unsettling vignettes held together by a vision that remains singular. An Antennae tuned in to binki alone.

08.07.23 || Washington || DC9
10.07.23 || Carrboro || Cat’s Cradle Back Room
11.07.23 || Atlanta || Vinyl
13.07.23 || Dallas || Dada
14.07.23 || Houston || White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
15.07.23 || Austin || Empire Control Room
17.07.23 || Phoenix || Valley Bar
18.07.23 || San Diego || Constellation Room
19.07.23 || Los Angeles || The Roxy
21.07.23 || San Francisco || Café du Nord
23.07.23 || Seattle || Capitol Hill Block Party
24.07.23 || Portland || Mississippi Studios
26.07.23 || Salt Lake City || Kilby Court
27.07.23 || Denver || Marquis
29.07.23 || Minneapolis || 7th Street Entry
30.07.23 || Chicago || Sleeping Village
31.07.23 || Columbus || The Basement
02.08.23 || Philadelphia || The Foundry at The Fillmore
03.08.23 || Cambridge || The Sinclair
04.08.23 || Brooklyn || Music Hall of Williamsburg