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viewing 1 To 18 of 18 items
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12"
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K7 444EP
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London outfit Kassian continue their broadly evolving yet highly detailed journey through and beyond sound towards something ever more expansive. Their second release for !K7 Records comes in the wake of creating a dedicated hardware-forward studio in a Northeast London container complex, where they have the freedom to interlink their machines. This renewed focus brought them to Supercontinent EP, named for the ancient geological era when Africa and South America were joined as Pangea. A reformulation of rhythmic ideas inspired by South African Amapiano and South American Baile Funk governs the two hemispheres of the record. The pair examine and deconstruct dancefloor material, eschewing 4/4 for interlocking shaker patterns, searing acid lines, cracking breakbeats, and vocal samples in Zulu and Brazil Portuguese. The immediacy of the restless rhythm and bass-led funk of "Yena" (the word Yena translates to "he/him /man") forms a sweet spot where double-time and half-time can coexist. "Yami" ("mine" in Zulu) is a slinkier proposition which sheds prominent percussion in favor of a weighty, fluid, acid-informed bassline undulating from below. An ascending percussive riff marks the arrival of "Pulgueiro," followed closely by break beats and the nostalgia of distinctly British acid electro; it is an intentionally future-forward retelling of a vintage sound, replete with a mind-melt breakdown of rave pads. A dubbed-out groove dominates the bottom-heavy "Sistema" -- a groovy, steady roller that chugs and propels and chugs with head-nod hypnotism through an intricately minimalistic approach.
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12"
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K7 437EP
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Suchi's bouncy, airy productions are so organically deft that they almost belie the complexity that exists within. The Oslo-born, London-bred, Delhi-influenced DJ and producer found herself in a period of creative stagnation, while attempting to rediscover her own voice through production. After going back to the drawing board again and again she resolved to let go of overthinking, eschew the process, and let experimentation lead the way, revisiting some simmering sketches and work in new ways. Ghungroo EP is the result of this reset, and rediscovers Suchi's sense of playfulness through different production styles. It's pressed on eco-friendly vinyl, PVR free and 100% recycled. "Ghungroo" is an homage to Suchi's early years, and named for the small metallic bells strung around the ankles of classical Indian dancers. The track is equal parts cosmic, bassy and wavy, with a downwards bassline that plumbs the depths of low frequencies. The memory of early music passions emerges as the same melodic loop undresses and redresses in different guises -- between breezy pads, glowing chimes and euphoric bells. "Blåmerke" means bruise in Suchi's native Norwegian tongue, and it leads heavily with double-time polyrhythmic drums, ravey rhythms and percussive bubbles popping. Triplets of synth stabs are artfully deployed with reverb and warped, stretched pads, bringing a whimsical twist to a track that is otherwise a tough-edged stomper. "Bottlepop" loosens up the tempo for a funky house framework, foregrounded by a big melodic synth riff. The track's hookiness is enhanced by its old-school school feel, with distorted whistles and evocative pads. "Blåmerke" is then given a rework by Sam Goku who was chosen for his euphoric, dusty-sounding club tracks that hit hard; in his care the remix provides exactly that, via throbbing, shimmering, deep trippiness. Pressed on eco-friendly vinyl -- PVR free and 100% recycled, 60% energy saving.
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12"
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K7 431EP
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Toronto-based producer and DJ Ciel is renowned for a style of dancefloor material that's as heady as it is visceral. The Xi'an-born artist's ascendant profile has seen her cutting-edge and club-ready EPs released on UK labels Peach Discs and Coastal Haze, as well as Stateside imprints Spectral Sound and Mister Saturday Night. As a member of the renowned collective Discwoman and the creator of femme-forward party Work in Progress, Ciel's thoughtful narratives are clear, running in parallel to the perception-altering sounds that are consistently woven deeply into her wide-ranging sets, beloved mixes and inventive collaborations. Now the Parallel Minds label cofounder is crystallizing her imaginative and omnivorous sound with her !K7 Records debut, Orlando. Written during her emergence from an uncharacteristic bout of writers' block, the three original tracks of Orlando chart a return to the musical self, spurred along by a cinephile's embrace of film, a love of classic literature, and a curiosity for the oddest corners of popular culture. "Scenes From A Marriage" might share a name with the episodic series, but is rather a nuanced critique of the modern rite of union, moving through structured chapters, and mirroring the un-static nature of longtime love. Inspired by Virginia Woolf's radical novel, and its superphysical protagonist, "Orlando" considers the cult literary figure who lived from the renaissance to the modern age, and embodies both sides of the sex binary. The thrown sounds and aural illusions of "El Califa" create the effect of a beckoning, beguiling psychedelic experience. To complete the EP, Ali Berger, Ciel's recent collaborator on the Jacktone Records' release Damn Skippy! repurposes the mind-bending flourishes of "El Califa" into a noodly and spacious deep house production, replete with pillowy, gauzy pads.
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12"
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K7 430EP
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Within the transformations of their meticulous processes, London duo Kassian become a vessel for alchemy: filtering and distilling scores of stems, samples and layers until something richer and more complex than the sum of its parts emerges. Uncomfortable in any solitary genre, and at the midpoint of somewhere unexpected and uncharted, the pair describe their sound as "almost techno." Since their debut release in 2018, Kassian have drifted leftwards into heavier, more abstract territory, harnessing their individual skills for working in the small pockets and painting the whole cloth of the canvas. In their first outing for !K7, Phase Two EP, the Roland System 1 synth is the throughline as they painstakingly piece together sketches, turning high hats into kick drums, capturing the resonance of percussion and drift further into each other's heavy-hitting sonic realms. "X-303" recontextualizes the sci-fi inspiration of its name, forging a new style of interstellar acid. A driving kick drum holds steady through a track which oscillates between contrasts: from eerie, suspenseful pads and distorted string sounds, to a minimalistic groove accented with double-time drums and mechanistic pulses. "Tabla" reduces a distinct Latin rhythm down to its essence, and is propelled by a thick and distended bass loop. Its hypnotic groove combines the human and the virtual with a glitching vocal sample and the juddering of strummed guitar strings, highlighted by the percussive hits of its namesake instrument. The pair characterize "Prelude" as "a Frankenstein kind of monster." Constructed around a radio sample of a legend of the scene, it is a sleek and incremental gradation of shades, with micro layers from their palette of sounds rising and falling, blending and twisting with no obvious lead or bass. Repurposing the same drums as "X-303", the EP's final track "Patterns" was inspired by Kassian's earliest incarnations of live performances, and it unashamedly captures the peaks of communal moments, rounding out the EP with an epic take on deep and techy house.
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12"
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K7 423EP
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As a self-described "sponge for club music", London-based Bristol transplant Ian DPM has cut a singular figure in both the West Country and the capital in just a handful of years. Already situated as the tastemaker behind music curation platform Definite Party Material, co-owner of Scuffed Recordings, and Noods Radio and Rinse FM resident, Ian DPM's emergence as a producer has marked him as an expansively curious, bass-forward figure at the bleeding edge of genre boundaries. After retreating to his hometown of Portsmouth during lockdown to absorb the blueprints of '90s techno, Ian emerged with a new phase of experimentation: techno-inspired and indebted, yet eschewing loops and grids for a loose-limbed, open-minded engagement of the form. Taking inspiration from the iconic carnival rides that are inseparable from their high-octane happy hardcore soundtrack, "One For The Waltzers" begins with a distant rumble of muffled breakbeats that inch ever closer. But rather than dizzying lights and in-the-red maximalism, "One For The Waltzers" gradually reveals its knowingly deep shimmy and groove. It is a drum-heavy and rhythmic production, masterfully using negative space to showcase every contour of its slowed-down rave horns and acid house synth lines. "KE01" inhabits the flipside of the same sonic world "One For The Waltzers". Here, feverish percussive energy contrasts against pensive melodic synth chords. It's a heady warehouse affair, familiar and complex, referential yet contemporary, and only adds to the momentum that Ian DPM is gathering. 45RPM.
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K7 417EP
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As one of the three co-founders of Washington DC production and DJ trio Black Rave Culture, James Bangura is no stranger to situating electronic music within its most purposeful and potent contexts. With this new duo of tracks, however, Bangura taps into a deep, personal internality, metabolizing visceral experiences and personal transitions into unexplored phases of his musical life. The bass-forward "Harrar" is a complex organism which operates on two planes: a sweat-drenched 150pm symphony of synth pulses, fidgety percussion, shimmies and distorted vocals, that falls into lockstep with a meditative, dubby bass tone that calmly swells and recedes. Emerging out of Bangura's high intensity hardware jam sessions with friends and collaborators, both the depth and energetic fizz of "Harrar" are signified by its name, borrowed from Harrar Coffee & Roastery -- a beloved Ethiopian coffee house and community meeting place in Washington DC that radiates warmth and familiarity. "Witness Dub" occupies less of the senses, exploring a state of liminality through a contemplative deep house signature. Having emerged from an extended period of active duty in the military, Bangura had to navigate civilian life for the first time, causing him to process multiple culture shocks that stretched across culture, language, communication, and identity. "Witness Dub" finds Bangura at this crossroad, juxtaposing the steady propulsion of kicks and drums with pensive minor key chords, as he begins to explore the other side of the self, letting the energy guide the music. 45RPM.
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K7 415EP
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45RPM. Hailing from Bristol and based in London, Ashley Thomas routinely passes the storied music heritage of both cities through his own singular, prismatic filter. As Otik, he produces brilliant and complex hues, forming compositions from weightless neon-tinged trails, richly layered melodic webs and inky, subaqueous bass lines. The prolific artist recently created his own imprint, Solar Body, to accommodate the expanse and volume of his unfettered productions; now with his !K7 Record debut, Otik deepens his sonic explorations for the label he credits as a crucial discovery portal. "Crystal Clear" is inspired by a personal epiphany, and it shines through with sparkling clarity. With the unmistakable signifiers of dancehall in its bassline and drum programming, Thomas turns these references outwards and upwards, finding a new expression with glistening drops of cosmic color, gauzy pads, and soft crescendos of cymbals. Despite coming in hard and fast with a bruising 130BPM bass rhythm "Rainbow Rhythm" evokes a positively disorienting kaleidoscope for Thomas, courtesy of its sugary, euphoric synth sounds. It is a balance of hard and soft, leading heavily with drums throughout, contrasted with the track's delicate and sweetly warped melody.
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12"
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K7 416EP
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Museum/Flow State is a collaboration between British nouveau junglist Tim Reaper and Antipodean producer Kloke; this union within the thrilling new generation of jungle artists culminates in a set of disparate yet compelling spheres of sound. These productions are a side consequence of back-and-forth sessions between the two for the acclaimed Meeting Of The Minds series housed on Tim Reaper's label, Future Retro London. The artists were spurred on by the myths and legends of 1990s London's most celebrated epicenters from across the DnB continuum. "Flow State" takes inspiration from Speed, Fabio, and LTJ Bukem's seminal club night in London's West End, where the mid-90s jungle blueprint iterated into soulful, jazzy liquid. As its name suggests, "Flow State" is beautifully rolling and detail oriented, layered and warmly spacious, as it generously serves desires that are both cerebral and bodily. "Museum" is pure kinetic energy, from its suspenseful looped intro through its jagged edges. The track takes its cues from the iconoclastic Sunday night Metalheadz residency in London's Hoxton, where the leading edge of drum and bass was carved out under the guidance of Goldie and Grooverider in close, sweaty proximity. "Museum" shapeshifts swiftly through soft-hard dynamics, pairing explosive drum programming and intricate sound design with seductive melodic breaks that hit you in the core, transporting the listener into the pitch of its deep junglist heritage. 45rpm.
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12"
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K7 380EP
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Dominik Eulberg presents two choice cuts from his forthcoming fifth studio album Mannigfaltig, a burning plea to preserve the breathtaking biodiversity of nature.
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K7 386EP
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Red Axes' return with a second EP in the Trips series, exploring the rich rhythms of Vietnam. "Ho Chi Minh" is a brisling track with funky bass loops and the hustle and bustle of a market square. "Hanoi" is even more exotic thanks to the enchanting lead vocal, jungle bird calls, and low-slung bass, while "Phu Quoc" gets more rave, with phased bass riding up and down. "Hue" is a blissful and almost Balearic beat. Features Bèo Dạt Mây Trôi & HCMC Students, Cô Đôi Thượng Ngàn & Viet Rice Band, Minh Duong, and Music Academy Students.
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K7 371EP
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2021 repress. Red Axes are very excited to present Trips #1: In Africa, the first part of their new project, Trips, a multi-media venture combining music, film and travelling across the globe in pursuit of extraordinary collaborations. Niv Arzi and Dori Sadovnik are seeking to discover new grounds and sounds, and to record local musicians, indigenous instruments and present workshops for youth music schools. This EP features three slices of contemporary body music, with both East and West African musical motifs, having been recorded in both Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast. Features Yakomin and Insaac Students.
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K7 359EP
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Following from Deetron's accomplished entry in to the DJ-Kicks mix series, !K7 serve up one it's original singles. Produced by the Swiss artist and featuring soul futurist Steve Spacek, it comes with the original and three vital versions. Entitled "Chose Me", the single is six tender minutes of musical electronic soul -- warm and supple bass, twinkling keys, and smeared chords. The Instrumental allows the celestial keys to ring out into a night sky as the main focal point. On the "Jupiter Version", the drums are looser and broken up. The "Jupiter Instrumental" closes out the cosmic house EP.
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K7 353EP
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Lone puts out a vinyl-only EP of unreleased tracks from his intimate entry into the DJ-Kicks mix series. "Saturday Night" is a breezy bit of deep house with crisp boom-baps and swirling pads that lend it a dreamy, ethereal feel. "Arc" is a little more direct, with scattered snares flapping over dry wooden kicks. It's a punchy bit of house that comes with springtime flutes, luscious pads, and a classically-inclined bassline. "Alpha Wheel 4 (Ambient Mix)", a kaleidoscopic passage of suspensory sound scuffed-up glassy surfaces trapping you in rays of refracted light from start to finish.
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K7 338EP
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After nearly half a decade since their monumental Make It Good (LAD 005EP, 2012), DJ Tennis and Fink re-collide on !K7. Inspired, recent studio sessions have bore two breathing, sonic landscapes, entitled "Certain Angles". Glimmering pianos, droning machines, and captivating songwriting take form, wrapping the Berlin-based singer's voice in subtle melancholy. Both humbly understated, yet party-ready, "Certain Angles" perfectly summarizes the Life And Death founder's recent etching in the DJ-Kicks stone.
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K7 337EP
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2020 repress. DJ Koze comes up to task for the next re-construction of Michael Mayer and Joe Goddard's "For You", following up from the re-interpretation by Diynamic's Solomun and Pachanga Boys. The maverick of flawless productions develops two narratives for this remix package: The first is a club mix composed of layered, floor-raising chords while ruffling up the original vocals gradually and elegantly. The second is a mbira remix, filled with African-inspired percussive inklings and sprinkled with effortless melodic flourishes.
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K7 334-2EP
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Portable presents This Frozen Lake. "Odd bedfellows as they might seem, minimal's clinical precision and the trembling passion of vintage soul have been entwined throughout Alan Abrahams's career. As Portable, the South African producer has made intriguing connections between the two genres, with ballads sung in a drowsy, soulful baritone over repetitive electronic grooves." --Resident Advisor. Includes two mixes by Bodycode and Shackleton.
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K7 334-1EP
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Portable is Alan Abrahams, a South African born artist and producer. Always experimenting with rhythm and imbuing his music with a wide world of influences, Say It's Going To Change proves that once more. This 12" single sees Deetron and Bodycode (featuring Ursula Rucker) deliver remixes alongside exclusive track of "Balanese Nights".
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K7 331-1EP
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Concepts and ideas come fast and furious to Berlin trio Brandt Brauer Frick. Having turned heads from the group's inception with their classically-informed approach to creating techno compositions with acoustic instruments, BBF's output has been characterized by a restless creativity. Now the band adds a new element: the voice of collaborator Beaver Sheppard, who adds vocals to two new compositions. The first fruits of the collaboration, "Holy Night" and "Poor Magic" comprise this single, rounded out by a remix from Tom Trago.
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