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12"
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KAP 024EP
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Bristol's Joker has announced he is to celebrate ten years of his pioneering Kapsize label with a special series of new 12" Joker releases. The second commemorative release lands in the form of Boat / Deploy. "Boat" is gleefully maximalist, a playful accordion running alongside searing synths before an ominous bassline drops, taking you through his vivid and embellished creative world, while the cinematic "Deploy" is another intense and larger-than-life riddim. Orange vinyl.
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12"
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KAP 023EP
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The second in Joker's trio of special releases to commemorate ten years of his Kapsize label. To be released both on special edition vinyl, A side "Marching Orders" features legendary grime MC and producer, Footsie, who goes hard over Joker's monstrous instrumental -- think relentless, hyper-distorted club hydraulics -- even acknowledging him on the hook: "Oi Joker this beat's sick, crazy." On the flip, B side "Polka Dot" is equally as tough, despite the dizzying melodies and gentle tones of the track's opening throws, landing as a crunching melee of textbook Joker sounds. Army green vinyl.
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12"
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KAP 022EP
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In come the first of three releases celebrating a decade of pioneering label Kapsize. Fronted by leading light of Bristol dance music, Joker showcases one of his most iconic sounds to date. "Anamorphic" oozes the hi-tech international espionage purple sound Joker has carved out for himself. Opening with plush synth and horn washes, leading into unmistakable arpeggiators and guitar riffs, "Anamorphic" manages to combine Joker's signature sexy RnB vibes into perfectly engineered system smashing bass lines with ease and style. "Forever" explores the same theme with soundscapes and synth washes that Vangelis would be proud of.
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12"
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KAP 019EP
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Joker continues to plow the hybrid furrow of grime/bass/dubstep with this latest addition to his hyper-color canon, XXIV Bit. Phat g-funk bass/synth combos collide with the tingling video game sound palette, whilst he utilizes huge '80s inspired snares on "Night Life".
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12"
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KAP 018EP
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The Phoenix EP opens with "21", a cut that wants to be in the cocoon of enthusiast clubs reminiscent of London's Plastic People. "No Face" is a majestic soaring beast and sheds light on what grime can be if rebirthed in 2016. The Phoenix EP shows Joker's sonic palette, which includes Grime, R&B, Yuzo Koshiro, N.E.R.D. and Hans Zimmer. However, beyond these prominent influences lie weirder and at times arguably more mundane elements.
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12"
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KAP 016EP
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Bristol, England-based duo Asa & Sorrow open their Knights of Ren EP with "Island Wave," which uses a sonic palette reminiscent of vintage-era Joker productions. The undulating riddim displays the duo's ability to evoke emotions of childlike hope and wonder as they explore a genre dominated by a macho aesthetic. Crafted more pointedly as dancefloor weapons, "Barbaric" is a screwface-engager and "Knights of Ren" could come straight out of Plasticman set before Richie Hawtin had him change his name to Plastician. Lemz and Hi5Ghost's remix of "Knights of Ren" turns the riddim into a proud grime banger.
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2LP
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KAP 015LP
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Gatefold double LP version. Joker's The Mainframe is a conceptual piece produced as a cohesive body of work rather than a collection of standalone DJ weapons. The sophomore LP from the man who spawned the electronic music sub-genre purple, which has since been galvanized internationally by artists such as Flume, Ganz, and Djemba Djemba, all of whom draw inspiration from the 26-year-old Liam McLean. The Mainframe is a listening album as much as a dancefloor album and it hints at what a Joker-produced mainstream artist album would sound like, with moments like "Wise Enough (feat. Zak Abel)," "Lucy (feat. Sam Frank)," and "Love (feat. Rochelle [winner of X Factor]) (double LP includes only instrumental versions). Since his 2011 full-length debut, The Vision, Joker has released a slew of productions to set the scene for this release, including the Masato Nakamura-inspired digital collection Joker Drive, Let It Be Known/Minors with Swindle as 040, and, perhaps the biggest insight into The Mainframe, the track "Digital Mainframe," all in 2014. The Mainframe is designed to play like a digital dream, with each track bleeding into the next and pulling the listener deeper into the imagination of the Bristolian futurist -- reminiscent of the way that Robin Wright is pulled into an acid trip world in the Ari Folman flick, The Congress (2013). Joker describes this intention: "I want everybody to listen to it once from start to finish, in their whip, in their yard, in their studio, going for a run, whatever... that's how I intended to bring people into my world. After that, pull it apart however you want, put specific tracks in your playlist that suit your mood, your lifestyle, cool, but... take it in as a whole and you'll be able to get more from the individual pieces."
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CD
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KAP 015CD
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Joker's The Mainframe is a conceptual piece produced as a cohesive body of work rather than a collection of standalone DJ weapons. The sophomore LP from the man who spawned the electronic music sub-genre purple, which has since been galvanized internationally by artists such as Flume, Ganz, and Djemba Djemba, all of whom draw inspiration from the 26-year-old Liam McLean. The Mainframe is a listening album as much as a dancefloor album and it hints at what a Joker-produced mainstream artist album would sound like, with moments like "Wise Enough (feat. Zak Abel)," "Lucy (feat. Sam Frank)," and "Love (feat. Rochelle [winner of X Factor]) (available on the CD edition with instrumental versions; double LP includes only instrumental versions). Since his 2011 full-length debut, The Vision, Joker has released a slew of productions to set the scene for this release, including the Masato Nakamura-inspired digital collection Joker Drive, Let It Be Known/Minors with Swindle as 040, and, perhaps the biggest insight into The Mainframe, the track "Digital Mainframe," all in 2014. The Mainframe is designed to play like a digital dream, with each track bleeding into the next and pulling the listener deeper into the imagination of the Bristolian futurist -- reminiscent of the way that Robin Wright is pulled into an acid trip world in the Ari Folman flick, The Congress (2013). Joker describes this intention: "I want everybody to listen to it once from start to finish, in their whip, in their yard, in their studio, going for a run, whatever... that's how I intended to bring people into my world. After that, pull it apart however you want, put specific tracks in your playlist that suit your mood, your lifestyle, cool, but... take it in as a whole and you'll be able to get more from the individual pieces."
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12"
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KAP 014EP
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Asa & Sorrow join forces once again to feature on Kapsize in their own right with the Legendary EP -- a grime four-tracker which has already been on hot rotation with the genre's most respected DJs including Slmizee and Spryo, with the mic man-of-the-moment using it on shows including Rinse FM, as well as Wiley, Meridian Dan and Skepta jumping on board. Opening track "Untitled" is a take on Tinie Tempah's 2006 underground hit "Wifey." Asa has recently collaborated with Koan Sound for the Sanctuary EP on Skrillex's imprint, OWSLA.
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12"
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KAP 011EP
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Joker returns to his own imprint, Kapsize, with Headtop, an effervescent 4-tracker laced with passive aggression. "Deserted Island" grabs most of the column inches for the trademark musicality Joker brings to bass music, but it's the title-track that is arguably the statement piece of the release, stripping back any fancy top-lines to enter the "heads" arena and dismantle it with a sub beater which shows which has a firm favorite with notoriously hard-to-please Tempa bossman, Youngsta. He enters the scene, drops "Headtop," and then leaves before doing the same with "Mario Ting" and "Mr. Miyagi."
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