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  • Ikonika 'Distractions' - Cargo Records UK

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    Ikonika 'Distractions'

    £11.99

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    Ikonika 'Distractions'

    £11.99

    Ikonika's third album Distractions'builds on 2013's Aerotropolis', and the title answers the question 'Why has the album taken so long?' In the last few years she's been building up a strong CV of remixes, from Chvurches to Dawn Richard, Austra and Junior Boys, as well as DJing and working on this album.

    Distractions'distils the character of Ikonika's music productions across a wider set of styles than previous albums, and she subtly fuses and switches elements from contrasting genres, giving the whole set a uniqueness and consistency that puts it in its own lane.

    Furthermore what sits at the centre of Distractions'more than ever is her love of R&B and hip hop, in all its forms, which has opened the door to bring in a selection of guests in a way she's not fully explored before. From the full throttle blend of grime and 80s synth soul Noblest'with Andrea Galaxy, to the reflective Sacrifice'with up and coming MC Jammz, a slowjam that merges dubstep with hip house drums.

    The final vocal track is the languid Hazefield'co-produced with Sweyn J and featuring Jessy Lanza on vocals. Its mix of mechanic clunk and minimalist, lulling funk could only happen in 2017.

    The LP artwork takes its inspiration from West London's Golden Mile, a stretch of the Great West Road where the A4 meets the M4, and the road takes on the character of the arcade game Poll Position, with art deco factories and illuminated, hi-tech signage selling lifestyle products.

    It's this kind of mix of futuristic and industrious with a touch of gentle glamour that the album exudes.

    Tracklisting:
    Side A:
    1. Girlfriend
    2. Noblest ft Andrea Galaxy
    3. Manual Decapitation

    Side B:
    1. Lear
    2. BGM
    3. 435

    Side C:
    1. Do I Watch It Like A Cricket Match?
    2. Sacrifice ft Jammz
    3. Love Games

    Side D:
    1. Lossy
    2. Not Actual Gameplay
    3. Not
    4. Hazefield ft Sweyn J & Jessy Lanza
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  • Ikonika 'Position E.P' - Cargo Records UK

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    Ikonika 'Position E.P'

    £5.99

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    Ikonika 'Position E.P'

    £5.99

    Ikonika is in straight up banger mode on this EP, possibly her finest release to date. Confident, energetic and tough, these tracks are made from solid tour experience and made for big room dancing. The EP is made with an almost 3D sense of contrast, and a brilliant ability to balance dusty old school sounds and shinier new ones and reshape them into something that sounds really fresh. 

    'Position' kicks things off with rough kicks and snares that sound like they've been created in a foundry, mixed into rolling kicks lifted from a crumbling drum machine and vocals sliced and diced into sharp hallucinatory rhythms. 'Praxis' sounds like a track that could have come from her groundbreaking 'Contact, Want, Love, Have' debut album, except the straightforward melodies with droning synths and steamy drums over growling bass give the track a confident upgrade.

    'Strawberry Underlay' builds melody lines over a single basic, repeating riff in quick succession while a series of interchangeable, tight old school drum patterns stop and start underneath in quick succession. It's a brilliant exercise in dynamics and tension. 'Wakeup Sequence' sounds like freestyle pop driven into strange Atari game shapes, bubbling arpeggios, rough, funky melodies, ancient drum machines, and distorted guitar synth and weird squeaks. 

    A1. Position
    A2. Praxis

    B1. Strawberry Underlay
    B2. Wakeup Sequence
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  • Ikonika 'Ž'Aerotropolis' - Cargo Records UK

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    Ikonika 'Aerotropolis'

    £5.99

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    Ikonika 'Aerotropolis'

    £5.99

    Ikonika has always been a maverick talent and her music has always been fun ' aside from a reputation for being one of the best DJs in the business, the prescient electronics of her 2010 debut 'Contact, Want, Love, Have' were something of a prequel to what people started to call post-dubstep.

    Her citric synths, brash tone clashes and cluttered video game-inspired genre mangles came to her naturally, before legions of young producers got in on the act. According to Ikonika The word 'Aerotropolis' comes from being a DJ living in one. I'm haunted and infatuated by it. Watching 'Gattaca' for the first time, I found myself relating to Vincent Freeman's ambition of reaching space and travelling somewhere better, getting high.  I'm constantly watching planes take off and twitching that I didn't get a booking this weekend, needing to play out.'

    The '80s is still a big touchstone for this album, but the angle is very different, Ikonika says This new album plays on an inspiration I wished I had focused on more growing up. I started fantasising about making freestyle house and early pop wishing I was a little older at that time so I could actually have made this music. This time around the feeling is a confident brashness that takes on older genres, brushes them off, and gives them a colourful shakedown.

    I thought about how video games consoles were being championed at the time when a lot more music machines were being made. That connection led me to use sounds from older drum machines and synths, balancing old school and modern techniques.

    The album opens with the gentle posi-drone of 'Mise En Place' before breaking into Ikonika's first track to feature vocals, 'Beach Mode (Keep It Simple)' featuring Jessy Lanza, whose joyous lyrics set the tone for the rest of the album.  'Mr Cake', up next, is a bold electro-pop track with a gentle bounce. Ikonika talks about letting the sound take flight, and the positively soaring melodies of 'Eternal Mode' attest to that, roaring out over chiming italo-disco style arpeggios.

    'Completion' is about spacious ambience before 'Manchego' breaks out into playful stop-start jacking house with a fat bass line.  'Let A Smile Be (Y)our Umbrella' is a mix of warm tightly-balanced chords and minimal finger snaps. 'Mega Church's mood is reflected in its title; playing out on huge, reverbed claps and an ocean of rippling organ. 'Cryo' is a dark flight with ominous chords and thunderclap snares, while 'You Won't Find It Here' is a combination of cold bleeps and happy synths stabs.

    The album ends with 'Zen Sizzle', a solemn and contained track, but with a goofy melody running through. These songs positively glisten and sparkle. This is an album with a big heart and a lot of confidence, creativity and joyful direction.

    Tracklisting:
    Side A:
    1. Mise En Place
    2. Beach Mode (Keep It Simple) Feat. Jessy Lanza
    3. Mr. Cake
    4. Practice Beats
    Side B:
    1. Eternal Mode
    2. Completion V.3
    3. Manchego
    4. Let A Smile Be (Y)our Umbrella
    Side C:
    1. Lights Are Forever
    2. Mega Church
    3. Cryo
    Side D:
    1. Backhand Winners
    2. You Won't Find It Here
    3. Zen Sizzle
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  • Ikonika 'Beach Mode (Keep It Simple)' - Cargo Records UK

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    Ikonika 'Beach Mode (Keep It Simple)'

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    'Beach Mode (Keep It Simple)' is the perfect snapshot of Ikonika's new album 'Aerotropolis'. It's also her first vocal track, graced with the voice of One To Watch, Jessy Lanza.

    'Beach Mode' combines sunny salsa-like chords and claves, inspired by latin freestyle dance music from the '80s, with Jessy's vocals cutting in over some soaring rough synths. It's a refreshingly straight forward and sensual piece of pop dance.

    Side B starts with a dub mix for all the vocal haters, while the 'Percapella' version breaks it down into a syncopated drum track and a slightly dubbed take on the vocals, giving it a tracky and colder toughness reminiscent of early Chicago house music. Get into Beach Mode.

    Tracklisting:
    Side A:

    1. Beach Mode (Keep It Simple)

    Side B:
    1. Beach Mode (Keep It Simple) Dub
    2. Beach Mode (Keep It Simple) Feat. Jessy Lanza, percapella

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  • Ikonika 'Contact, Love, Have, Want' - Cargo Records UK

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    Ikonika 'Contact, Love, Have, Want'

    £5.99

    1. Ikonoklast (Insert Coin)
    2. Idiot
    3. Yoshimitsu
    4. Fish
    5. R.E.S.O.L.
    6. They Are All Losing The War
    7. Millie
    8. Sahara Michael
    9. Continue?
    10. Heston
    11. Psoriasis
    12. Video Delays
    13. Look (Final Boss Stage)
    14. Red Marker Pens (Good Ending)
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