Name: SLICK BACK - 03 - ASCENSION by HAKUNA KULALA in Grime, Hiphop, Trap, Rnb
Duration: 3 min 15 s
Description: Five rough and ready club explorations from young Kenyan producer Slikback to kick off Hakuna Kulala's upcoming series exploring new producers from the region

Grime, Hiphop, Trap, Rnb

IM089 - @galtier - Pulchra Es Elementis
Label: Infinite Machine
Release Date: September 24th,2021
Format: 12" / Digital

With 10 years in the ‘biz’ firmly under his belt, Jiah Wells is poised to release the first full-length LP of his Galtier project, Pulchra Es Elementis. Whilst Galtier is arguably one of the originators of the percussive style that would eventually fall under the Hard Drum label, the heightened theatrics of his recent output have seen him channel Blade Runner-styled sonics and move further away from absolute club functionality. Whilst Galtier’s output often seems to soundtrack hypothetical, off-planet words, Pulchra Es Elementis turns the focus inwards: towards Wells’ own emotional constellation, his evolving spirituality and his attempts to tap into planes of existence beyond the tangible. The album’s Latin title translates to ‘Elements are Beautiful’ and encapsulates the artist’s belief that there is grace in all of life’s aspects; pushing past what we deem as good or bad, minuscule or massive.

Pulchra Es Elementis begins with Crystalised Larva, a brooding opener of breathy pad synths and expansive kick drums which reverberate through the mix as if the hits originate from the bottom of a valley. There’s an indistinct sense of tension on this track, in part due to a central melody, which never resolves but only descends lower in pitch. This tension turns to explorative wonder on Wilfull Saviour, where a mirage of musical ideas come in and out of focus. Although the sonic worlds Galtier explores are internal to him, Wilfull Saviour still possesses that sense of a cosmic journey we’ve come to expect from Wells; an ardent fan of dystopian films and literature.

Continuing this emotional odyssey, Bruised, But Not Broken sees the artist push deeper into the psychological undergrowth; its murky tonality juxtaposes crisp, Reggaeton-inspired drum patterns with a heavily compressed one-note synth line that modulates wildly - cutting through the mix like a nagging thought that won’t leave your mind. Next up is U Were, U Are & What U Will Be, one of the more club-ready tracks of the LP, which gets us moving with a snarling bassline and layers upon layers of percussive hits and inflections.

At Pulchra Es Elementis’ mid-point is the LP’s title track, a drumless interlude where blissful, shimmering synths create a patchwork of intensities. Galtier’s approach to songwriting shines through here; ignoring musical pragmatics, he opts to feel his way through his compositions without knowing where they might end up. Following on from that weightless breather, Phantasiai turns up the freneticism with its head-spinning mix of drum programming and a glitched-out synth line that yo-yos up and down octaves. Things get even more furious on the Superficie-featuring Cavernam, a hollow Hard Drum banger inspired by Eskibeat sensibilities and designed to create a sense of self-implosion.

The album’s penultimate track, (U Are) Beautiful, is a tale of two halves: beginning with a moment of serenity as synthesizers swell like an ocean tide before evolving into a marching crescendo of raw energy. Rounding off the album, Shine Forth hurtles through pacey drum work and all manner of strange zaps and klaxons before giving way to a final dose of nebulous ambience.

A musical journey unlike any other ‘club music’ albums, Pulchra Es Elementis is an LP that demands to be consumed in one sitting. Reflecting on his place within the universe and the musical landscape, the album could be viewed as a musical exorcism which sees Galtier working through and shedding huge chunks of his ego that stuck to him out of fear of the unknown. Pulchra Es Elementis begins on an insecure, overwhelming or, even, existential note before rounding off with a related sense of vastness seen with new, more positive eyes. It’s a voyage we hope you will join him on.

Galtier - U Were, U Are & What U Will Be

The Middle East has only very recently been depicted as nothing but a warzone, negating and erasing a multiethnic and centuries long history rich with art, music and academia. The current reality is a simple one: people across the Arab world are being subjected to dehumanizing and apartheid conditions at the behest of Western powers.

“From the River to the Sea,” the first collaboration between longtime friends Loris, a first generation Mexican Palestinian, and Wildkatz, a Jewish American, is a clear and simple expression of hope and unity, with the aim of not only continuing to raise awareness, but to also garner a visible solidarity between two inexctricably connected peoples.

Wildkatz soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/wildkatzmusic

credits
Artwork: Mónica Delori 
Mixed: Wildkatz 
Master: Cristo Gavras @imaabs

Download

From The River To The Sea - Loris X Wildkatz

READ > https://inverted-audio.com/premiere-duswunder-black-bile/

After furnishing the world with the highest quality futuristic beats for 10 years, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Mexican label @Infinite-Machine have turned in one of their finest releases yet in celebration, a bumper 19-track compilation featuring label mainstays and new and upcoming artists, including @Duswunder.

Infinite Machine 10 Years Compilation

Duswunder - Black Bile [Infinite Machine]

Cruda

Siete Catorce - Cheve

Daisy Mortem member VAMPI trades Yraki's sculpted club dynamics for a more unruly, unhinged flex.

'Argento' is out June 24th on inklingroom.

Pre-order: bit.ly/3b4WMcT

@onlyvampi
@yraki
@inklingroom

Premiere: Yraki - Zenith (VAMPI Remix) [inklingroom]

Isaac Soto - Sobrio
 NF065 2023

Arte: Tyler Matthew Oyer – Sigil 2023 
Master: Imaabs

Vivo o Muerto

Southbanks

Individual music release for our video work MADE VANITAS for Triple Canopy (NYC): https://www.canopycanopycanopy.com/contents/made-vanitas

Big Bang X TZECHAR - Loser x Bang Bang Bang

Five rough and ready club explorations from young Kenyan producer Slikback to kick off Hakuna Kulala's upcoming series exploring new producers from the region

SLICK BACK - 03 - ASCENSION

https://www.instagram.com/dxtro_yatoboyz/
https://www.instagram.com/braga_yatoboyz/
https://www.instagram.com/lacozey_yatoboyz/

DXTRO X BRAGA X LACOZEY - MONOCHROME (DISS)

With is borderline obsessive ìwonkinessî longtime Hakuna Kulala collaborator Julien Deblois aka Debmaster, trims his mustache every day the same way he trims his music. A kind of tornado of bleeps finding its strength as much in hip-hop as in more obscure genres such as Moldavian 8bit or African accordion.

Following from his production on Mc Yallah's Ndi Mukazi, Debmaster presents his first debut ep on Hakuna Kulala. Crocodiles Homieees reworks African field recordings from Kampala's Boutiq Studio's archives.

DEBMASTER - 01 - Space Tribe

Glacial Industries returns for 2019 with a club focused 12” from Cork born, Berlin based composer ELLLL.

ELLLL follows up outings on Art For Blind and First Second Label with “CONFECTIONARY”, a trio of technoid mutations. “PEPSI” + “SKITTLES” provide club ammo with their pulsing hard drums, whilst the eerie, off-kilter “JAWBREAKER” rounds off the release.

“CONFECTIONARY” releases worldwide on Glacial Industries on February 22nd. Available digitally and with a limited edition, full colour sleeved white 12”.

CONFECTIONARY 

ELLLL - PEPSI

Pelada - Movimiento Para Cambio
Format: LP / Digital
Cat.No: PAN 102
Release Date: 04 October 2019
Purchase: bit.ly/2N5ID0M / bit.ly/2yWc1yu

Movimiento Para Cambio, is the full-length and debut for PAN from Montreal based duo Pelada. Comprising of vocalist Chris Vargas and producer Tobias Rochman, they have gained international attention through the city’s underground warehouse rave scene.

An urgent, headstrong body of work, the LP uses the music as a mechanism for delivering ideas central to the group’s moral and political ethos. Vargas explores themes of power, identity, surveillance and environmental justice atop Rochman’s raw mix of rave synths, acid basslines, breakbeats and dembow rhythms.

While at times unpredictable, the album is unified in its fast and loose approach. A Mí Me Juzgan Por Ser Mujer (‘I Am Judged Because I’m a Woman’) is an anti-machista anthem, stylistically nodding to NY house. Though Vargas doesn’t identify as a woman themselves, they understand their experience as a woman in an imbalanced patriarchal society that excludes women, femmes and non-binary people. Habla Tu Verdad (‘Speak Your Truth’) emphasizes the need to overcome the stigma around discussing sexual harassment, offering courage and strength to those who may need it. Asegura (‘Secure’) deals with the unprecedented power of Big Data, which monetizes a surveillance based economy through its users' data and behaviours. 
These themes are set to fierce unrelenting bpms, nods to gabber, and samples of a reality show where young men compete in a prison fitness contest. Caderona (‘big hips’), features a hardline perreo-tinged beat that carries Vargas’ vocals with refreshing ferocity. Inspired by a cumbia song, Caderona offers a counterpoint to the male gaze, acting as an opportunity to demand space. Aquí describes the reality of a global corporate domination, where capitalist insatiability meets government inaction as we sit on the precipice of a mass extinction of our own making.

Pelada hope to inspire critical self- reflexivity through engagement, building power, demanding space and action. Or as it is written in their liner notes: ‘ABRE TUS OJOS, LA BESTIA SE ALIMENTA DE LA EXPLOTACIÓN' which translates to ‘OPEN YOUR EYES, THE BEAST FEEDS ON EXPLOITATION’.

The album is mastered by Jeremy Cox, featuring artwork by Johannes Schnatmann & Bill Kouligas.

http://p-a-n.org

Movimiento Para Cambio

Pelada - Ajetreo (PAN 102)

Pre-order: https://petrola80.bandcamp.com/album/nightshade-edition

Taken from PET-008: Lyra Valenza - "Nightshade Edition"
Out June 19th on Petrola 80
@lyravalenza
@petrola-80

Danish duo @lyravalenza (aka Hjalte and Jens Konrad) operates on the outskirts of contemporary electronic dance music. Armed with a playful approach and a patchwork of digital and analogue equipment, Lyra Valenza carved their own space in the Copenhagen scene by genre-blending Jungle, UK Garage, and Footwork into a mix of forward-facing and euphoric dance music for 2020 and beyond. A testament to the duo's unique approach to sound design, they were selected for this year's SHAPE - a platform for innovative music and audiovisual art from Europe.

Lyra Valenza's latest EP, Nightshade Edition, is a package of sweet and dangerous cuts to the taste of dystopian romance. The prime dance floor material hits with metallic percussion and bursts of fluttering synths tuned with just the right amount of trance. From stepping UKG, to lush digital soundscapes, the four breaks heavy tracks are hyper-modern sonic experiments processed through a retrospective haze.

The Nightshade Edition EP is released on Lyra Valenza's own @petrola-80 label. It follows their 2018 debut EP "Scan Deliver" on UK imprint Opal Tapes and comes as a welcome return from the energetic producers.

Artist: Lyra Valenza
Title: ‘Nightshade Edition’
Label: Petrola 80
Catalogue no.: PET-008

Artwork: Laurits Hanak
Mastering: Joel Krozer (Sixbitdeep Studios)
Mix: Frederik Møller
Format: 12" vinyl, digital, longsleeve T-shirt
Release date: June 19th 2020

Blind Spot Monitor [Petrola 80]

Taken from the HUMAN 004 compilation 'Togetherness'.

Tinkah - Still Care [HUMAN 004]

brian emo. i would also like to ride on a sky bison.

Club explorations from the East African and Congolese Electronic Underground and beyond.

SLICK BACK - 03 - ASCENSION

HAKUNA KULALA

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