V/A - Kikommando
Label: PAN / Hakuna Kulala
Cat.No. PAN 124 / HK029
Format: DL / Book
Release Date: 6 August 2021
Purchase: pan.lnk.to/Kikommando
Video: bit.ly/3i2EgSg

A collective effort from a vital scene in Kampala, KIKOMMANDO takes its name from Ugandan street food of flat bread and beans. As a ‘food of soldiers’ offering maximum energy for minimum funds, the eponymous mixtape, video series and book project is an equally nourishing and ambitious proposition. It all began in the East African summer of 2018, during a two-month residency at the Nyege Nyege label and collective’s villa, in collaboration with their sublabel Hakuna Kulala. Producer and PAN artist Simone Trabucchi (aka STILL) opened the door to his temporary studio in the city and a crucial cross-cultural collaboration was born.

“The intention was to record as much as possible,” Trabucchi says about KIKOMMANDO’s musical showcase of eight Kampala-based artists, coming from the spectrum of musical influences, crossing trap, drill, cut ups, kuduro, electro, smooth jams—the list goes on. In creating a sonic space to support the expression of its featured singers, poets and emcees, the mixtape ties countless styles and flows into a single snapshot of a particular part of the Kampala music scene, at a particular point in time. The invective of rapper and street legend Blaq Bandana’s “Nkwaata” is laid over a spare and brooding ambient. Kampala Unit trumpet player and first-time singer, Florence, rolls a thick melodic texture through the organic clicks, knocks and atmospherics of “Bae Tasanze”. Jahcity’s unique lyricism combines a personal take on traditional music and soulful-reggae with a jerky, wobbly collection of drops and donks.

Meanwhile, Ecko Bazz applies his grimey vocals and rhythmic, introspective words to lead single ‘Ntabala (Rolex Riddim) at a particularly pertinent moment of self-reflection. “I was trying to listen to the voice inside myself and wanted to achieve a higher level of understanding of things, life,” he says about the themes that he felt inspired to explore with Trabucchi at the recording desk. The accompanying video, shot on a rooftop in the Kampala neighborhood of Ggaba, is one of a series of slick and high-definition films complementing each one of the KIKOMMANDO tracks. These also include contributions from Ugandan emcee and key Hakuna Kulala member Biga Yut, don dada of the GabaGaza gang Swordman Kitala (with Omutaba on percussion) and South Sudanese poet and singer Winnie Lado.

Also accompanying a ‘visual mixtape’ of moving images for each song on KIKOMMANDO is a recording diary of sorts, where Trabucchi compiles a vibrant collection of pictures, colours and textures reflecting the its heterogeneous sonic palette into a book. Together this multifaceted, interdisciplinary project showcases, what Lamin Fofana’s liner notes describe as, “amazing originality, complexity”, while “embracing dissonance”.

Trabucchi’s personal take on a kind of ‘digital dancehall’ defined the sound of his ground-breaking rumination on Italy’s colonial history on debut STILL album, I, in 2017. KIKOMMANDO is a different proposition entirely, where he finds new ways to complement the personality and skills of its contributors sprung from a constant stream of visitors arriving at the Nyege Nyege Villa’s makeshift studio. “It was a dialogue,” stresses Trabucchi, who has always preferred collaboration as a means to escape branded and stereotypical identities, while creating something new. “I created the musical platform to make the singers confident, and challenged them at the same time. Working together accelerates ideas and reveals that nothing is your invention alone. That’s why KIKOMMANDO is a mixtape to me, and not an album.”

The mixtape is mastered by Rashad Becker, featuring artwork by NMR. Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11 & 12 mixed by Ville Haimala. Tracks 5, 6 & 8 mixed by Lorenzo Dal Ri.

@hakunakulala

KIKOMMANDO

STILL, Florence - Bae Tasanze (PAN 124 / HK029)

@cubanchamberofcommerce011
The 15th release of katharsis is the EP “Otra Vida” by Serbian artist Cuban Chamber of Commerce. Spanning four tracks, the EP portrays the gloomiest corners of your subconscious emotional landscape by blending ghostly pads and eerie sound effects with a deep reverberating bass. But even though the atmosphere is filled with tension and has a high chance of provoking goosebumps, the EP has a mysteriously hopeful and embracing quality to it.

“Otra Vida” is quite a deviation from the artist’s former releases, as his earlier works are more bass-driven and dancefloor-oriented. With two successful releases under his belt, respectively on Molten Moods and his own label kepasaparadoks, the artist now seeks to explore new sonic territories by putting emphasis on textures, atmosphere and field recordings instead of complex high-tempo drum patterns. As hinted in the title, “Otra Vida” carries a message of the different and unknown, which is well carried through to the listener by the ghostly mood of the EP.

mastering by @jjjacob
artwork by @jjjacob

Otra Vida

Cuban Chamber of Commerce - Luz

IM093 - @soft-matter - Hyle
Label: Infinite Machine
Release Date: August 27th, 2021
Format: Digital

Having unleashed music from producers spanning multiple continents in 2021; (from China to Hungary to Mexico to Greece...), Infinite Machine is poised to release the sophomore EP from the Moscow-via-Montreal producer Softmatter - entitled Hyle. Anna Pavlova, aka Softmatter, is an artist and vocalist whose output is characterised by twisted and distorted electronics, heavy-hitting drumwork and mutant vocal samples. With a keen interest in post-human theory, neuroscience and quantum physics; her musical practice explores the fluidity and uncertainty of experience and perception. In Anna’s own words “When I begin the creative process without expectations and embracing uncertainty, I get results that represent me the most.”

Hyle EP opens up with Levity, a track that’s equal parts unnerving and beautiful. Underpinned by bassy snarls and percussion that clicks and whirrs like a demonic ticking clock, Softmatter delivers lyrics (in both English and Russian) that revolve around self-acceptance and a refusal to let the judgements of others affect this self-conception. “Throw your shade if that’s your thing while I am moving freely. Don’t be so sure your expectations carry little weight here.” The icey, affected vocals and the densely layered beat they glide over on Levity seem to acutely pair up Softmatter’s love of both witch house artists like Salem and contemporary innovators like Fatima Al Qadiri and Aisha Devi. Whilst these references are very much on display, Levity still sounds utterly unique and sees Softmatter operating in her own lane.

Whilst the vocals on Levity are basically another layer of sound design in the mix, Softmatter’s voice takes centre stage on the following track, Morphe. The tracks refrain (“Reaching a new high, blood rushing through my vessels”) seems to tap into the euphoria depicted on the EP’s artwork, where we see a light-carrier bringing illumination into the uncertain darkness, providing realignment and acceptance to self. Woven in-between these pitched vocals is a driving, deconstructed beat full of idiosyncratic sonic surprises.

Rounding off Hyle EP, Who Am I 2 U is a ferocious and moody track whose intensity grows and swells over it’s duration. A nightmarish array of guttural samples and snatched synths groan whilst Softmatter sings of how we perceive and connect to each other as individuals; “Am I means to your goals or you see me as an equal? Who am I to you?”

Jumping from rigidity to fluidity, from otherness to unity, from controlling the immaterial to dancing with uncertainty; Softmatter’s Hyle EP packs a mighty punch built on an intriguing conceptual framework and crammed full of bold musical ideas.

Hyle

Softmatter - Who Am I 2 U

Genot Centre / @genotcentre

rkss - stole day white
clxo - auva
adaa - nce
galen tipton - mouthblood w/ woopheadclrms
w00dy - energy drink magic
aya - and eats itself and eats itself and eats itself
zoe mc pherson - kada (poly everything)
dasychira - parabiotic dream
terribilis - move in silence
klein - the haunting of grace
felisha ledesma & angelo harmsworth - falsche
ana jikia - i;m getting tired of you my love
amselysen - garden of failure
enchanted lands - ethereal code chamber
yikii - 忘憂藥 (nepenthe)
sunmoonstar - unwindchimes
NTsKI - Orca
{arsonist} - through latent imagery
digital selves - memory loss
my cruelty - неуловимое
Eilien - U
Stewart Bird - Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People

Genot Centre ~ Correspondence Nº35

Thanks to https://soundcloud.com/indigoblue97

(+)earth w/ Indigoblue

JEROME On Internet Public Radio w/Mister Sticktalk And exteeng

transparency.

Swimming The Night Skies

The Climb for more. Held back by our own minds. It can not be found unless we open that envelope. Hypnotic Rythm. Believe.

Climb

MARTYYNA - SWEEP THE DARK CORNERS

Feel free to support this compilation and our web-magazine Swine Daily. On Bandcamp by "pay what you can" option or on our Patreon
( bit.ly/ListenSwineWorld )
( www.patreon.com/swinedaily )

✦ On Swine World, our first compilation, we asked some of our favorite artists and friends to submit a song for us. We didn't give them any information about the theme, how it should sound or anything else. But interestingly, all artists have met on a similar music level and created mysterious, dreamy, sometimes even cyber-post-apocalyptic-Blade Runner-type atmosphere.

✦ ✦ ✦
Shout out and thanks to all incredible artists that met together on this compilation! @16colours * @elyscitat * @keosz * @ninjapriest * @ivanamer * @aid-kid * @saintcaboclo * @naikavols * @rattlesnakke & @plvybxy * @syntrovert
✦ ✦ ✦

NIVVA - Easy (Aid Kid Remix)

Label based in Berlin, est. 2008. http://www.p-a-n.org