Ken Zo has been gigging around Melbourne and rural areas and unleashing his psytrance bomb on unsuspecting ears for a while now and his latest tune Unreal Space (Original Mix), is an effort worthy of attention. 

It starts off with a two-note bass line over a simple beat while electronic flecks fly in and out as the subs pulse away subtly. This gets you in the ballpark of where this tune is at and where your head should be. It all falls away to leave a syncopted 2-note passage where you tend to get lost, but this is not by accident.  Ken Zo knows how to take the listener in one direction and then push them down a dark path where they don’t know where they are, and when they think they’re completely lost, he reaches out with a steady, pulsing beat and brings them back on track. That’s how this tune slinks along – in an unconventional manner but is tied together by its ebbs and flows. The melody that drifts in in the last third of the song compliments the slightly foreboding nature of the tune. 

If you’re around Melbourne and rural Victoria and haven’t checked out one of Ken Zo’s live show, you’re missing out. Do yourself a favour and go see him live.

Ken Zo - Unreal Space (Original Mix)

This modern electronic tune starts out with an open, cinematic drone. The tolling of a bell beneath gunfire and delayed screams leaves the listener with no clues as to where this tune will go. Slowly, an electronic melody creeps in in a style reminiscent of how layers are added in Tubular Bells Part 1 that points the listener in the right direction. A counter melody drifts in and some big, syncopated chords stab they’re way through the mix. This builds to a head as the chords are thinned out and you are then hit by an impressive beat. It pounds your head in the best way possible as the bass is right up front in the mix with the drums. 
There is good dynamic variation as the bass and drums drop, out allowing the piece to breathe, which makes the last section all the more explosive. The tune gets even bigger in this section leaving you breathless and tying together the elements from the opening such as the gunfire, the scream which is nicely textured, and the synth melody from the intro. 

Nikos is an artist with his own distinctive style – catchy beats and a great ear for catchy melodies who you should definitely keep an ear out for in the near future.

Nikos - Dies Irae

This short slice of groove pie could just about pass for a b-side from Daft Punk’s Discovery era that had been hit in the back of the head by Justice. 

The syncopated synth drone that kick starts this song is underpinned and strengthened by the solid beat which is given a breath at 0:34 which is when the main driving part of this tune comes in. A strong disco-esque beat dominates the mix which then has the Vocoder-drenched vocals and squelchy synth chords added to it creating a very catchy hook. Dynamic variation is achieved through the adding of layers in this second half of the song and it finishes all too soon with a fade out, leaving you wanting more.

With more time Ballan Blacksmith will continue to develop their sound and could well amass a cult following in the club scene with this brand of Dance music reminiscent of one of its golden era’s back in the early/mid 200’s. Keep your ears peeled.

Team B Productions