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!K7 RECORDS

Various Artists

DJ Kicks - Kruder & Dorfmeister - 2024 Repress

    Smoke it! Feel It!

    The slo-beat pioneers Kruder & Dorfmeister of Vienna are among the hottest producers in the dance universe. Even though they only produced two unreleased maxis, big names like Count Basie, Bomb The Bass, Alex Reece or United Future Organization had some of their tracks remixed by these exceptional producers. Their productions on compilations of Ninja Tune, SSR and Wall Of Sound are considered milestones regarding the trip-hop genre and many major companies are trying to release their debut album.

    Since 1993 the two smart Austrians Peter Kruder & Richard Dorfmeister have been working together as a team and when being asked about their musical roots they name musicians like Miles Davis, Sly Stone, Brian Eno, Serge Gainsbourg or Bill Laswell. Besides this they are great admirers of the Gilles Peterson and Coldcut Radioshow of London's cult-station Kiss FM, which had a lot of influence on their musical open mindness. Their label G-Stone was able to gain outstanding reputation with its four releases and earned fantastic media reaction in international publications.

    Besides their outstanding fame as producers both were able to blast even the hippest clubs on this planet with their extravagant DJ-sets. Their breathtaking mixture of trip-hop, dub, ambient and drum'n'bass is supposed to be way-leading thus supporting their cult-status. Smokin' tracks of Herbalizer, Statik Sound System, Hardfloor, Aquasky, Shantel and others are combined on their DJ-Kicks set, gathering the hottest labels from Ninja to Cheap, from Moving Shadow to Creative Wax. A dub producer helped to remix the entire material making it a thrilling club soundtrack for the 90s. By the way, during the work for DJ-Kicks and their debut album they refused remixes for U2, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello and the Fantastic Four.

    TRACK LISTING

    A1. Small World – Livin' Free (Soundtrack Mix)
    A2. Aquasky – Kauna
    B1. Hardfloor – Dadamnpheaknoizphunk? (Dubdope)
    C1. JMJ & Flytronix – In Too Deep
    C2. Shantel – Bass And Several Cars
    D1. Tango – Spellbound
    D2. Thievery Corporation – Shoalin Satellite

    Suchi’s bouncy, airy productions are so organically deft that they almost belie the complexity that exists within. Prior to her !K7 debut the Oslo-born, London-bred, Delhiinfluenced DJ and producer found herself in a period of creative stagnation, while attempting to rediscover her own voice through production. After going back to the drawing board again and again she resolved to let go of overthinking, eschew the process, and let experimentation lead the way, revisiting some simmering sketches and work in new ways.

    Ghungroo EP is the result of this reset, and rediscovers Suchi’s sense of playfulness through different production styles. It’s pressed on eco-friendly vinyl, PVR free and 100% recycled. “Ghungroo” is a homage to Suchi’s early years, and named for the small metallic bells strung around the ankles of classical Indian dancers. The track is equal parts cosmic, bassy and wavy, with a downwards bassline that plumbs the depths of low frequencies. The memory of early music passions emerges as the same melodic loop undresses and redresses in different guises - between breezy pads, glowing chimes and euphoric bells.

    “Blåmerke” means bruise in Suchi’s native Norweigan tongue, and it leads heavily with double-time polyrhythmic drums, ravey rhythms and percussive bubbles popping. Triplets of synth stabs are artfully deployed with reverb and warped, stretched pads, bringing a whimsical twist to a track that is otherwise a tough-edged stomper. “Bottlepop” loosens up the tempo for a funky house framework, foregrounded by a big melodic synth riff. The track’s hookiness is enhanced by its old-school school feel, with distorted whistles and evocative pads. “Blåmerke” is then given a rework by Sam Goku who was chosen for his euphoric, dusty-sounding club tracks that hit hard; in his care the remix provides exactly that, via throbbing, shimmering, deep trippiness

    STAFF COMMENTS

    Matt says: Beautifully rich and exotic electronic music that should appeal to lovers of Dekmantel, Hivern and Peggy Gou's Gudu label. It's got 'primed for festival season' written all over it...

    TRACK LISTING

    A1. Ghungroo
    A2. Blåmerke
    B1. Bottlepop
    B2. Blåmerke (Sam Goku Remix)

    Tosca

    No Hassle - 15th Anniversary Edition

      For the 15th anniversary of this timeless classic, !K7 Records are re-issuing Tosca’s seminal album ‘No Hassle’ in an audiophile 3LP format. Multi-instrumentalists Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been friends since their Vienna schooldays. Richard later became half of the globally acclaimed DJ-producer duo Kruder and Dorfmeister, while Rupert worked in piano composition and sound-art installation. ‘No Hassle’ is Tosca’s fifth studio album. A luxurious tapestry of analogue and digital sounds, submerged samples and live instruments, it evolves and expands into an hour-long ambient symphony. The title reflects not only the duo’s laidback approach to making music but their whole philosophy of life. ‘No Hassle’ is all about contemplation and concentration. While recent Tosca releases like J.A.C. (2005) and the remix collection Souvenirs (2006) were a move towards classic song structures and club-friendly grooves, their latest is a much more introspective journey into inner space. It was conceived as a single seamless sea of sound, deeply layered with liquid rhythms and tidal melodies. Warm and enveloping, each leisurely track flows gently into the next, a musical ocean moving in slow motion. This is an album to plunge deeply into and get lost inside. 

      TRACK LISTING

      1. My First
      2. Elitsa
      3. Springer
      4. Birthday
      5. Oysters In May
      6. Joe Si Ha
      7. Elektra Bregenz
      8. Fondue
      9. Rosa
      10. Raymondo
      11. Mrs. Bongo
      12. No Hassle 

      The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble

      Mr. Machine - 2024 Reissue

        ‘Mr. Machine’ is a record that put them alongside names as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, but with considerably more groove. More than anything, Daniel, Jan and Paul are keen that the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble are not written off as a curiosity.

        “Often people focus a lot on this whole "cross-over" aspect,” says Brauer. “We wish people would simply notice we have good chords, melodies etc. and take the music as it is. Because we make it the way we feel, and not for other, let's say purely conceptual reasons. Some only seem interested in how it’s made. Some reviewers perceive us as minimal techno, some as modern classical, some as nu jazz and so on. But we don’t divide the world into techno and nontechno.”


        STAFF COMMENTS

        Barry says: A rhythmic, hypnotic selection of classical instrumentation and cyclic music-concrete riffs, underlaid by pulsing bass and snapping jazzy percussion. It's dance music made by nature, or like that bit in Spaced where tyres does the 'everyday raving' bit.

        TRACK LISTING

        1. Mr. Machine
        2. Bop
        3. You Make Me Real
        4. Pretend
        5. Mi Corazon
        6. On Powdered Ground (Mixed Lines)
        7. Teufelsleiter
        8. 606 ‘N’ Rock ’N’ Roll

        Various Artists

        DJ Kicks: HAAi

          London-based, Australian-born Teneil Throssell, aka HAAi, is known for a strain of sonic psychedelia that metabolises precise sound design, melodic techno, electronic pop and thundering beats. Following the release of her acclaimed 2022 album, Baby, We’re Ascending, HAAi has reached what she calls “another career milestone” - an invitation to steer the next edition of !K7 Records’ acclaimed DJ-Kicks series.

          HAAi approached this mix with two concurrent goals: to continue to iterate on her artistic theme - which she named ‘always ascending’ - and to highlight her flair for hyperkinesis and drama behind the decks, which she achieves with BPM left-turns, endless upwards tilts and sharp accelerations, liminal transitions and moments of pure euphoria. Within the sweeping journey she moves through an expansive selection of heritage classics, future-facing artists, friends, heroes, and voices from close-knit communities, alongside a number of her own exclusive productions.


          TRACK LISTING

          2LP Tracklist:
          A1. HAAi X Jon Hopkins X KAM-BU - Always Ascending
          A2. HAAi - ZiGGY
          B1. I. JORDAN - Life On The Wing
          B2. Joshua James - We Go Again
          B3. DJ PGZ - Quality High
          C1. Koreless - Seven (Drumhell)
          C2. Cocktail Party Effect - Make It Undone
          C3. The Blessed Madonna - Strength
          D1. Manni Dee, River Moon - Hot
          D2. HAAi - SHiNE

          CD Tracklist:
          1. HAAi - Intro
          2. Lähetys/Transmission - Pan Sonic
          3. HAAi - Ziggy
          4. The Blessed Madonna - Strength
          5. Jaco - Show Some Love (Rhythm Invention Remix)
          6. Agoria - Boomerang
          7. HAAi - SHiNE
          8. Manni Dee, River Moon - Hot
          9. I. JORDAN - Life On The Wing
          10. Perc & Fractal - Up (Perc Remix)
          11. Radiotrance - Plasma
          12. Tunnidge - Geddeon
          13. Surusinghe - Bet
          14. Cocktail Party Effect - Make It Undone
          15. Koreless - Seven (Drumhell)
          16. Christian Smith, John Selway -Total Departure
          17. HAAi X Jon Hopkins X KAM-BU - Always Ascending

          Tosca

          Mirage: The Osam Remixes

            For Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber, the idea of rebirth is a creative driving force – an artistic device which not only informs their work, but anchors it.

            As the avant-garde electronic group Tosca, the two artists have lived many musical lives, from their early electronic experiments with tape decks to the blissed-out dub compositions with which they have made their name.

            Their most recent album, OSAM, takes this idea of renewal even further. Now they have reworked the source material from their ninth record and selected some of their friends to help make MIRAGE: The OSAM Remixes.

            TRACK LISTING

            1. Dementamente (Brendon Moeller Reshape)
            2. Clean Up (Balint Dobozi Remix)
            3. Clean Up (D'AL SENIO Remix)
            4. Shout Sister (Tosca Mirage Ambient Version)
            5. Dementamente (Brendon Moeller House Dub)
            6. Nobody Cares (Sam Irl Dub)
            7. Entrecote (Domenico Ferrari Remix)
            8. Osam (Oberst & Buchner Remix)
            9. Osam (Tosca Mirage Remix)
            10. Dementamente (Brendon Moeller Campfire Dubu)
            11. Make Up (Cay Taylan's Ambient Diary Mix) 

            Within the transformations of their meticulous processes, London duo Kassian become a vessel for alchemy: filtering and distilling scores of stems, samples and layers until something richer and more complex than the sum of its parts emerges. Uncomfortable in any solitary genre, and at the midpoint of somewhere unexpected and uncharted, the pair describe their sound as 'almost techno.'

            Since their debut release in 2018, Kassian have drifted leftwards into heavier, more abstract territory, harnessing their individual skills for working in the small pockets and painting the whole cloth of the canvas. In their first outing for !K7, "Phase Two EP", the Roland System 1 synth is the throughline as they painstakingly piece together sketches, turning high hats into kick drums, capturing the resonance of percussion and drift further into each other’s heavy-hitting sonic realms.

            “X-303” recontextualises the sci-fi inspiration of its name, forging a new style of interstellar acid. A driving kick drum holds steady through a track which oscillates between contrasts: from eerie, suspenseful pads and distorted string sounds, to a minimalistic groove accented with double-time drums and mechanistic pulses. “Tabla” reduces a distinct latin rhythm down to its essence, and is propelled by a thick and distended bass loop. Its hypnotic groove combines the human and the virtual with a glitching vocal sample and the juddering of strummed guitar strings, highlighted by the percussive hits of its namesake instrument.

            The pair characterise “Prelude” as 'a Frankenstein kind of monster.' Constructed around a radio sample of a legend of the scene, it is a sleek and incremental gradation of shades, with micro layers from their palette of sounds rising and falling, blending and twisting with no obvious lead or bass. Repurposing the same drums as “X-303”, the EP’s final track “Patterns” was inspired by Kassian’s earliest incarnations of live performances, and it unashamedly captures the peaks of communal moments, rounding out the EP with an epic take on deep and techy house.

            STAFF COMMENTS

            Matt says: Electrified stadium ticklers from the Kassian duo. Technologically advanced with lavish, multi-layered production. RIYL: Daniel Avery, Bicep, Two Shell etc.

            TRACK LISTING

            A1: X-303
            A2: Tabla
            B1: Prelude
            B2: Patterns

            Various Artists

            DJ Kicks: Elkka

              Elkka’s deep intuition is the unifying thread throughout Cardiff-born DJ and producer’s illustrious career. Vibrant releases for Local Action, Ninja Tune and her own label and party, femme culture, have marked her as an unstoppable force within the London underground. This recognition metabolised when she was awarded BBC’s prestigious Essential Mix of the Year in 2021, spotlighting her radiant blend of classic house, breakbeat and experimental electronica to the world over.

              As the next curator of DJ-Kicks, Elkka is voyaging through rave euphoria. “This is a really special moment for me because DJ-Kicks has been a formative part of my musical education,” she says. An intoxicating journey through Chicago house and disco, leftfield techno, UK bass and electro-punk, Elkka conjures up an atmosphere that is as primed for the club as it is the listener’s interior world. 


              TRACK LISTING

              CD Tracklist:
              01. Elkka - Attention, Lovers
              02. Shake - Music Is The Only Way (I Can Communicate)
              03. Paula Tape - Panamericana
              04. Dauwd - La Nota
              05. East-West - Can’t Face The Night (Club Mix)
              06. Omri Smadar, Roy Shpilman - Adama
              07. Pelada - No Hay
              08. Herbert - Keep Time (Nobody)
              09. UK Electro, Gerd Janson - ICA Beats Part 1 (Gerd Janson Edit)
              10. Dan Curtin - Particle Dawn
              11. Carli - Lights & Strobes
              12. Jensen Interceptor - Lean Before The Interview
              (Ft. Assembler Code)
              13. Surusinghe - BAD GIRLS
              14. Elkka - Hands
              15. Anna Wall - Memories
              16. Hodge, Peder Mannerfelt - All My Love
              17. Mark Broom - Silenced Part 2
              18. Elkka, Jeigo - Body
              19. Jeigo - IHaint
              20. Villager - Monocyclical
              21. Breaka - Living
              22. Mark Pritchard - Give It Your Choir Ft. Bibio
              23. Patty Waters - Why Can’t I Come To You


              LP Tracklist:
              A1. East-West - Can’t Face The Night (Club Mix)
              A2. Omri Smadar, Roy Shpilman - Adama
              B1. Herbert - Keep Time (Nobody)
              B2. Dan Curtin - Particle Dawn
              C1. Jensen Interceptor - Lean Before The Interview (Ft. Assembler Code)
              C2. Elkka - Hands
              C3. Hodge, Peder Mannerfelt - All My Love
              D1. Elkka, Jeigo - Body
              D2. Villager - Monocyclical
              D3. Breaka – Living

              Ian DPM

              One For The Waltzers

              As a self-described sponge for club music, London-based Bristol transplant Ian DPM has cut a singular figure in both the West Country and the capital in just a handful of years. Already situated as the tastemaker behind music curation platform Definite Party Material, co-owner of Scuffed Recordings, and Noods Radio and Rinse FM resident, Ian DPM’s emergence as a producer has marked him as an expansively curious, bass-forward figure at the bleeding edge of genre boundaries.

              After retreating to his hometown of Portsmouth during lockdown to absorb the blueprints of ‘90s techno, Ian emerged with a new phase of experimentation: techno-inspired and indebted, yet eschewing loops and grids for a loose-limbed, open minded engagement of the form.

              Taking inspiration from the iconic carnival rides that are inseparable from their high-octane happy hardcore soundtrack, “One For The Waltzers” begins with a distant rumble of muffled breakbeats that inch ever closer. But rather than dizzying lights and in-the-red maximalism, “One For The Waltzers” gradually reveals its knowingly deep shimmy and groove. It is a drum-heavy and rhythmic production, masterfully using negative space to showcase every contour of its slowed-down rave horns and acid house synth lines.

              “KE01” inhabits the flipside of the same sonic world. Here, feverish percussive energy contrasts against pensive melodic synth chords. It’s a heady warehouse affair, familiar and complex, referential yet contemporary, and only adds to the momentum that Ian DPM is gathering.


              STAFF COMMENTS

              Matt says: Big n wobbly fairground tackle for rushing sonic nostalgia and dizzying, amyl-huffing greatness. Mega.

              TRACK LISTING

              A. One For The Waltzers
              B. KE01

              Growing up in Chicago, later Detroit-based music producer, Theo Parrish is internationally well known for his own inimitable downtempo house music style. The approach Parrish took to compiling DJ-Kicks was very ambitious, inviting his Detroit peers to produce a collection of brand new material, and in turn creating the first ever all exclusive entry to the esteemed series.

              "Detroit creates. But rarely imitates. Why? We hear and see many from other places do that with what we originate. No need to follow. Get it straight. In the Great Lakes there are always more under the surface than those that appear to penetrate the top layer of attention and recognition. What about them that defy tradition? Those that side step the inaccurate definitions often given from outside positions? This is that evidence. Enjoy."

              • First official compilation by Theo Parrish
              • All exclusive unreleased material
              • Includes new music from Theo Parrish
              • 19 tracks mixed across a two volume CD set
              • Triple LP sampler containing 15 full length tracks


              STAFF COMMENTS

              Matt says: Never afraid to veer away from the norm. The Detroit innovator instantly breaks convention by commissioning all-exclusive content from his Motor City broths and sisters. Not only does this add to the collectability of the compilations, it gives his community a platform and shines the spotlight on artist I haven't even heard of. A truly celebration of community spirit and also one of the most geo-centric DJ Kicks releases to date. A briliant, inventive and thoughtful concept incredibly well executed. And given Theo's dedicated craft at mixing records, the mixed CD version is just as essential as the vinyl compilation!

              TRACK LISTING

              CD1:
              1. De'Sean Jones & Ideeyah - Pressure
              2. Donald Lee Roland II - Simba's Theme
              3. Meftah - When The Sun Falls
              4. Theo Parrish & Duminie DePorres - The Real Deal
              5. Specter - The Upper Room
              6. Deon Jamar - North End Funk
              7. Ian Fink - Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
              CD2:
              1. John C & Meftah - Full
              2. MBtheLight - AGAIN (T’s Edit)
              3. De'Sean Jones - Psalm 23
              4. Raybone Jones - Green Funk
              5. Jon Dixon - Wind Drifts (Instrumental)
              6. Whodat & Sophiyah.e - Don’t Know
              7. KESSWA - Chasing Delerium Feat. Nova Zai
              8. Raj Mahal - Hudsons
              9. De'Sean Jones - Flash Spain
              10. Jason Hogans - Surrounded By Trees
              11. Howard Thomas - Experiment 10
              12. Sterling Toles - Janis

              3LP:
              A1. De'Sean Jones & Ideeyah - Pressure
              A2. Donald Lee Roland II - Simba's Theme
              A3. Jason Hogans - Surrounded By Trees
              B1. John C & Meftah - Full
              B2. Meftah - When The Sun Falls
              B3. De'Sean Jones - Psalm 23
              C1. Ian Fink - Moonlight (Duality/Detroit Live Version)
              C2. KESSWA - Chasing Delerium Feat. Nova Zai
              D1. Specter - The Upper Room
              D2. Raj Mahal - Hudsons
              E1. Raybone Jones - Green Funk
              E2. Whodat & Sophiyah.e - Don’t Know
              F1. Howard Thomas - Experiment 10
              F2. MBtheLight - AGAIN (T’s Edit)
              F3. Sterling Toles - Janis 

              Dominik Eulberg

              Avichrom

                Nature has always been a source of inspiration, a place of strength and retreat for the artist Dominik Eulberg. Now, the studied conservationist releases his sixth album, entitled „Avichrom“. Eulberg’s neologism translates as “bird colours''. For this time, he reflects in his work on the exuberant variety and diversity of the colours contained across a number of different bird`s plumage, birds such as the greenfinch, the golden plover, the blue tit, the purple heron and the black-necked grebe. They serve as a guide for his musical expedition into ornithology. “Making music in the end is nothing other than the selection of an endless amount of options”, he says, “and in this regard the birds have helped me find a red thread.”

                Eulberg shows himself here as a hard-working craftsman, as someone who has mastered all the different steps of production from scratch and who obsessively tweaks the smallest details. Avichrom is, in this regard, consistent with the DJ and producer living in the Westerwald: it is, in the best sense of the word, a timeless work. It does not follow any current trends, but instead paves the way in its own manner. A path that Eulberg took early on in his career and that already brought him several awards and chart placements.

                With Avichrom the result is an album which is immediately moving for the listener and continues to reveal new details with every consecutive listen. Similar to a walk in nature, when new found structures continually change, and elaborate patterns appear to those that listen in closely: it is with time that the true beauty, the sublime complexity becomes apparent.


                STAFF COMMENTS

                Barry says: Eulberg's 'Mannigfaltig' was a wonderful, expansive set of nature-themed IDM, and 'Avichrom' very much follows the template. I love everything Eulberg's done thus far, and this is no exception. Stunning stuff.

                TRACK LISTING

                1. Schwarzhalstaucher: Black Necked Greb
                2. Blaumeise: Blue Tit
                3. Purpurreiher: Purple Heron
                4. Weissstorch: White Stork
                5. Grunfink: Green Finch
                6. Gelbspotter: Icterine Warbler
                7. Goldregenpfeifer: Golden Plover
                8. Braunkehlchen: Brown Whinchat
                9. Rotmilan :Red Kite
                10. Grauspecht: Grey Headed Woodpecker
                11. Silbermowe: Silver Herring Gull

                Lonely Guest

                Lonely Guest

                  If it wasn’t for the global lockdown, we might never have had the chance to hear one of this year’s most intriguing and inventive albums.

                  Lonely Guest was conceived and put together over the last 18 months by one of British music’s true innovators: Tricky. But as he’s keen to make clear: this ain’t no Tricky album. Rather it’s a thrilling meeting of musical mavericks, with the likes Idles’ Joe Talbot pitting his unique approaches to songwriting against Tricky’s otherworldly production. From an unsettling tale of isolation courtesy of Maxïmo Park’s Paul Smith (‘Christmas Trees’) to the grunge stylings of Marta’s ‘Move Me’, via the tense storytelling of London rapper Kway’s ‘On A Move’, these diverse statements come together as a bold artistic statement of their own. The late artistic visionary and legend Lee “Scratch” Perry features vocals on ‘Atmosphere’ with Tricky and Marta. It is with great sadness that Tricky and the False Idols team acknowledge and honour Lee “Scratch” Perry’s passing.


                  TRACK LISTING

                  LP
                  A1. Lonely Guest Ft. Marta
                  A2. Pre War Tension Ft. Joe Talbot, Marta, Tricky
                  A3. Under Ft. Oh Land
                  A4. Pay My Taxes Ft. Murkage Dave
                  A5. Atmosphere Ft. Lee Scratch Perry, Tricky, Marta
                  B1. Move Me Ft. Marta
                  B2. Pipe Dreamz Ft. Rina Mushonga
                  B3. On A Move Ft. Kway, Marta
                  B4. Christmas Trees Ft. Paul Smith
                  B5. Big Bang Blues Ft. Breanna Barbara

                  CD
                  1. Lonely Guest Ft. Marta
                  2. Pre War Tension Ft. Joe Talbot, Marta, Tricky
                  3. Under Ft. Oh Land
                  4. Pay My Taxes Ft. Murkage Dave
                  5. Atmosphere Ft. Lee Scratch Perry, Tricky, Marta
                  6. Move Me Ft. Marta
                  7. Pipe Dreamz Ft. Rina Mushonga
                  8. On A Move Ft. Kway, Marta
                  9. Christmas Trees Ft. Paul Smith
                  10. Big Bang Blues Ft. Breanna Barbara

                  Midori Takada & Lafawndah

                  Le Renard Bleu

                    Renard Bleu marks the first new music released by Takada in nearly twenty years; it would be difficult to overstate the importance of her return to the public eye.

                    Her first solo record, 1983's Through the Looking Glass, has been rediscovered and heralded as a lost classic; the influence of her percussion trio, the Mkwaju Ensemble, continues to permeate and inspire a new generation entranced by its lucid beauty, playfulness, and sensual patience.

                    Takada has performed in numerous film score orchestras, including the ensemble for Akira Kurasawa’s Dreams, coincidentally a key influence on Renard Bleu.

                    Le Renard Bleu, the new musical and cinematic collaboration between Lafawndah and composer Midori Takada, and filmmakers Partel Oliva, takes a cross- generational echo as ground zero for recovering a crucial myth for uncertain times: the blue fox.

                    As transmitted by Takada, the fox appears in both ancient Senegalese and Japanese folktales as the trickster archetype; belonging both to the heavens and to the earth, the fox is the agent of chaotic good, shaking the world up when its energy has become stagnant. Above all else, the fox is famous for its cunning nature.

                    In the ensuing years, Takada has worked closely with theater group the Suzuki Company of Toga on productions of Electra and King Lear, an experience, she says, that allowed her to pursue “a unity of music, body and space.” Recent live solo performances have evinced the depths of her exploration of all three.
                    Equally, it is Lafawndah’s freedom of tone, decentralized maps of ancient and modern music cultures, and alloying of devotional intensity with modern songcraft casts her as a distinct relative of Midori Takada’s.
                    Over the course of two EPs, self- directed music videos, and countless live performances, Lafawndah has drawn out an uncompromising exploration of how theater, situational intervention, and choreography can amplify the affective palate of forward pop music. One can trace the influence of artists such as Meredith Monk, Carlos Sara, and Andy Kaufman as much as musical antecedents AR Rahmann, Missy Elliott, or Geinoh Yamashirogumi.

                    It is in a mutual commitment to this unity that Lafawndah, Takada and Partel Oliva find fertile aesthetic common ground.

                    Created in partnership with KENZO and premiered today via their channels, it was Partel Oliva who imagined a contemporary cinematic frame for the myth of the fox to re- appear, creating a hybrid of choreography and narrative around Takada and Lafawndah's performance of their joint composition (also titled Le Renard Bleu.) Returning to film in Japan for the third time, Partel Oliva's moving image work (Club Ark Eternal, The Pike and the Shield) has set the standard for and revolutionized the fashion art film. Their deployment of original music, dance, and a highly stylized mis en scene coalesces here in the casting of Los Angeles krump artist Qwenga as the eponymous fox, stalking the halls of the ancient Noh theater in which Takada and Lafawnda's performance takes place.



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