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Kentucky seems an unlikely place for bass music producers to be based, but with modern technology being what it is, geographical boundaries in music continue their slide into relative obsolescence.
Having had his debut release featured in Boomkat's top 100 singles of 2010, Milyoo has already been endorsed by Gilles Peterson and Mary Ann Hobbes, and judging by the quality of his latest work, the Kazaduon EP on Saigon, such hype is certainly justified.
The title track is a melancholic yet strangely hopeful array of pop vocal samples, tearjerking keys and punchy drums. It's slightly cheesy but enchantingly peculiar and one can't help but be moved by the sheer amount of emotive musicality present.
This musicality is led by the hand into more obscure territories in 'Takedown', with its broken beats, chordal pads, and simple melodies creating an ethereal soundscape punctuated by clever yet soulful drumwork.
In the great tradition of keeping the truly weird stuff for the flip, the first b-side, 'Box of Tapes' unleashes an aural assault of acid infused dissociative chaos, which hangs on for dear life to a solid rhythm and chord motif.
It's delightfully disorganised and will have many listeners subconsciously calling for the outlawing of strict quantization to ensure music of this style is made more often.
Closing track 'Phonix' is a little more restrained in its entropic aesthetic, but still keeps the beats wonky enough to be able to squeeze in some more 'normal' chord progressions without approaching over-sentimentality. Whether the track stands up on its own is perhaps up for debate, but it is a fitting end to a bizzarely brilliant release.
| Artist: Milyoo Title: Kazaduon EP Label: Saigon Recordings Tracklist Kazaduon Takedown Box Of Tapes Phonix www.saigonrecordings.com www.milyoo.wordpress.com Our Rating: 8/10 |
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