kIKI/ILL* & ConBrio* - KIKI/ILL & CONBRIO

Kiki.ILL & Con Brio now and again something genuinely interesting comes this way, and here’s something that’s definitely worth a sniff. It’s not psytrance, but Kiki/Ill is an incarnation of Phill Thomson aka The Nam Shub Of Enki, who released on Demon Tea and no doubt various other places known only to rampant trancespotters and industry illuminati figures.

Phill's tracks are meaty throwdowns, a dancing, revolving mess of sound and snare, ideas coming at you as though fired from a tommygun. Plastique Surgery features a cassetteboy-esque mashup of Michael Jackson songs and interviews, and it’s hilarious. Bezerkey (with Bezerker) is megadeath n’ bass on ultracrack, with a delicious sweeping bottomend that’s only slightly friendlier than a daisycutter.

The remix of Nottkea Rotta’s Kisottaa is an instantly loveable two-step peppered with indecipherable rap acapella that cascades into a glitchy dreaminess, and Naked Meaty is a ragga-infused workout that combines more or less every electronic genre into one heaving mass, before using it to blow up the Hard Rock Café.

More meditative are the tracks from Con Brio aka Dan Millar. They pitch droned, reverb-heavy melodic loops in the background and showcase some deft, ever-changing percussive work over the top. The way in which he can make music that is essentially noise-based, yet still have a melodic sensibility strong enough to make you feel that you might cry – 2secs and Lanesra Seat being the two leading culprits here – is a staggering achievement and proof positive that there’s more to this glitch/noise thing than many of us had ever expected.

All in all the nifty approach of two vastly differing artists all packaged up into a gloriously underground package makes this something worth inviting over for a cup of tea.


• Favorites: 2, 3(!), 5, 6
• Rating: 8.5/10