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Ikonika - Ikonoklast
Label / Hyperdub
Cat # / HDB042
Released / December 2010
Style / Dubstep
Rating / 3

Ikonika's "Ikonoklast," the strong opener to Contact, Love, Want, Have, has good reason to head its own EP: The tune quickly grabs your attention with its prismatic melody, its dalliance with dubstep, funk, and gluey Arabic hooks that work the ends of phrases like level-up sounds from a yesteryear video game. Joh's remix is a poor, skeletal and bass-less figure. It endlessly stutters and never develops. Beneath its tom-tom frame are references to the signatures of bass music. But they never seem quite loud enough. Funkeneven remixes "Idiot" to better effect, making liberal use of the bejeweled synthetics that crown Contact. A wide snare takes charge and thwacks and rings with 8-bit three-oscillator leads and pads. It's a disco-step treat and a worthy recreation of the nostalgic original.

On "Yoshimitsu," untouched from the sterling album version, FM sweeps and a starry lead meet over a few relaxed kick taps and finger snaps. It's nothing new, but it's welcome here, again. In the rapidly crisscrossing and populous word of dubstep and UK garage, Ikonika is distinct far enough beyond her peers to not worry about drowning in a wave of Shackleton clones. Where James Blake is making the London sound his academic arena, she's turning it into an after-school jam session.



Words /
Published /
Wed, 05 January 2011



Buy Ikonika - Ikonoklast at
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Tracklist: Ikonika - Ikonoklast
A1 Ikonoklast (Insert Coin)
A2 Idiot (Funkineven remix)
B1 Yoshimitshu
B2 Ikonoklast (JOH remix)

Ikonika - Ikonoklast

 
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Ikonika - Ikonoklast

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Funklestiltskinwrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011Holy shit, that sounds awesome. If there's any artist that sounded remotely like Shackleton (quality and style-wise, while still having his own distinct sound), it was T++. Totally forgot about him. Cheers for bringing the news to my attention.

spirohwrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011I totally agree with you mate.

anyway read this one:

'Arguably the most enticing record in the Honest Jon’s schedule is Fireworks, a record of unknown length credited to Shackleton, T++ and Mordant Music. Whether this will be some kind of collaboration between the three artists or a split effort remains to be seen. It was rumoured that Torsten Profrock’s superlative 2010 album Wireless (also for Honest Jon’s) would be his last under the name T++, but that’s clearly, and thankfully, not... More

Funklestiltskinwrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011@ Spiroh - Yeah, I've heard an EP of Raime, and I suppose it's kind of similar to Shackleton except for the percussion [which in itself is a major part of Shackleton's music]. I guess my point was that Shack is a strange artist to mention in context of the point the reviewer was making...I mean I hear far more people adding 8-bit, videogame melodies and bright synths to their beats, than people making dread filled dub with heavy percussion and throbbing pulses of bass. No big deal though, just... More

MangaCorps1wrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011I liked her first album, but this is becoming a bit too repetitive. I like when artists create their own style, but they need to vary within their sounds.

If I would mention a really good female in the current bass-music scene, it would be Cooly G

spirohwrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011I think that Raime sounds a lot like Shackleton
here is an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRYL1-oV_...... More

Funklestiltskinwrote
Wed, 05 Jan 2011'Ikonika is distinct far enough beyond her peers to not worry about drowning in a wave of Shackleton clones.'

There are Shackleton clones? I listen to a lot of 'bass music', but I haven't heard anyone who remotely sounds like Shackleton, or is necessarily even trying to [for it would be a futile exercise].


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