NKC - Tincture

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  • Contemporary club music is slippery terrain but sometimes a firmer shape appears in the shifting sands. Some (myself included) have noted the young artists doing new things with UK funky. The much-missed style isn't the whole story, though—it's part of a global palette of influences balancing the 4/4 pulse and syncopated percussion. NKC calls this stuff "Hard Drum." He has more right than most to name it, since he's been working on something like this since his 2011 debut. He took a break in the mid-'10s but has since returned as part of Her Records. A recent productions mix outlined his "Hard Drum" vision. As you might've guessed, it's not big on melodies. Instead the focus is on legions of percussion, marshalled into patterns resembling the likes of Dutch bubbling, Portugal's Príncipe crew and '90s tribal house. The results aren't as polychrome as that sounds—sharp, cold and unforgiving, his drum tracks get a bit exhausting when lined up in a row. This record, NKC's second for Her, doesn't shed the coldness, but it highlights the mix's more characterful tracks. "Puncture" stands out for its synth lead, a wail half-heard through batteries of pumped-up claps and snares. On "Dual Power," tight-skinned snares roll and rattle against the beat like bugs thundering into a window pane. Both are dramatic, full-bore club weapons—the compression is cranked up and white noise whooshes abound. The odd one out is "Tincture," in which "Puncture"'s lead line returns over stranger rhythms. NKC sets up the surprise with an extended intro, peppered with tense chord stabs and dramatic foley fake-outs. When it comes, the track's staggering triplet beat turns the nascent "Hard Drum" formula on its head.
  • Tracklist
      01. Tincture 02. Puncture 03. Dual Power
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