- Laksa tests listeners' limits on his new RE:LAX label.
- It's easy to think Bristol DJ and producer Laksa is established enough to do music full-time. Take the calibre of labels he's affiliated with—Timedance, Ilian Tape and most recently, Hessle Audio. All are primary sources for the best of forward-facing club music. But being a full-time artist is the last thing Laksa wants. He's a social worker, a job that helps him capture "real-life tensions and conflicts" in his music, as he said back in 2019. This part of his life sits front and centre on his latest EP, Body Score, out on the new RE:LAX label that he runs with re:ni. RE:LAX is an extension of the NTS show and party the duo put on in South London, pushing music meant to affect the body and mind in wild ways.
On Body Score, Laksa tests his listeners' limits. The low-end on "Soulz" hits squarely in the gut while the nimble bongo's in the foreground feel like a good slap around the face. It's hair-raising in the best way. "Mind," on the other hand, feels like getting caught in the middle of a turbo ping-pong game, with its whiplash-inducing percussion. But even considering the grinding kick drums at the beginning, it hits differently—more head high than gut wrench. "Bodies" is the slowest of the three, but by no means less exciting. Cleverly sandwiched between the intensity of the other two tracks, it stands out as a mean tension-builder thanks to its sludgy thrust and ticking clock-style percussion. With assassin-like precision, Laksa has produced his most heavy-hitting work to date.
Tracklist01. Soulz
02. Body
03. Mind