- Strahil Velchev recently revealed via his MySpace that he has a ringing in his ears. Can you blame him? Recording under the name KiNK, Velchev has been relentless in his studio over the past few years, releasing his material on nearly any label that will have him. Listening to Psyche Funk, though, and you understand why so many are eager to have him abuse his ears. The EP is a monster, and one that should help vault him to contracts with even bigger labels.
Psyche Funk is nominally house music, but unlike his work with Neville Watson, it's no genre exercise. The orchestral swells that pepper the title track rise and fall behind a rapidly ascending and descending synth that sounds as if it's about ready to slip off the rails. And then Velchev just stops things for a teary-eyed breakdown. Throughout, in fact, these moments of delicious silence recall the sort of drops in dubstep where you can't wait to hear what bit of insanity is plugged into the gap. On "Tropic," it's a Bradock-esque synth that bounces like a Slinky down the scale, on "Trevoga" it's Velchev giving you a snare rush. Even Marcus Aurelius gets in on the action, putting together a suitably disorienting take that again recalls Pépé Bradock. Buoyant, memorable and fun, Psyche Funk may be one of many releases in Velchev's catalogue, but it's also one of his best.
Tracklist A1 Psyche Funk
A2 Psyche Funk (Marcus Aurelius mix)
B1 Tropic
B2 Trevoga