Ikonika

http://www.residentadvisor.net/images/profiles/ikonika.jpg

New album Aerotropolis just about out now, probably about time she had a thread of her own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idoZ_unYdNA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTmU-wJmY1I

First album was great in places and quite clumpy and rudimentary in others, kind of intrigued by this one despite knowing nothing about it.

http://open.spotify.com/album/1XXsubvqGPa2ClFHBOVwQp

^ new one up on Spotify, sounds frigging great to me on first listen

love this album - i love how her sound constantly evolves but at no point does she sound like anyone else. "lights are forever" and "mega church" are my favourites, i think

Made it about four tracks into this and gave up, those pre-setty software synths she uses are so horrible.

how were they not a problem before?

I think I've become more intolerant of them over the past few years. You always get the sense with these artists that they're trying to be more expansive than their technology or their production talents allow.

Like I will listen to the whole thing but the whole sound of the thing, coupled with that interview where she talks about Kode9 getting her to make it all sound louder and sharper, elicited such an eyeroll.

No problem with the synth sounds on this for me, sometimes the drums are a bit too brittle though.

There's a certain thing she does that DMX Krew did that I lack the terminology for

Slightly down-at-heel sounding, 80s slightly; not quite a 'song' as such

I like it

haha 'Down-at-heel sounding' is such a cack-handed term

Like the main melody line on this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEOJjReLMn8

I like her

digging the new one so far

i remember her equipment failure @ bloc a few years ago = end of the wprld

I like the two tracks posted above, especially the second one with the image of a cat. The sounds may be somewhat presetty but they are chosen well so everything sounds harmonious and integrated, not jarring. The rhythmic interplay of beats and riffs on the cat track is particularly nice. It seems to have a mix of mid/late 1980s and early 1990s influences -- it almost reminds me of stuff like Paul Hardcastle at times but with elements of early '90s house as well.

I'm probably missing some (OK, a lot of) things by not being very much into current trends in electronic music, but this is what I said on Twitter the other day:

Half the tracks on Ikonika's "Aerotropolis" sound like lost 80s Latin freestyle instrumentals. This is a good thing.

I'm not really feeling this one at all, it has its moments but overall it feels plasticky and half-finished and vaguely amateurish, but without the energy you might expect from such a trade-off. It feels improvised in places, but she isn't good enough at improvisation for it to feel natural, there are times where you can feel her aimlessly pressing three or four keys without knowing quite what to do next.

'Manchego' is particularly ropey.

all the stuff i've ever heard of hers matches the ^ former description. i gathered that was meant to be the aesthetic, or indeed ~vibe~ if you will

Yeah I get that it's the intention, I suspect said intention could be achieved way more successfully with better execution.

Awesome album cover though.

i've put this on, it's a bit junior senior meets jozef fritzl

i feel like ikonika achieves exactly what she sets out to with the sounds she most wants to use; whether or not you like those sounds is a different matter, but unlike so many in this scene i never feel like she's trying to recreate something she's romanticised in her head or provide an ~artsy~ take on a pre-existing sound. i like her best when she's going for something epic and overwhelming with those presetty, rudimentary synths ie "lights are forever" and "mega church". the crashing drums throughout really make this.

actually feel like the i make lists ep from last year might have been (even) better realised, certainly not all of these tracks are essential, but i do love how - despite the inherently rudimentary sound - she's evolved so much as an artist. this is light years away from "please" or even the debut.

basically, i feel like she's very much in her own lane, and i enjoy that lane

That's the thing, they don't sound as big and expansive as they're clearly intended to, dunno if it's sound palette or lack of space or what.

Should stress I generally approve of her and she's not without talent but that would probably develop better in a less stultifying creative environment than Hyperdub. She should go to Germany for a bit.

arte e critica povera innit

unlike so many in this scene i never feel like she's trying to recreate something she's romanticised in her head or provide an ~artsy~ take on a pre-existing sound

wouldnt dream of suggesting that your patronage was a fait accompli or anything of course but i'm really not sure i hear what sets her apart in this regard?

who else does she sound like though?

plenty of friends whose musical output has disappointed me lately, ikonika's something of an exception in that regard.

coupled with that interview where she talks about Kode9 getting her to make it all sound louder and sharper, elicited such an eyeroll.

i thought it was that her original mix was too clean & glossy, and that he wanted her to add some rough edges?

^ this is the interview i read

The comparison to lost 80s Latin freestyle instrumentals is so spot on. I agree that the synth sounds themselves are a little on the cheap/preset side but more often than not the melodies and grooves are strong enough to overcome that. It does tail off quite considerably towards the end but I really like this, a lot more than her debut.

not to repeat whats already been said, but yeah, this is totally latin freestyle, wow. i like it. i always thought her debut album was overplayed/overstuffed, but it seems like shes stopped doing that, from listening to the single. am sort of surprised just how 80s it is but i guess that was inevitable really. retro-future uk bass isnt going anywhere.

unlike so many in this scene i never feel like she's trying to recreate something she's romanticised in her head or provide an ~artsy~ take on a pre-existing sound

ha, when i listen to her, thats exactly what i think shes doing (not the recreating part, the artsy version thing). this is someone who thought dipset dance party was 'funny' (in some RA interview from a while back). that - probably in a kneejerk way - immediately makes me think of someone who listens to araab muzik and thinks 'now, this is quite good... but imagine if araab went to st martins!'

ha i don't think she has much time for the st martins lot.

freestyle all over this excellent mix: http://soundcloud.com/selftitledmag/needle-exchange-128-ikonika

(still coming back to this album a TON btw)

this album is quite nice

New album streamable on Soundcloud.

https://hypebeast.com/2017/5/premiere-ikonika-distractions-interview

something so ps1 about this

She's done two great remixes this year in Badlands 'I Want Blood' and Commodo's 'Guah'.