Artikal and Jay Kenzo enlist the Parisian Argo for a three tracker of Cyrus-like reductions that blends trap aesthetic data with good old fashioned eyes-down rollers. While not the bang out, gun finger material of Zbuntu Shake, Argo deftly crafts subtle DJ tools that’ll keep the vibe appropriately dark without resorting to dungeon growls and in the appropriate hands offers endless blending combinations.
“Nooo” toys with a creeping arpeggio that harkens to Commodo’s past work, but that ain’t a backhand compliment and with some well-placed hip hop samples it keeps the ear engaged, but the even more stripped back “Glowz” is the topper top out the bunch with its gun-man swagger and hypnotic melody thats like light passing through glass, its a well balanced mixture of light and dark that makes “Glowz” really shine. The sub bass booms appropriately and I can imagine in my mind’s eye hearing it blast out of a slab or a bass bin depending on your preference.
Lastly “Stigma” plays with the same trap aesthetic data but keeps it firm rooted in South LDN with a more broken beat structure that is indicative of grime. The haunting melodic arpeggio gets a new face lift, but again its the zen like restraint of the tunes that really draws me to this plate, Argo’s measured hand and attention to space and percussion really make the entire EP worth bagging.
ARTKL024 is released December 16th and available to pre-order from Unearthed Sounds, Redeye, White Peach, Intense Records and the Artikal Music Bandcamp Store. Read our interview with Argo.
