IKONIKA
Ikonika’s music drips and pulses with raw talent. Her unique sound, cadence, texture, and melodic sensibility surprised me the first time I heard it, and further inspires me to take chances with my own music. Ikonika is doing just that – making the music she wants to hear without worrying about pleasing the crowd. When her tracks are dropped on the dancefloor, unlike any other “bangers”, they make the crowd look up, look around, and freak out from hearing something very fresh and different. Talking with Ikonika gave me good insight about where her unique sound comes from.
Interview by Noah Bennett
What’s your story? How did you evolve musically?
About six years ago I started getting back into my love for hip hop, listening to Jay Dee and Madlib and reading Scratch Magazine. I was gonna save up for an MPC and just make some hip hop beats but someone close to me bought one and he tried teaching me, and I just thought it was long… So I got my hands on FL and made “Please.”
What do you think of the whole UK Funky thing?
I love what UK funky has started. It’s made me drop BPM and get more percussive rather than being all about the bass. It’s fun and it works. These days my sets are pretty much full of mutated funky/dubstep.
