MOUNT KIMBIE – SKETCH ON GLASS EP (Hotflush)

 

Nov. 11, 2009 by Noel Lusano

Mount Kimbie’s Kai Campos and Dominic Maker have had a good few months to get accustomed to their place on Berlin’s Hotflush roster since the release of early 2009’s Maybes EP, a record that dropped on the scene with little warning and had dubstep and indie heads alike utterly smitten and rewinding it.

The pair drop the second verse on HF023, Sketch On Glass EP. Here we see the two true to the fine style established on their first record, drawing from a diverse sonic palette that sounds like the best of what’s happening in electronic and indie music currently, set to a luminous, bass-ravaged backdrop of daydreams and half-thoughts, city life unfolding somewhere in the middle distance. While the release draws comparison to Rustie, Joker, Ikonika and Flying Lotus in parts, the proximity works in their favor; Sketch On Glass opens with a skippy, bleepy dancefloor number that feels slightly familiar, but still carries with it that trademark lo-fi Mount Kimbie sound.

Seated modestly on the flip is the EP’s highlight, “Fifty Mile View,” a glacial stunner that seduces us from the start with swells reminiscent of Autechre’s finest, then promptly delivers us into a lush subaquatic panorama of distorted signal and hollow, waterlogged drums. It’s something new from the pair, and just when we’re getting comfortable in this dark, damp place, Kai and Dom sprinkle some groove on it, bringing the focus back to that melodic, not-too- bothered place in the sun that made Maybes such an infectious listen.

A highly-worthwhile release on Hotflush. Four tracks sure to keep old fans and new properly sated until the next installment of the Mount Kimbie saga. Don’t sleep!