Dystopic Sci-Fi
After being in the works for a long time, the futuristic funk album ‘Dystopic Sci-Fi’, released with Gravitas Recordings (US) is out now on all platforms.
With a modern take, Dystopic Sci-Fi is a musical journey inspired by the music of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, from funk, jazz and progressive rock to electro-funk, dance-punk, hip hop, breaks, industrial, big beat and drum & bass among others. Featured vocal performances include the US rapper Jackson Whalan, Suspira from Norway, Manos Libres and Arosa Ensemble from Finland, the producer himself and the newcomer of the pack with her debut release, Bea Aino, aged 12.
A massive 15 track album, this release truly blends all styles and ideas of electronic music, while still staying cohesive under the retro nostalgia they all envelop. Across The Globe (feat. Jackson Whalan) kickstarts the album off to a rowdy star with glitch hop goodness and rap, acid bass and funky breakbeats throughout with a high energy banger.
G’s n Things keeps the glitchy funk and leans more into the breakbeats and the retro influences, truly sounding like a soundtrack to a heist movie. Metaphor (feat. Suspira and Bea Aino) continues the breakbeats but adds beautiful catchy female vocals, this one will get stuck in your head and is another perfect movie soundtrack and teleports us back in time.
Sjuka Dagar Revisited (feat. Arosa Ensemble) picks up the BPM and is a funky drum & bass track with live horns and synths filling the soundscape, beautiful vocals from Arosa and a fast pace hard to not move to. Just A Hack has repetitive AI vocals and is a fun stab at META and social media, truly reminding us of Knife Party’s Internet Friends in the best way possible.
Carbon brings in a four on the floor house beat and funky bass and old school synths that instantly teleport us into a Tron world. Point Blank is another high energy drum & bass track full of cinematic builds and high energy that is ready to get the dancefloor moving. Pixels To Eternity (feat. Manos Libres) slows down the tempo for a laidback groove with Manos on the vocals with wet bass and a slow breakbeat groove to nod along to.
Back To The Future is the funkiest track on the album and is full of classic retro synths and catchy vocoder lyrics from the classic track “Time” from Pink Floyd, truly bringing us back to the future. Paradox has an epic build and brings in a four on the floor g-house drop with huge stabbing basses and truly brings us back to the early rave days.
Mirage brings back the breakbeat into a heavy banger that is impossible not to move to. Fade To Night opens with an epic arpeggiated synth into a perfect breakbeat flow and beautiful pads and keys, truly a track you need for a night-time drive. Chunky Bit Of Luck starts as a beautiful synth driven slow breaks track and quickly turns into a glitchy heavy anthem filled with horns and bass.
No Games is another more synth driven track that pulls back from the heavier styles and back to the funky roots of some of the first tracks on the release.
Made Up My Mind (feat. Manos Libres and Tim Duster) closes the album with beautiful piano and a laid back breakbeat groove full of live guitar and brass instruments, a perfect closing to the journey through KIWA’s sound.
Mastering by Markku Louhio @ The dB Factory
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