Mastering by Saif Bari
Graphic Design by Virgile Flores & Cestainsi
Distribution by Bigwax
Tracklist :
A1 Never Trust A Cyborg
A2 Control X
A3 Huta Vibz
A4 Click Of Death
A5 Proteus
B1 Homos Estivus
B2 Cyborgs Faking Emotions
B3 Ying Yang
B4 Avaton Anomias
B5 Mauvaises Herbes
After a small digital break, here is new record from the Comic Sans' vaults. First world appearance for Low Khey with 10 tracks exploring the 90-100 bpm side of experimental bass music. Call it mutant dancehall, deconstructed dub or industrial riddims, it's difficult to describe precisely in which genre the release falls. Let's just imagine that Vybz Cartels' beats met Adrian Sherwood's punk dub sound design and that the whole thing was supervised by the evil twin of DJ Python. The big space left to the drums and the precise use of robotic sound-effects give a hyper-mechanical aspect to the riddim tracks which are aired by several interludes made of weird FX making it sound like futuristic commercials for spaceships or intergalactic bitcoin exchange. The whole project has hidden references to artificial intelligence and problems that human are facing regarding the technology. The world in which Low Khey lives is dominated by machines, and mankind is having a rough time to say the least! But there is hope for our Homo Sapien friend... If only he kept in mind this simple advice : Never. Trust. A. Cyborg.
Inverted Audio Premiere:
https://inverted-audio.com/premiere-low-khey-click-of-death/
Comic Sans Records buttress their sadly limited wax offerings with a hefty plate from Low Khey, sitting comfortably alongside the label’s outstanding left-of-centre material.
The Lyon-based label’s disdain for the austere and serious is back to regular levels after the somewhat wistful ambient release from Netsh, and as much as we loved that slight detour into deeper, more soulful sounds, we’re happy the label is back at what it does best — twisted bass music with a healthy pinch of fun thrown in.
‘Never Trust A Cyborg‘ stretches the imagination towards malevolent robotics and morphing dance music. Warped extracts sitting at circa 100 BPM, all the tracks therein are jumpy cybernetic slices of material that’ll worm their way into your sets as smoothly as they find their way into your mind’s internal playlist.
‘Click Of Death‘ is an early killer track in the release; sub-straining basslines keep robotic drums in fluid motion throughout their four-minute strut, letting up only briefly, and only then to soak the listener in over-processed vocals, inna dub FX style. Thick and groovy throughout, Low Khey’s entered into the Comic Sans Records’ Hall of Fame with this album.
Resident Advisor Review:
https://ra.co/reviews/25431
Dub, dancehall, industrial and ambient, all with a cyberpunk twist.
Over the last few years, Lyon's Comic Sans Records has released a consistent streak of outlandish, Gallic-infused electronic transmissions. Permeating both the sonic and visual realms of the label is an underlying magnetism to technology and futuristic dystopias. With each new release, Comic Sans' system upgrades and showcases both a more refined yet corrupted version of its insular cosmos. Low Khey is the natural next step of this mechanized evolution. The project, of which details have been kept strictly under wraps, emerges after a brief period of digital hiatus by the label—a messianic arrival in the form of Never Trust A Cyborg. The release has an hermetic, self-contained quality in both its sound and themes, a calculated and striking execution that is reflected through its ten tracks. The whole project, from the sounds and samples used, to the tracks' lengths, focuses on short, digestible formats. Each element is finely tuned to a precise and highly technical standard, eradicating any form of fat or pleasantries. Here be experimentations in genres contiguous to bass, lingering around the 90-100 BPM mark and manifesting Low Khey's craftsmanship in beat-making. It's a patchwork of hybrid sounds that seem to capture the essence of a possible future in which AI has taken over. After the title track, which features terrified vocals and video game sounds, humans seem to disappear from the release, leaving ample space for intricate beats and the mutterings of distant androids. What would a cyborg listen to in this reality? "Proteus" suggests the gurgles of mechanical fauna. "Ying Yang" is a textured audio exploration that sounds like a revving wipE'out" anti-grav ship. "Huta Vibz" and "Click Of Death" look to warmer climates with their dancehall-inspired beats. The sanitised industrial loops of "Control X" recall Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails. Low Khey's brio shines through on "Homos Festivus," with its luscious synths and softer beat counterbalanced by mechanical siren yelps. Referencing essayist Philippe Muray's homo festivus, a being totally devoted to pleasure and its own personal fulfillment, the track lets you peer into Low Khey's grinning humanity; alas, it's only the uncanny valley smile of a robotic entity.
-Melanie Battolla