It says something about where we’re at when a veteran house music producer releases an album and many of the initial reports are at pains to emphasize its “happy” and “feelgood” nature. No sluggish soundsculpting or shoegaze-with-drum-machines for KiNK, who stays on the cutting edge without recycling old tropes, and whose experimental tracks are made with such joy.
“Perth,” the first single from Playground, lets the bassline do the teaching and the talking. This is classic soul-with-strings produced by a hyperactive kid in love with the sound he’s making. “Yom Thorke” buzzes with a kinetic energy that makes everything blur together. Do you remember when you were just finding out this shit and you didn’t know an 808 from a 909 or what kind of sound a Rhodes made? For KiNK, the elements melt together (even in sparse electro mindfucks like “A Taste of Metal”), and us with them.
They say never to trust a DJ that doesn’t dance, but I would never trust a producer that doesn’t get high off their own supply. I would pay money to watch KiNK spin the 12 tracks from Playground together, with nothing else, and would leave completely satisfied.
KiNK: Playground (Running Back)
1. KiNK: Soar
2. KiNK: Yom Thorke
3. KiNK: The Russian
4. KiNK: Samodiva
5. KiNK: Suncatcher
6. KiNK: Perth
7. KiNK: Teo Techno
8. KiNK: Peter Plet Plete
9. KiNK: Organ
10. KiNK: Five
12. KiNK: The Universe In Her Eyes
First published in 5 Magazine #155 featuring 15 Years of Soul with Papa Records and Reelsoul, Lone Dancer‘s 5 Mag Mix, Andre Crom & more. Become a member of 5 Magazine for First & Full Access to Real House Music for only $1 per issue!
[…] it all with a smoother, silkier and sometimes even adventurous sound. Like I said last month about KiNK’s Playground LP: it’s kind of a sad commentary on the scene when the most distinctive thing people have to […]