Kane West, the clubbiest thing to come out of the mega-trending PC Music crew, crosses over with this 4-tracker on the ever-unpredictable Turbo Recordings.
The solo project of Anglo-Japanese indie-pop act Kero Kero Bonito’s Gus Lobban, Kane West was first discovered via a winning entry in a Tiga remix contest, where his raw MIDI-riffic sound caught Turbo
A&R’s attention. His palette is carefully constrained, with only a few vocal samples punctuating clever, hooky arrangements created on General MIDI sound modules.
Lead track “Mexicans” jumps out with a huge, groovy bassline, ridiculously catchy horn riff, funky percussion and vocal expletives like “OH YEAH” and “THIS DJ IS HAPPENIN”. Over the top? Maybe. Fun? Definitely. ‘Expenses Paid’ strips things down a bit, sounding more at home on a label that put out records like Kebacid. The playful flourishes are there – there’s even a digi-flute solo and a ‘WOO’ sample – but overall this one reigns in the mad-cap insanity of Kane’s debut album ‘Western Beats’. That vibe comes through a bit more on ‘Don’t Stop,’ which is reminiscent of the always-amazing Daniel Maloso while coming from a whole different angle than Latin EBM. Finally, ‘Recycle Bin’ takes a squelchy bassline and stretches it out on the dance-floor with dope drum solos, flexing Kane’s sequencing skills, keeping things fun and fresh with a minimum of fuss.
It’s an exciting sophomore effort from the young, London-based producer, whose references run the gamut from Maurice Fulton, Ceephax, Mr Oizo, Comeme, to classic Chicago house. Guaranteed fresh!