UPFRONTBEATS

Israeli artist Kino Todo continues to put himself in the spotlight with an innovative new EP on DJ Tennis’s Life And Death that features a track with countrymen Red Axes.

Todo’s multicultural sounds on Jenia Tarsol’s and Chaim’s Blue Shadow records, where he released his first ep with hit banger ‘Gidafi Na’ as well as on Moscoman’s Disco Halal have made him one of the most promising new artists in the scene. He is someone with a psyched out style that fuses long, drawn out drum machine rhythms with intoxicating synths as well as influences from prog and rock. His music is colourful and charming and always refreshingly original. His last release, ‘Yasmin’, was his biggest yet, but this new offering shows another mature evolution for such a young artist.

Opener ‘Goa Kids’ is a bristling and uplifting arrangement that is always on the move. It comes on strong with a percussive jumble of hits and tambourines that ride in loose fashion over a surging groove. Warm, rich bass pumps down low, enchanting flutes and youthful vocal chants all get you locked and take you on a charming trip. The lively ‘Paradox’ is a more broken beat, with twisted synths and sci-fi sound effects all underpinned by booming kicks as alien vocals are layered in with sirens and pixelated pads. It is a fantastic collision of musical worlds.

The vital ‘Vocus Pocus’ is a Middle Eastern rave that overflows with musical imagery, ghoulish vocals, juddering kicks and retro-future synth lasers that prepare you for take off. Last of all, the esteemed Red Axes duo join the party for ‘Boom Shaki Boom’, a tripped out and freaky cut of Israeli acid techno that is riddled with edgy pads and intergalactic sounds.

These are complex and characterful tracks that draw on a wide range of cultural references and reimagine them as dance floor dynamite.

• FB: facebook.com/KinoTodo/
• Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/kino_todo
• Beatport: beatport.com/artist/kino-todo/805855

Credited - Dean Driscoll