Kahn & Neek - Lupus et Urpus 2xLP (self-released, 2023)
"What a treat this is - A MUCH needed vinyl outing for Kahn & Neek's debut LP - Double disc business here and includes a risograph printed insert - don't sleep on this!
The long-awaited debut album from Young Echo / Bandulu dons Kahn & Neek is here -
Lupus et Urpus is the name, and it contains 13 tracks of baddest vibe grime, kaleidoscopic rhythm, melody and tripped out soundsystem sonics.... A nice twist up of experimental / and straight up gunfinger material....
It feels like the time it took, was taken for a reason, in order to let the sound grow and expand from the earlier, more straight up bristol grime sound they had already mastered and accomplished, in favour of a more sonically expansive, extra-warped aesthetic and sound palette. Tempos lock in from slower stepping type vibes, up to the good ol' 140bpm mark (it just works, doesn't it?). Overdriven square waves or 808s make way for twisted, far-out samples that remind us of O$VMV$M's finest works, and on some of the tracks we're lured into subtle shifts of melody and rhythm, in favour of big drops geared for the wheel up. The end result is a true 'album' in the sense that it demands repeated exploration, to familiarize yourself with the sound and the mood, and to dive into the details...
The pacing of the album is excellent too - weirder, more insular moments serve as interjections for the mind to wander, just before you get dropped back on earth, and greeted with a slap to the face, either sonically, or lyrically, from a gang of London MCs dropping bars on the mic... Then, the ride continues through more worlds within... It's a vast and bold world they've built here, but for all it's freak element, it still feels rooted and grounded in the continuum of grime, and dubstep, just with even more particular Kahn & Neek spice in the mix." - RWDFWD