- The Bristol producer shows yet another side to his ever-expanding sound.
- K-Lone's discography is a picture of creative restlessness. Instead of settling on a sound and reproducing it, the Wisdom Teeth cofounder seems to try out a new style with each release. Over the last couple years, he's made spacey ambient techno, loungey dubstep and, most recently, dub-infused house. This restlessness stems in part from the scene he's in. The loose category that is UK bass music, now lacking the centralised focus that dubstep once provided, has been pushing relentlessly into new corners of electronic music for ten years, at points shedding all trace of dubstep's ruder qualities.
Sine Language features four very different productions, putting K-Lone's versatility on display. The title track draws on a vintage Detroit style, mixing electro beats and hip-hop vocals—hardly a novel idea in 2019. But a sweet, subtly out-of-place ambient breakdown interrupts the flow at the perfect moment, keeping things interesting. "Batacuda" and "Bells" are experiments at slower tempos, something we've seen a lot of from UK-based producers in recent years, particularly those in the Timedance camp. "Batacuda" floats along, emanating a drowsy humidity, while "Bells" is moody and thoughtful, coated in a chiming haze. "Missed Calls," a carefully crafted piece of taught, polyrhythmic braindance, is probably the best track on the EP. With this kind of eclecticism, a producer takes the risk of spreading themselves too thinly, but not K-Lone. He brings an intelligence and inventiveness to everything he does, unifying his work and making it essential listening every time.
TracklistA1 Sine Language
A2 Batucada
B1 Missed Calls
B2 Bells