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artist · emika
release · drop the other ep
year · 2010
genre · electronic
label · ninja tune
catalogue · zendnls240
website · ninjatune.net / emusic.com
date · 18-feb-2010
quality · alt-preset standard
source · digital download
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01 drop the other 3:27
02 drop the other (scuba's vulpine remix) 5:34
03 double edge (germ remix) 5:15
04 double edge (germ remix instrumental) 5:14
playtime · 00h 19m 30s
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"drop the other," the first e.p. from emika - and already making a
late shout for one of the year's most auspicious debuts. even
before release, emikaÆs has received airplay from tastemaking djs
like zane lowe + mary-anne hobbs. on "drop the other," eerie,
near-classical piano collides into glitched-out edits and
skitering drum patterns, while speaker-shattering lows rub against
emika's own hushed, cryptic vocals, the iconoclastic blend marking
her an artist that makes a habit of defying expectation. just when
you think you know what youÆre hearing, emika flips the script:
the cinematic sound architecture evokes the deepest techno, but
the tempo moves too slow, the beats too jagged; the sub-bass,
meanwhile, could shudder the most underground dubstep club, but
itÆs paired with haunting, syncopated vocal hooks that suggest
aaliyahÆs work with timbaland taken to its darkest extreme.
"i make pop, but with a hard edge, playing different sounds and
intensities against each other," she explains. "i try to stay on
the fence, leaving room for the listener to create a sense of what
its about. it's all about tension for me." tension, indeed.
emikaÆs music evokes comparison to the visionary likes of the xx,
fever ray, the knife, burial and circlesquare - artists that stand
outside of genre, maintaining an uncanny timelessness of their
own. as such, the words and sonics captured on "drop the other"
prove both utterly catchy but experimental, erotic yet never
overtly sexual, clearly confessional but shrouded in mystery.itÆs
a sound and vision that parallels emika's roundabout entrΘe into
becoming a performing artist, a musical journey spiraling from
suburban london and inner-city bristol to cutting-edge berlin.
emika has called in some fantastic remixes. scuba aka paul rose
was a london dubstep pioneer, but in 2007 he too relocated to
berlin. his vulpine remix gets foxy with the original, importing
vinyl static, ticking clocks and reversed cymbals, disembodying
the vocals and making something deep and driving all at once.
germ, meanwhile, takes the track double edge and spin it out into
euphoric, glitchy electro-house that has already found its way on
to ministry of sound playlists. emika is also working
collaboratively with visual artist mox, developing designs and
video inspired by her music, as well as a kinetic, multimedia live
show. emika's music is full of unexpected emotional alleyways and
late-night allure, tones that alternate between crushing and
beautiful, beats hypnotic in both the club and in solitude.
"balancing the future and convention, submission and control -
thatÆs very important to me," emika concludes. "what i find
powerful is the margins: those things inbetween, pointing out but
never explaining. it never resolves, so it leaves a pit inside you
- but i like the pit."
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