Kyoka – Ish 8.0

                Kyoka creates a demented carnival of sounds on Ish. It is such a pleasure. After listening to Kyoka a couple times, I wonder why she wasn’t put on the Raster Noton roster earlier. This may be the closest Raster Noton has ever come to pop. While all of the ‘Unun’ series takes a more pop-orientated approach, this is definitely the most accessible (and enjoyable) they’ve been in some time. Garbled vocals only add to the absurdity. 

                ‘HADue’ hits hard. The beat is loud as garbled up vocal nonsense assaults the sound. Kyoka simply lets the beats work out. For the next track things conjure up images of some sweaty club with nerdish people jumping up and down in place. Here the track’s length becomes an asset, as it stops and starts on a dime whenever it feels like it. This uncertainty and instability make it nearly cartoonish in nature. 

                ‘YESACLOUDui’ has the anxiety of Matmos’s weird pop concoctions. It employs plenty of static noise doubling as rhythm. And the closer ‘ROMOOne’ ends things on a nervous note. Carefully tripping around multiple percussive elements, it is reminiscent of a long-lost Mouse on Mouse track. Melodies emerge and are quickly squashed. 

                ‘Ish’ is a blast of a record. I like how everything, while somewhat danceable, retains an image of breaking down at any point. Beats are brought to the point of brokenness. This is a busy, hyper-active record that refuses to sit down. It is always playful, building off of itself. Don’t try to understand, simply enjoy. Wish more Raster Noton EPs had this mentality.