Three things pulled me in here – firstly, I owned XL Recordings’ ‘The First Chapters’ CD in 1990 and I have literally only just stopped saying ‘Your name’s not down, your not coming in’ from the legendary Kicks Like A Mule (highly recommended album by the way…these are the things that stay with you); and secondly, I looked at Kavari on Instagram and noted that this mysterious DJ project was from Glasgow, Scotland, and was followed by podcast favourites Mrs Frighthouse, so there’s legit… And finally, I love Mick Kenney, I love Kordhell and ‘Plague Music’ is right on the same money (albeit pounds not dollars).
This ‘Plague Music EP’ is four twisted, horrifying tracks that aptly blend sub-bass sound designs with unsettling bleeps and cries, vocal interjections and an unholy syringe-full of abhorrent nastiness. This is, I would assume, the extremities of DJ performance, and one that polarizes even the most faithful of EDM crews.
Opener ‘Pulse’ is as vile as it alluring, and as indulgent as it is minimal. It clears up any questions as to whether KAVARI is, in any way, channelling their inner subtlety, or whether they, quite frankly, give any iota of a shit about the potency of this release. They don’t. ‘Iron Veins’ and ‘Serpent Chamber’ (in particular) do nothing to change this view. This is utterly unsettling and abrasive.
By the time the last track ‘Scythe’ closes, which is incidentally a track that permits a vicious and blazing sub bass inferno to envelop and, in a way, uncomfortably hug real life; you become acutely aware that this has been an unbelievably cathartic experience for both listener and, more importantly, for the artist. I absolutely adore the near-Satanic creativity at play here and found an incredible amount to utterly descend, and absorb myself, into…
It’s a long way from the XL Recordings CD release of 1990 but that is a point that only really applies to me. I dip in and out of EDM but, when recordings like this leap out, I am all over it (with my extreme metal ears purposefully sewn on…). This is an EP of vastly harrowing, deeply moving and downright demanding proportions. It’s also fucking brilliant.
Review By Jaff.
Best Paired with: an iron hook, a crap weather forecast and a copy of ‘Charly’ on Minidisc.
Kavari – Plague Music EP is out now on XL Recordings.
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