It’s official: LoKo is back in the building!
Having launched into the D&B big league with a killer debut on Program late last year, the young Bristolian has been very quiet.
The reason? The studious dude wanted to complete his degree. But now he has, and he’s firing on some serious next level turbo flex.
“Now my degree’s out of the way I’ve not stopped!” he tells us. “It’s such a good feeling, not having to make things for my degree and just focus on making some sick drum & bass!”
Enthusiasm abounds in LoKo town. So much so, he even considered dropped his degree last December when his Program debut came out…
“It’s such a buzz once you’ve achieved your first release,” he explains. “You just want to release more and more and make bigger and better tunes! I was actually thinking about giving up my degree. But I know it’s good to have something to fall back on. I spoke to the guys at Ram and they encouraged me to complete my degree, which I’m grateful for. And that time has flown by – it’s time to go again!”
And he’s returning to the floor with his debut EP. Released on Screwloose, Twisted Mechanics features four cuts of utter sub-soaked fire and showcases his skills in a much wider format than we’ve experienced before. There’s the club-focused slayer Smash It, but from there on in we’re treated to some very interesting audio adventures…
“This is the first full EP I’ve done so I wanted to do something a bit different to what I’d done on Program and show a different side to me,” he explains. “Smash It is the most upfront tune but the others are more like ‘right, lets get into the studio and see what comes out of it’. Why do I have to do ‘kick/snare/kick/snare’? Let’s see what happens when I put the kick over here and a snare over there… Let’s experiment!”
Living up to its uncompromising title, Twisted Mechanics includes experiments include a very trippy, stripped back co-lab with Nitri…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWCLmvayFt4
You can grab the whole EP here. We thought we’d celebrate the release with LoKo’s Positive Vibes selection. He’s in such a good mood it’s hard to imagine him needing any ‘pick me up’ tunes. But on those rare days when LoKo genuine is loco, these are the tunes he references to stabilise his grumpy groove…
M.I.S.T Featuring Jenna G – Lover
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCSSpTzcRJE
“This reminds me of a holiday about five years ago. There was this massive natural spring with waterfalls and lagoons and 40 degree water. It was beautiful. There were five us drinking tequila in these lagoons and that tune was our holiday anthem. Bliss! Every time I hear it I instantly go back to that place. Amazing. Memories are big thing for these positive vibes tunes.”
Daft Punk – Face To Face
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v74Be3G4rHI
“The cut up vocals on this never cease to blow me away. The vibe, too. I love it. It could be pissing it down with rain outside, it could be the shittest day ever but this tune will flip that in an instant. I was just listening to it now. Serious positive vibes! The new album is sick. I pre-ordered it on vinyl the second I could. Bang: done!”
Tujamo & Plastic Funk – Who
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmvjofqe2aI
“There’s something about the drop on this. It makes me laugh! There are very few tunes outside of D&B that make me seriously want to dance every time I hear them. And this is one of them. I press play and every time I get up and want to have a rave. I lose my shit to this! What a piece of music! If I’m losing inspiration in the studio for a second I’ll put this on for five and get back on it!”
Twisted Mechanics is out now. Listen & Download.
