King
Cannibal is the new moniker for Zilla, the fusion architect responsible
for the ‘A Friendly Game of Chess’ and ‘One
Foot In The Fire, One Fist In The Air’ mixtapes, which gained
him recognition from luminaries such as Amon Tobin, Kid 606, Erol
Alkan as well as the heads of Warp records and Ninja Tune. After
doing a guest appearance at Coldcut’s infamous Solid Steel
show, mixing Warp Records back catalogue for their high profile
Warp Vision DVD Project and mixing Unique 3’s ‘The
Theme’, Zilla is back with a gargantuan slice of epic-breakstep
which will energise and disorientate listeners after the taxing
festive period.
The
A-Side ‘Call Me Mr Cold Blooded’ initiates with a
dark and stiflingly claustrophobic atmosphere which features edgy
horror-movie voice and sound samples and increasingly buoyant
waves of bass. Just as you think the whole thing is going to collapse
under its own weight, a brief period of hush ensues before a growing
flourish of squidgy, sub-aqua percussion appears, ultimately resulting
in a satisfying and (subtly) epic breakdown. Zilla increases the
tempo of the percussion and utilises a range of disorientating
sounds and warping basslines to create a dark and pumping big-beat
mash-up. With his unique combination of sonic elements, Zilla
really creates a frenzied soundscape that will have you shaking
your body like a madman. The track meanders progressively through
various peaks and troughs, each time releasing a satisfying and
energetic burst of squelchy breakstep badness!
On
the flip-side ‘A Hundred Eyes Closed’, Zilla slows
things down slightly with a dark and eerie foray into twisted
alien dub-step territories. A steady skittering beat underpins
shuffling and effervescent sounds which are steeped in a dark-as-fcuk
atmosphere. A beastly bassline then breaks free and moves haphazardly
across the sonic-terrain before exploding into a period of twisted
b-line experimentation. There is a real cinematic ambiance about
the track which draws the listener right in, and then sucker-punches
them with progressive and three-dimensional bass attacks.
This
is a strong release which builds on the cinematic promise of dubstep
whilst injecting the energetic stomp of drum’n’bass,
to create two big-tune status tracks that will have the listeners
salivating for more. It is the first of what will be many vinyl
outpourings by King Cannibal over the next year, with 12’s
lined up for Combat Recordings, Uncharted Audio, Bong Ra’s
Kriss Records and the American Shockout label which has already
received Radio 1 airplay from Mary Ann Hobbs. Keep a look out
for King Cannibal and other releases from the Rag and Bone label.(AM)
For
fans of: Technical Itch, Aaron Spectre, Vex-d, Distance, Boxcutter
|
