EPM18 – Kristian Heikkila – Kombinations – EPM

Artist: Kristian Heikkila
Title: Kombinations
Label: EPM
Format: Digital
Cat #: EPM18
Release Date: 02 July 2012

Tracklist:
01. Ambiencum
02. 01
03. We Want Techno
04. Khordium
05. Filter
06. 02
07. Stakker
08. Konstruktion
09. Kult
10. Noises
11. Svaj
12. Noid

Release Info:
Following his recent two singles ‘Khordium / 02’ and ’01 / Noid’ EPM is proud to present the debut artist album from Sweden’s Kristian Heikkila.
With a history of producing some of Sweden’s finest underground Hip Hop artists, Kristian Heikkila went back to basics a few years ago. Techno and House has always been the real passion of his life . Now Kristian Heikkila returns with the essence of what they did, delivering productions influenced by Acid House, Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass and Techno.
‘Kombinations’ draws from elements across the techno spectrum. Short atmospheric passages like the opening eerie tones of ‘Ambiencum’ and the distant echo of ‘Noises’ highlight a producer eager to extend his palette away from the dancefloor whilst ‘Khordium’ and ‘02’ (one of two tracks from the album which features his Kristian & Christian production partner, Christian Lundqvist) blends house grooves with minimal tech beats, whilst exploring tribal rhythms and experimenting with striking drops and breakdowns to keep your attention throughout.

Then there are the big room techno tracks, the obvious starter being the vocal driven refrain of ‘We Want Techno’ featuring Infy on vox duties that builds into a driving dancefloor anthem. ‘Filter’ retains the same punch and drive whilst exploring a darker and more industrial channel and ‘Konstruktion’ sees the addition of syncopated pads and a looser groove.

Elsewhere Kristian digs a deeper and more minimal furrow as ‘01’ (produced alongside Christian Lundqvist) echoes the shrouded compressed rhythms of a ‘Consumed’ era Plastikman, ‘Svaj’ draws from the tight funk of nocturnal Chicago jack and ‘Kult’ rolls with the dancefloor into a storming tech-house stomp. Finally Kristian closes out with the hypnotic inflections of ’Noid’ showcasing yet another facet to this Swedish producer’s artistic flair.

Captain Randoms Review:

The album has a slow start and in my opinion really kicks off properly with the awesome weekend war cry – We Want Techno.  I’ve been spinning the first release single Khordium for a while now and really enjoy it but I think once you dig into the album there are stronger tracks Like Stakker and Konstruktion that you will be playing again and again. A really good album IMO.

www.soundcloud.com/kristianheikkila