Now based in LA, Brooklyn native Kingdom (Night Slugs, Fool’s Gold, Fade To Mind) is back in NY this week for Dark Disco, 2/17 @ Le Bain. We’ve shared and followed the producer for years now but just incase you forgot why he’s so great, here’s a few reminders to get you prepped for his set on Friday. Don’t forget its free with RSVP… consider it a gift, from us, to you.
1. His debut single ‘Mind Reader‘ featuring Shyvonne – Released in early 2010, this is the track which really cemented Kingdom into the hearts of electronic and bass music fans. A gleefully frantic mixture of diva wails and throbbing bass, the track features R&B singer Shyvonne and draws inspiration from 90s R&B, modern rave music and UK garage, not to mention the fact that it features the B-side banger ‘You‘. Both singles also spawned an array of top-notch remixes.
2. Quite simply, ‘Fogs‘ – This track, to us, depicts everything Kingdom’s music represents. Taken from his ‘That Mystic’ EP, the song has been described as more restrained than previous releases such as ‘Mind Reader’, yet it still bares a definite Kingdom stamp, emphasized here through a multitude of percussive synth riffs combined with an almost unrecognizable sample of a well-known chart hit – in this case he samples Beyonce’s ‘Sweet Dreams’ – though the track is by no means built around the vocal. It was one of our favorite tracks of 2010 and describing it seems somewhat superfluous so we suggest you just listen, absorb and enjoy.
3. The Dreama EP – His latest release on UK label Night Slugs maintains the same fused intricacy of post-dubstep with the production sensibility of pop music that ‘That Mystic’ displayed, however, in this EP Kingdom has created a less chaotic and ‘in-your-face’ arrangement of tracks with increased levels of tension and foreboding atmospherics. Maybe the best summary of the artist’s capabilities can be found in the opening track ‘Let You No‘ which also features female R&B vocal samples that dramatically build up to form a full-fledged addictive hook. Taking inspiration from a variety of genres, the end result is both fabulous and forward, effortlessly bridging the gap between urban, electronic and bass music.
4. The Artwork -Yes, Kingdom’s album artwork isn’t designed by the man himself but instead by his Night Slugs label founder Bok Bok. Either way we love it and it seems to mesh so perfectly with the artist’s sound we thought it worth the mention. Industrial, architectural and with an emphasis on strong geometric forms and color blocking, Alex ‘Bok Bok’ Sushon describes his designs as uniquely raw and naive with ‘the music living inside the parallel universe depicted on the cover’.
5. Fade To Mind – Billed as the US sister label to Night Slugs, Fade To Mind was created last year by Kingdom and has been described as both a record label and a movement, involving a series of club nights and cooperative projects in music, visual art, video and apparel. Also involved in running the label are like-minded artists Nguzunguzu, Total Freedom and Prince William.
