London-based producer Kiskadee channels bittersweet emotions and gives them new life in a fresh electronica offering, Believe In Love.
In 2020, life as we knew it stopped. The COVID-19 pandemic forced a great many of us into solitude and gave us all time to think and reflect. Many of us sought solace and comfort in our online communities, opened ourselves up to new paths of thought, and even discovered passion and purpose through new hobbies. Someone who took this time to look into their heart was London’s Jack Chown, who started taking voice notes from friends and family in his bedroom and turning it into dreamy electronica, and from that, Kiskadee was born.
From those flipped voice notes in his bedroom came collaborations with the likes of Tycho Jones and Benjamin Francis Leftwich, as well as engineering duties for British stars M.I.A. and Jessie Ware, all in the span of the last three years. In these productive three years, Chown has also released several of his own individual slices of electronic brilliance, such as “Higher Calling” and “Alter,” as well as the highly praised “Cali Roll” alongside singer-songwriter Monti Loren.
This year seems poised to be Chown’s most innovative yet, as Believe In Love is the producer’s first offering in 2023, but also a sign of what’s to come from him. The four-track EP is the predecessor to the blend of the dreamy electronica he’s made his mark with and the more club-oriented electronica he’s fallen in love with over the last several years.
With these new releases, I’m really trying to blend those ambient and cinematic influences with more club-focused electronica which is a world I’ve fallen in love with in recent years. As we’ve been allowed to gather and dance again, it’s been beautiful to see these songs received by audiences in a live setting and I’m really looking forward to more of that in the year ahead!
Kiskadee
Take a listen to Believe In Love on Spotify or your preferred platform, and keep reading for our thoughts on the EP!
Stream Kiskadee – Believe In Love on Spotify:
Kiskadee blurs the lines between laidback and electrifying on Believe In Love.
“Hypna,” the lead single from this EP, is a testament to this evolution. Kiskadee starts this one off emotive and reflective, using blissful arps, breaks, and clever sampling to build into a vast soundscape, breathing itself into a beautiful club cut that both oozes tranquility and the hypnotic energy that was missing from our lives as clubs closed.
While “Hypna” is the most dancefloor-accessible track of the EP, the other three tracks are brilliant slices of electronica in their own right.
“Intro” and “Interlude” capture the essence of the Kiskadee project up until this point as downtempo pieces with exceptional composition that speak volumes of Chown’s ability to write “sun-kissed” electronica. The title track, “Believe In Love,” is a beautiful slice of breakbeat, something the British Isles have distinguished themselves with over the last several years, and Kiskadee further distinguishes himself with emotive soundscapes and vocal chops that make it an earworm to remember.
With Believe In Love, Kiskadee embraces both the breathtaking electronica that saw fellow Brit Bonobo’s Fragments nominated for this year’s GRAMMY Awards and the club-tilted breakbeats that the electronic scene has been head over heels with the last few years since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the first foray into Chown’s more dancefloor-minded shift, he demonstrates that the lines between bliss and bangers blur now more than ever. In his own words:
Kiskadee – Believe In Love – Tracklist:
- Intro
- Believe In Love
- Interlude
- Hypna
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