Kamixlo – DEATHWORK (PAN 144)

A peppery smorgasbord of industrial rhythms, razor-sharp stabs and provocative vocals, ‘Deathwork’ is Brixton-based Kamixlo’s strongest statement yet, sandwiching earworm-laced pop between refried layers of euphoric back-room ambience and visceral hard dance distortion. It’s been four years since Kamixlo poured his heart out on his acclaimed debut album ‘Cicatriz’, and he’s been experimenting incessantly since then, figuring out how to integrate bold, memorable hooks into his signature alloy of burnished synths and mangled samples. And if its predecessor represented catharsis after a discomfiting period of loss, ‘Deathwork’ finds Kamixlo’s emotional load lightened, freeing him to survey and tighten his formula by traversing club music’s most eccentric, genre-agnostic fringes.

The young DJ and producer cut his teeth in the early 2010s, forming the iconic Bala Club party and label before deploying a series of EPs that accurately captured the era’s voracious zeitgeist. Muddling references to nu-metal and emo classics with nervy dembow and bass deconstructions and dissociated SoundCloud rap thuds, Kamixlo characterized a new type of inclusive artist, unprejudiced by preconceptions of the underground or mainstream. ‘Deathwork’ builds on this legacy and widens his outlook substantially, urging listeners to step towards the dancefloor no matter how they might engage with music. And for the first time, Kamixlo seamlessly amalgamates his delirious bass-heavy atmospheres and kinetic beats with vocals, incorporating compelling performances from reggaetón sensation Isabella Lovestory, avant-pop outsider Puzzle, and Drain Gang’s infamous Bladee. There’s even an appearance from Berlin’s Mechatok, who shows out with a production assist on the album’s syrupy closing track ‘Insect’.

From the ecstatic opening breaths of ‘Ketamine Fields’, it’s clear that Kamixlo’s in a fresh headspace. Weightless angelic voices curve gracefully around overdriven rave-ready bass twangs, while muffled, blown-out drums echo somewhere in the distance. It’s the perfect pre-game to an endless, messy night, leaving Isabella Lovestory to lurch towards the mass of sweaty bodies on ‘Pitch Black’, rhyming sensually over Kamixlo’s provocative metallic plucks and slow-motion dembow pulse. And by ‘Combe’, the peak time energy is palpable, with carnivalesque percussion and eardrum-popping high pitched squeals that grind against the pummeling gabber kicks. Puzzle brings the album back down to earth on ‘Chaos’, casually free associating and providing a light-hearted counter to the fog of machine crunches and deranged laughter.

On ‘One More Night At The Line’, Kamixlo carves the house blueprint into a neurotic chatter of helium voices and cocky slams, and when Bladee arrives in a wisp of smoke on ‘Death Forever’, the noise has calmed a little. Here, Kamixlo flexes his most exploratory muscles, nesting Bladee’s grungy voice in an erratic tangle of muted, almost pacifying, black metal screams and nursery rhyme chimes. It’s a paradox that perfectly encapsulates the scope of ‘Deathwork’, an album that continually flips expectations, turning in on itself and questioning its own logic without ever losing its momentum.

Written and produced by Kamixlo
Mixed by Felix Lee
Mastered by Enyang Urbiks
Artwork by Daniel Swan