Reviews
 Boomkat.com
The new 12” from Ark is a collaboration with Krikor, past releases from Ark have been firm office favourites, numbering Matthew Herbert and Safety Scissors as confirmed fans. And it's not hard to see why when you put this on. Cut up house beats, vocals stabs, inspired edits, the Herbert influence looms large: and with Prince-style vocal snippets layered over the staggered beats, random turntable drops and analog bleeps to create one singular mashup funked-up house track. The b-side offers some cut and paste house action with rampant basslines that will blow you away. A mad spannered bassline jumps and freaks all over the place, while mad zombie film samples play over the top, deeply unsettling but what a track! F***ed noises interweave with the beats perfectly, organized madness. The last mix is different again, a little straighter and more jacking, quite Chicago in its execution with funky basslines and a filtered loop over the top join with vocal drops a la Dr Rockit, something for everyone.
 De-bug.de
Zwei Monster der französichen Houseszene kommen aus dem Dunkeln, um sich gegenseitig mit den Waffen einer Frau zu schlagen, auch wenn es im Info aussieht, als würden sie sich würgen. Ark remixt "1986" von Krikor und Krikor tut ebensolches mit "Wagon" von Ark, man hat sich lieb, tänzelt umeinander herum mit kruden Splittern aus House und Funk, versetzt den Gegner in Atemlosigkeit, täuscht Breaks im Unterholz an, lässt Fallen ins Bodenlose des satten Grooves ein, und während Ark immer in den Park locken will, verführt ihn Krikor in die Disco. Vier perfekte Tracks, die die Bandbreite französischer Minimalfunk-Housemusique bis in alle Details ausloten.
Dialectrecordings.com
Neither straightforward Techno nor House, and certainly not Tech House, this is the sound of ARK and KRIKOR, fresh, original and most of all, super funky.
ARK: Inspired, eccentric and uncompromising, Ark first got noticed when he produced the classic “Escalope de Dingue” EP with Pépé Bradock under the name Trankilou. He hasn't stopped producing ever since, working with such artists as Mr Oizo, Herbert or Losoul, and releasing numerous maxis and a couple of albums on labels like Brif Rec, Karat, Playhouse, Circus and now on Dialect's Battle Project. Driven by crazy noises and a syncopated bass line funky as hell, his track WAGON has got that touch of Prince class that will make you dance. His remix of 1968 turns Krikor's mad track into a great funk number.
KRIKOR: As prolific as Ark, Krikor has developed his unique style working on his own productions for his Root Down label and by successfully remixing such artists as Demon, DJ Armand (Trip do Brasil), Ivan Smagghe (Blackstrobe), Freestyle Man (Crack And Speed) and Serge Gainsbourg. His track 1968 is rough, edgy and funky, with a cinematic dimension to it (the lyrics come from George Romero's “Night of The Living Deads”) and most of all, a great sense of humour. His remix of WAGON adds extra phatness and a great break, without loosing the funk.
Tigersushi.com
The Battle concept works pretty well on that third volume of the series initiated by Dialect. Because the two artists selected are very talented French producers and also because their styles are quite complementary with a strong common ground : minimal and funky on Ark's side, harsh and dirty on Krikor's one. "Hey Barbara, They're coming to get you!" |
|
