Issue #63 - Courtney BarnettDJ Koze
Knock Knock
Pampa
Apr 30, 2018 Issue #63 - Courtney Barnett
Maybe the best way to get an introduction to DJ Koze, the moniker of German electronic artist Stefan Kozalla, is to listen to his 2015 DJ-Kicks mix. In it, you’ll hear the disparate mix of disco, house, techno, R&B, hip-hop, tropicalia, and what seems like a million other sounds, that make up the influences he pulls from on his own full-length work. His latest, Knock Knock, is another tour of DJ Koze’s world of sounds, and a worthy entry into a terrific catalogue.
DJ Koze isn’t flashy or overtly sample-happy like The Avalanches or DJ Shadow-while shades of those artists’ work are on Knock Knock, the influences Kozalla uses gurgle in the background. Opener “Club der Ewigkeiten” is practically a hip-hop beat before veering off into DJ Koze’s world: a flute is laced overtop strings and a bracing vocal. “Bonfire” marries Justin Vernon’s haunting vocals into a warped four-to-the-floor beat, and standout Sophia Kennedy guests on two tracks that manage to incorporate cabaret, trip-hop, jazz, and Anohni-style electro-chamber pop. And yet, these songs all belong on the same album. The album has its lows (a few songs drift too close to dorm-room-hookah music), but the highs vastly outnumber them. DJ Koze has created another fascinating album out of a world of sounds. (www.facebook.com/djkoze/)
Author rating: 6.5/10
Average reader rating: 9/10
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May 4th 2018
8:02am
“DJ Koze has created another fascinating album out of a world of sounds.”
Author rating: 6.5/10
LOL