French producer B.K Mik is a newcomer on the electronic music scene, and while he may be a tad green, his debut EP, Bekastasie, proves he is a talented producer with quite a lot to offer.
What is most impressive about Bekastasie is the way it pulls threads from a number of genres. In ‘Tes Reins’ the drums and percussions are reminiscent of old school hip-hop, while in ‘Reflection’ the detached, staccato of drums are accompanied by futurist textured synths.
Boom-bap drums and the many workings of a drum machine anchor the EP into a deep groove, but the looped vocals and 80’s style synths makes tracks like ‘Pleasure’ and ‘First L’ float into a hazy, sensual groove.
After ‘Ôliphe’ the tracks begin to merge and offer little of what the first few tracks did. ‘Reflections’ is ambient and spatial, but it almost seems out of place. ‘Doux Soins’ is underwhelming — layer on layer of loops, with no sufficient build to make the song memorable, however, it does feature a piano jazz-melody towards the end of the track; another example of B.K Mik pivoting around genres.
‘Pleasure’ is the most memorable track, the candescent vocals combined with the steady drums is an ear worm.
‘First L’ is by far the most interesting and a personal favourite; it’s reminiscent of a classic deep acid house track but with the BPM on 35 rather than 45. It’s a shimmery track, paced electronica with a meaningful groove, but just when it seems to have reached its full potential, B.K Mik unsettles the rhythm with a fantastic piano-house melody.
Bekastasie EP has a pronounced groove, and it is easy listening for electronic music, even when the rhythms hit their hardest they don’t overbear. It is a guaranteed mover.
Rating: ★★★☆
You can cop a free download of Bekastasie EP via B.K Milk‘s Bandcamp.
https://www.facebook.com/b.kmikmusic | https://soundcloud.com/b-k-microphone
