Krokakai and Liðvarð with a split EP of acid and breaks for Gated.
The first split EP on Gated takes in some tough acid house from Glasgow-based brutalizer Krokakai and some old-school breaks from the ever-eclectic Liðvarð.
First up, Krokakai’s experience as a DJ and party-starter comes to the fore, with two deeply trippy acid chuggers. The Artificial Horizon label boss takes no prisoners, pushing rubbery acid lines and spaced-out atmospherics in the aptly named Doubleplus Acid, before taking it a step deeper with Lost Acid.
Denmark-based Liðvarð, meanwhile, goes for the early 90s hardcore jugular on another literally-named track, Quadcore Hardcore, all piano stabs, vocal samples, Amen breaks, and hands-in-the-air breakdowns. Rave Research is even more genre-fluid, somehow combining dub, downtempo, old-school hardcore and IDM into a rolling beaty pleasure. Kosmosis ends the EP with a little snifter of tense ambient, a perfect comedown after all those highs.
This marks Liðvarð’s third outing on wax, following a sought-after release on Occult Research in 2014 and an album on Mystic & Quantum last year.