Inigo Kennedy’s latest release on Token Records, “The Calling” EP perfectly blends his favorite genres: Techno and Ambient.
“Husband, dad, electronic music maker, DJ, coder, casual Olympic weightlifter and occasional sewing machine tinkerer” That is how Inigo Kennedy describes himself in his Instagram bio—quite the multitasker. I think it’s random and intriguing enough to put it in the introduction.
Of course, the focus here is on his rich musical career. Born in 1972, Kennedy grew up in London during the golden years of New Wave and Synth-Pop. Since the 90s, he’s released countless albums, LPs and EPs, and has performed all over the world.
The music produced by Inigo Kennedy oscillates between Techno and Ambient. (The more ambient feel is particularly evident in his 2018 album Strata.) These are two genres he masters perfectly and combines with great finesse. He often mixes in other influences, like Acid, Acid House, Industrial, to create a rich, multi-faceted Electro sound, ideal for a club night. But his music is also for listening at home, whether on the sofa or in bed, and letting yourself be transported by his beautiful melodies.
Inigo Kennedy’s latest release, signed on Token Records, adds to his multiple releases, collabs, and remixes since the birth of the Belgian label back in 2007. He is also known as Reducer, Tomito Satori, Helki Törsnum, and opened his own label, Asymmetric, based in his home city, in 1999.
The melody on the first track, “Magnitude Seven”, sets the tone: a soft, light theme with scattered, detached notes that begin the track in dissonance, like the kind of dark ritornellos you’d find in a psychological horror film. It’s carried by a mix of percussion and raw bass before several veils of electronic smoke introduce delicious acid sounds that enter into a dialogue with the original ritornello. All these elements are finally brought together in a techno symphony that works efficiently.
In contrast, the second and title track, “The Calling”, begins with a much more raw and spasmodic rhythm that later relaxes with the same kind of synth keys that fall like light rain beads in a shower of kicks. On the whole, it is much gentler than its predecessor.
Then comes the final track, “Out Of The Woods”, which stands out from the others because it is slower and moves away from the pure Techno. Its reverb-delayed melody is consistently diluted throughout the whole track and accompanied by a more muted, syncopated rhythm reminiscent of DnB influence, making it the softest and most harmonious of the triptych.
Give it a listen, or two, or four… and (re)discover the Techno-melodious world of Inigo Kennedy. This new “The Calling” EP undoubtedly sums up the artist’s work and the intelligence with which he fuses ambient softness and party rhythms.
-Hugo Bingler
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