Alexkid – Wake Up (Rawax, RAWAX005LP)

Our Tuesday selection: Alexkid – Wake Up (Rawax, RAWAX005LP)

Somehow this release was hiding in our mailbox … happy to find the gem!

Berlin-based Frenchman Alexkid lands on Rawax with ‘Wake Up’, a fantastic new album that explores acid from many different angles.

As an early protagonist in the 90s Parisian electronic music culture, Alexkid has been paving his own path for over two decades. Obsessed with drum-machines since his teens, he is a skilled producer and sound engineer who imbues his productions with real soul and warmth, even releasing his own lauded Ableton Live Plugins. He is a Rex club resident, released albums on Laurent Garnier’s legendary F Communications and has also appeared on labels like FUSE London, Rekids, Ovum, Freerange, and Underground Quality. With this new album he proves once again why he is so well respected by presenting eight acid laced beauties on the infamous Rawax, following appearances from iO (Mulen), Shonky, Enzo Siragusa, Julian Perez, and Diego Krause.

‘Kick It’ is a bristling, in your face and pricking acid banger with restless 303 lines spraying about above punchy kicks, the mood switches up for the headier and dubbed out, but still acid laced, ‘Le Manteau d’Argent’, and ‘Tribute’ then takes you down a deeper, more shadowy and sparse late night path with a warm, bubbly acid bassline leading the way.

Sublime atmospherics characterise the spacious, deeply cosmic ‘Revolutions’ which has contorted drums and bass making you move, followed by the physical force of acid head wrecker ‘No Hiss’. The excellent ‘Idle’ strips things back to a propulsive drum groove and a molten sub pattern, ‘Yussuf Is In Control’ is led by the sort of prying, freaky lead synth that is perfect for the afters, ‘Your Love Is Fading’ is a masterful track of suspensory synths and soulful vocal sounds all fused to a brightly airy house groove making this another fantastically accomplished album from one of the best in the game.

Tracklist: Alexkid – Wake Up (Rawax, RAWAX005LP)

01. Kick It
02. Le Manteau d’Argent
03. Tribute
04. Revolutions
05. No Hiss
06. Idle
07. Yussuf Is In Control
08. Your Love Is Fading

Buy release: Vinyl
Listen on: Spotify