Review: FLEE Project Dazzles with Compilation featuring Karun, Jinku, KMRU and Slikback
Last year, the FLEE Project launched their Extra Muros residency in Kenya, written about here, in which Kenya’s very own artists, Karun, Jinku, Slikback and KMRU, participated. Last Friday, the FLEE project released a seven-track compilation that was produced and recorded at Elephant Studios in Nairobi. This collection does not just live up to the lofty ambitions set by Extra Muros’ mandate, but exceeds it, too.
Side A begins with a choppy synth, engineered by FlexFab and Jinku, with Karun’s gauzy vocals hovering above the beat, in which she repeats a single word, which is also the title track: listen. Karun and FlexFab team up again for the second track, What’s the Harm. This is the kind of electric blue song that blurry club nights run on, and here it’s tempting to contemplate a throwback to Karun’s Camp Mulla era. In this, Karun switches seamlessly between her persuasive alto asking, “what’s the harm in saying how you feel?” to bouncy rap odes to Nairobi. Jinku makes a comeback in the next track, Ambedo, where he pairs with Pier Alfeo whose cerebral sound processing that depends on predictability and chaos in equal parts shines through in this unusual blend of church bells and chunky synths that bleed out into a mellow percussive stream.
Side B delves into the unconventional. It starts off with RAW, a scratchy tangle of electronic sounds put together by Slikback and FlexFab which are reminiscent of the dubstep denizen Skrillex’s Bangarang. This is followed by Clean, a track by KMRU and Tite. This is a track that could be overwhelming for the uninitiated, but is smoothed out by what could only be KMRU’s clever ways of sophisticating sound. More, this compilation’s shining moment, in no small part due to the undeniable sonic chemistry between Karun and Pier, follows. Karun returns with stretchy, woozy, layered vocals here, where we see the distant limits of Karun’s talent; she calmly hits high notes and rap-sings in raspy confidence to channel an uncharacteristically darker, more somber disposition that Pier’s production matches elegantly, bar for bar. The song builds up to a clunky, urgent, percussive end, and leaves with a cinematic flourish. KMRU and Pier lead us out with the seven-minute Fluctus, which in its precise minimalism calls to mind a science lab – pristine, quiet. This is a track so wildly different from their previous features – what might to some appear as bashfulness to others might look like an allowance for the duo to stay coy, but still show off of their versatility not just as musicians, but as sound artists, too. As clinical as it is playful, it’s impossible to ignore what sounds like doctored birdcall as it peaks around the three-minute mark, and in closing the album, tells us all we need to know about the success of the FLEE project, and its unconventional, collaborative approaches to the making of music.
You can buy the compilation in vinyl on the FLEE website or digitally on Bandcamp.
