It’s hard to believe another year has already come and gone, but here we are in 2016. As if on cue, spacegeishA and the Street Ritual team are helping to usher in the new year with the second volume of their international compilation series, Global Glitch. Last year’s edition was a particularly saucy release and Volume II certainly follows suit; there’s a heavy focus on experimentation and psychedelia, with plenty of squelchy, out of this world sound design. CloZee, Sixis, Secret Recipe, and several more up & comers can be found throughout the course of the album, representing France, Canada, Italy, Israel, the UK, and the US. And, as the proverbial cherry on top, this is the label’s 100th release!
Street Ritual‘s Global Glitch Vol. II is available today and can be purchased for a small fee on Addictech. The full album stream can be found after the jump; before we send you off on this sonic journey, though, we’d like to share the track that stood out most to us: K.L.O.‘s ‘Hoppa Melodic’. The percussion is crisp, the bass line is funky, and the arrangement is on point. There is a sweet stylistic switch-up halfway through that really seals the deal, dropping the tune into an almost trip-hop vibe. We were impressed to say the least; which made it even more exciting to learn that K.L.O. is the alias of a group of talented producers. One of which, is Mike Wallis: half of Crunch, a collaborative project with the legendary Tipper. We wanted to pick his brain a bit and were lucky enough to sit down for a short interview; read on to learn more about this underground champ!
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Tell me a bit about your musical background; what’s the ‘origin story’ of KLO?
Me and a guy called Ben have been playing together under the name Krymes for a few years now and met Oska around the time he released the Unearthed EP on Colony a little while back. We started writing a few tracks together last April and finished off the album around October. It’s been a lot of fun. The K.L.O stands for Kursa x Lone Drum x Osmetic.
How would you describe your sound? Do any artists inspire or influence you in a particular way?
I like lots of different stuff; there’s some really good music out there and being released. Everything is an influence to some degree. As far as my sound I think it’s electronica in one form or another depending on the project. I’ve been lucky to have worked with the people that I have over the years and each have inspired me in their own way, without a doubt.
How did you come to meet and, eventually, collaborate with Tipper? What has working with him over the years been like?
We met at school when we were four. As far as the music, we went to different colleges at 16 and a few years later we met up and played each other some tracks we’d done and it started there. We started meeting up on Fridays and writing tracks together. We’ve just been working on our set. Some in his studio and some in mine; I like to be in a room with someone when I’m working with them and I like working with friends. So, it’s a pleasure as much as it’s work, but the work still needs to get done.
What’s your take on the state of modern electronic music? Where do you think the scene is headed?
I think there are scenes within scenes, with the music as the backdrop. It’s happening on a local level. It’s great to see the visual aspects come in to play and the community around it all too. People are having fun. From smaller events through to the festivals, scenes collide and the sparks of what’s next come out of that.
What does 2016 hold for you? Any super secret plans for a Crunch reunion coming to light, possibly?
The K.L.O album is coming out in February. I’m playing Tipper & Friends in April with Dave as Crunch in answer to your question on a reunion of sorts. I’m particularly looking forward to Noisily Festival in July too this year. You can keep an eye on where I’m playing and what’s coming up on my website as well.
