Nina Kraviz
Matt ‘Radio Slave’ Edwards is proud to announce the release of Nina Kraviz’s eponymously entitled debut LP on his own revered Rekids imprint on 27th February 2012.
Muscovite Kraviz has risen swiftly to the top of many peoples’ ‘favourite producer’ pile in the last two years.
It’s her simple but infectious take on deep house and techno which has seen the starlet release on connoisseur labels like Underground Quality, Cocoon, BPitch and, of course, Rekids. Tracks like ‘Pain In The Ass’ and ‘I’m Week’ became instant classics upon release; their long grooves, sensuous touch and deeply emotive atmospheres were perfect for both darkened underground clubs and closer home listening.
So too did they showcase Kraviz’s deft production prowess, prove she was capable of writing proper songs and, at the same time, showcased the skilled DJ and ex promoter of Propaganda, Moscow to have a perfect voice with which to sing the lines she so elegantly writes.
All of those traits manifest themselves in Nina Kraviz (for an artist as idiosyncratic as this, it’s only right the title is an eponymous one) across the course of the album’s 14 tracks.
Surely informed by her experiences playing quality clubs like Fabric, Space and Panorama Bar each weekend, there is plenty to explore from stripped-bare house to deepest Detroit sounds via beautifully ambient pockets and more soul infused slo-mo jams.
All coated with an authentic analogue finish, the vast spaces Kraviz marks out for herself provide perfect chambers in which her own delicate vocals can be so beautifully suspended.
Playing out like a full artistic statement rather than just a collection of tracks, the odd time signatures, innocent and waify vocals, muted acid lines and hypnotic loops layered up by Nina all work subtly at pulling you into her world.
Nothing on the album reaches out to make a grab for your attention; its much mores sensitive than that, instead working its way under your skin and staying there much longer than most house or techno records.
Though it explores a number of different styles, surfaces and moods, there’s a simple underlying beauty which holds the whole of Nina Kraviz together, from the sparse acid daydream of opener 'Walking in the Night' to the otherworldly and fatalistic ambient closer ‘Fire’ via the smooth classicist depths of tracks like 'Love or Go.’ This is an album which sounds best digested as a whole, from start to finish. That way, you find yourself fully immersed in Kraviz’s most honest and heartfelt world, just as she intended.
The album is preceded by the release of the brilliant ‘Ghetto Kraviz’ single in November. It’s a bulbous, bouncing fusion of big bass notes, icy keys and creepy vocal patches that add up to something both fresh and arresting, much like the album overall.
Track Listing:
1. Walking In The Night (with Hard Ton on 303)
2. Aus (feat. King Aus on the Mic)
3. Ghetto Kraviz
4. Taxi Talk
5. False Attraction
6. Working
7. Choices
8. Love Or Go
9. Best Friend
10.4 Ben
11. Turn On The Radio
12. Petr
13. The Needle
14. Fire