sun 08/12/2024

Album: AK/DK - Shared Particles | reviews, news & interviews

Album: AK/DK - Shared Particles

Album: AK/DK - Shared Particles

Brighton’s synths and drums duo lay down a lo-fi dancefloor monster

Shared Particles: thrilling freak out music

AK/DK’s third album, Shared Particles is a lo-fi electro-punk monster with a psychedelic splatter that has the dancefloor clearly within its crosshairs and the muscle to deliver on its intentions.

These punchy, relentless grooves with distorted, half-heard vocals from Brighton’s synths and drums duo are more than enough to spin any minds while getting hips swinging and working up a sweat. In fact, in this festival-free summer, it is an emphatic reminder of just what we are all missing while Covid-19 stalks the globe.

As with on their previous discs, Synths+Drums+Noise+Space and Patterns/Harmonics, Ed Chivers and Graham Sowerby lay down a frantic electronic storm with a driving beat. Shared Particles, however, also brings shades of furry psychedelicists Snapped Ankles, motorik grooves, the nu-rave sounds of the first decade of this century and even high-energy punkers the Death Set. Without a doubt, this is thrilling freak out music that demands to be experienced in the middle of a lively crowd with the volume turned all the way up to 11.

From the first bars of “Feeds” the raw and unpolished rhythm comes crashing in and barely lets up until the album finally winds down with the Kraftwerk-like “Draggin’”. Beats pound through the speakers without any noticeable pause while vocals are twisted and squeezed around a groove that takes hold and won't have any truck with quiet reflection. The title track is a prime piece of bouncing electronic thrash with a mind-melting psychedelic wash, while “Hot Mist” and “Casio Beguine” throw in a churning, woozy trip and “Defragment to Survive” brings more than a sniff of punk rock energy to the party.

It’s all frantic stuff that just feeds the longing that we are all feeling for wild nights out, surrounded by crowds of like-minded people on packed dancefloors. For, make no mistake, that is the place where Shared Particles really needs to be heard.

These punchy, relentless grooves are more than enough to spin any minds while getting hips swinging

rating

Editor Rating: 
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Explore topics

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters