Ruff riddims outta Greece
Kill Emil is a producer & DJ based in Athens by way of Brazil. He first came to our attention via our favourites from France L’Entourloop. He appears on the track “The People & The Police” on the sublime “Le Savoir Faire” album, (that track also features on our “Check It Before You Brexit” mix).
It turns out Kill Emil has been producing all kinds of interesting music in all kinds of styles; Downtempo, Afro, Cumbia, Latin, Reggae & Hip Hop. His brand new LP “Green Line” leans right into the Reggae Hip Hop vibe with a stella cast of producers & MCs.
Opening track “Arise” has a Hip Hop riddim that very much put us in mind of the Dub Pistols, which is definitively a good thing. Crucially the album has it’s own flavour and plainly draws from a broad pallet of influences and styles. “If You Wanna Dance” takes in Dancehall & Bashment, whereas “Life is a Lesson” fuses and old school reggae vocals, (from Greek producers & vocalists Gobey & P-Gial), with deeper bassy electronica. “No Applause” puts in mind Scottish bass maestros Mungo’s Hi Fi , (again this is a very good thing), and album closer “You’ll Never Know” distills the spirit of liquid drum n bass, both tracks with killer vocals from long term collaborator Mamaletta.
The backbone of the album is head nodding beats fused with roots reggae, title track “Green Line” has a fantastic vocal performance from Funkdub fave Marina P and the first, appropriately themed, video features long term UK MC champion Tippa Irie on a heavy booted stomper of a tune. The vibe is strong from start to finish, and whilst the album contains all kinds of cues and reminders of other great artists, taken as a whole Kill Emil has built his own sound that we’re liking very much. Off for a root round the back catalogue now.
Get “Green Line” at Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify if that’s your jam.
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