Electronic Emotion - Kin, by Hedflux & Alex Delfont - Album Review

The opening track, Origins, combines a blend of background static, layered with an atmospheric soundscape. The build up contains high frequency elements that capture atmosphere and mood - creating an immediate addiction and desire to stay fully planted in your listening seat. There is a depth to the recording which really shows off the soundstage… add in the authoritative underlying bassline, and you’ve got yourself electronic music with soul. Music you can’t press pause on. The opening track of any album needs to have the ability to draw the listener in, and this does it in spades. As we move into Opia, the second track and my personal favourite, you get lush analogue soundscapes with a slight injection of phrases which are psychedelic in nature (just enough and not overdone).

As we progress through the album, the solid, well defined bassline keeps your attention and your toe tapping. Manifolds, the third track, really shows this off. The quantity and ‘speed’ of the bass is spot on - tight, punchy and well defined. Often, one can overdo the bass in a recording (this seems to be quite a trend in modern electronic music - perhaps to cater for the small earphones that many use) and this is never a good thing - the rest of the music gets lost in the bass, it makes for poor listening, and the desire to move on to a different song. Never has this been an issue for Kin - it is simply spot on (and we have tried this in a range of systems, including those with subwoofer integrations).

Progressing though the album brings further smiles… Terra Nullius, the fifth track, has an understated ability to create the sense of ‘freedom’ and the feeling of ‘everything will be ok in the end’. Again, the combination of soundscapes with what I would describe as melodies in a major key that cut through provide an energetic and positive vibe. Slight hints of psychedelic sounds are present throughout… a bit like having the perfect amount of seasoning on your food, it keeps you wanting more.

The coherency between the tracks is great - they all speak the same language. The whole album has a consistent feeling about it - and creates a journey that the listener is taken on. Cloud Mountain, the seventh track, has a superbly crafted melodic riff that runs throughout and underpins the name of the track - close your eyes and you can easily be transported to a cloud above a high mountain range. Track eight, Hocahe, contains a lovely sense of energy in the mid-range, with the use of ‘bell’ type sounds and melodies… as if you are now coming down from the cloud in the previous track, soaring through the atmosphere.

The final track, Far off Fields, again full of atmospheric soundscapes and a melodic riff, creates a sense of calmness, but does not compromise on dynamics. It leaves you wanting only one thing - to replay the album over again.

Soul lifting stuff.

Album info:

Link to album: https://hedflux.bandcamp.com/album/kin
Credits: Written and produced by Steve Young and Alex Delfont, Mastered by Adam Goodlet @ Re:creation Studios