Taking its initial form in the heady world of the experimentalist Jazz fusion trio NTS, Kent Horne’s episode of the Æmix dives into the expressive maelstrom of unorthodoxy. The functional beat; the synchronous blend; and the DJ narrative is replaced by something more intuitive and defiant. Music that feels like it was born in the gut and expressed in a most brash and braggadocio terms finds context and a common ground through Kent Horne’s personality, represented by this mix.
It’s a quirky and eccentric affair throughout and even when Horne succumbs to a locked groove, it’s always with a hint of extravagance. A bass sequence playing off beat; a syncopated hi-hat that has lost its way; or a set of keys communicating in speculative forms enraptured by the moment, play in the hedonistic spaces of psychedelia, abstract expressionism and improvisation in a way that’s less intellectual than it is engaging. With each new track comes a new curiosity, something to pique your interest, something unusual, like the strange, extended edit of Kebekelektrik’s “War Dance” that meanders on for ages.
All weird and wonderful moments, these tracks stand securely on their own, but in the context of the mix they come together to establish something concrete and intriguing through the DJ behind them.