Traces

Meet the rising stars of the IDM / electronica UK scene - TIBASKO. Their submission came in my inbox with a message that they're inspired by BICEP and Ross From Friends. That instantly sparked my interest and I was anything but disappointed.

The duo comprised of Ken Petalcorin (AKA Nightgale) and Andy Bowden is definitely on the rise. They've seen support by names like Blessed Madonna, Annie Mac and Jon Hopkins and have been listed as Ones to Watch by BBC Introducing and Kiss.FM.

Drawing on a myriad on influences from techno, house, breaks, bass, including Bulgarian Folk Choir samples. This ethos of discovery and experimentation firmly plants TIBASKO in the driving seat of modern, progressive creators. 

Going back to the folklore elements, as a Bulgarian myself this hit close to home. I love when people incorporate our legacy and it gave me instant goosebumps. Made me want to jump on my car, go up in the mountains and blast this track as loud as I can.

I was wondering how they got inspired to do this and it turns out that Ken once traveled to Bulgaria and attended a local folk concert, where they handed everyone a bunch of hankies at the door - the hankies are meant to represent wealth and you throw them up into the air and you dance around.

The duo shares, "The beginning phase of this EP perfectly captures the feeling that this extended project will go down, showing a diverse and eclectic side of all things TIBASKO. We wanted to incorporate a wide range of production techniques across this project and you'll hear them in both Traces and Gradients. Going back to our love of digging through worldly music, we've found Bulgarian Folk music has this incredibly captivating element to it.

Traces features a beautiful sample titled "Pilentze Pee" which showcases intense and dissonant vocals. Paired with the big, dreamy synth elements we created, we feel it's drawn out a mysterious and haunting feel to the track."

What a powerful composition!

"Traces" taken from their new self-titled EP due this September. I will be keeping a close eye on these guys, that's for sure.