Bleep

By now a true legacy artist operating within the world of Hyperdub, Ikonika turns in her first new record since 2014's Position 12". Distractions is her third album and a bold new statement that crosses territories of more standardised underground urban audio with a refreshing leftfield R&B angle that is sure to see her moving to the top of the ranks occupied by artists such as Lafawndah, Leonce or Murlo.

Distractions sees Ikonika's production taking on a more funk-heavy stance that runs parallel to the recent Night Slugs x Fade To Mind axis. This newly-favoured flavour shouldn't come as any surprise, when you take into account her recent remix work for Dawn Richard, Austra and Junior Boys. Yet from giving Distractions a good rinsing, we wouldn't be surprised if it led to hosts of MCs and singers begging for beats - ensuring her phone will be fully engaged for the foreseeable.

Filtering the charismatic funk of Bok Bok with the purple city sound of early Joker, Gemmy & Guido, Ikonika builds on these influences yet translates them through a set of ears that have picked up a lot of the surface noise from battering many a mid-90s RNB 12". This is none more evident than on the laser guided flow of '435' through to the alt-pop roller 'Hazefield' featuring Sweyn J and Jessy Lanza. No matter which way you approach it, Distractions offers a strongly unique window into the grey area between mainstream pop and more traditional Hyperdub'ed subterranean scenes.

On Distractions, Ikonika has built a future-proofed statement of how diverse her artistic talents truly are, while moving in the direction of big things that are sure to keep her core audience locked as one all together, under a groove.