London-based independent label Eastern Margins’ 2021 debut compilation Redline Legends was a joyous, high-energy documentation of the burgeoning electronic music being produced in the cities of east and south-east Asia. From the kitsch melodies of the Filipino budots style to the uptempo house of Indonesian funkot and the melodramatic EDM drops of Vietnamese vinahouse, Redline Legends showcased the homegrown artists pioneering this frantic, lo-fi music. The second instalment in their series, Redline Impact, now explores how the diaspora is pushing these sounds into faster, harder territory.
Across 17 tracks the compilation covers everything from K-pop to trance, hardstyle techno, budots and hardcore, all tied together by the ever-presence of thumping kick drums and spangling synth melodies. At the softer end of the spectrum, Chinese rapper Billionhappy channels the high-pitched vocal processing of Brat-style hyperpop on TNT Frame Rate, while Edinburgh-born producer LVRA programmes moody Bicep-referencing breakbeats on Bad Attitude, and Indonesian singer Reikko produces a satisfying pastiche of producer Sophie’s deconstructed club sound on Bite U Everywhere!
These are engaging, well-made productions but little feels new. Instead, this diaspora music comes into its own when it grows increasingly intense. Indonesian producer Toxicdev’s Cinta&Balapan, for instance, explodes from a hyperpop template into a double-time trance track that is so melodically bright and fast it feels like a sugar rush-induced heart attack, while Korean-Australian boyband 1300’s earth-shaking bass on Dowho plays like a mashup of K-pop and grime, and J-pop group Pas Tasta’s blend of pop melodies, screamo vocals and pounding hardcore drums is invigoratingly unpredictable. At its best, Redline Impact is a thrill-ride, grabbing the listener and refusing to let go as its bpm ascends.
Also out this month
Afrobeat heir Seun Kuti returns with a new album featuring his Egypt 80 band, Heavier Yet (Lays the Crownless Head) (Record Kicks). Slick and well-orchestrated, Kuti’s tracks are packed with trademark horn fanfares and find some new ground on the reggae fusion of the Damien Marley feature Dey. Crate-digging duo Dar Disku release their self-titled debut (Soundway Records), producing convincing versions of Ethio-jazz, Turkish psych and Bollywood disco that translates the archive-hunting of labels such as Habibi Funk into the present day. Qais Essar displays his mastery of the Afghan rabab on the beautifully minimal Echoes of the Unseen (Worlds Within Worlds), performing the luscious harmonies of Afghan classical compositions accompanied by undulating tabla.
