nikitch & kuna maze: back & forth
Francisco Espregueira
Almost two years after the impressive Débuts, Nikitch & Kuna Maze expand on their soulful and subtle combination of jazz-flavours and the syncopated beats of broken beat and UKG on their new album. Back & Forth just came out via Tru Thoughts and sees the duo working with collaborators for the first time, such as Brazilian singer-songwriter Joao Selva, while also experimenting with their own vocal material. Based on sketches of ideas exchanged by online from France (Nikitch) to Belgium (Kuna Maze), the album was eventually projected and conceptualized in studios sessions between Grenoble and Brussels.
Exploring the intersection between jazz and club culture, demonstrated by the sheer musical variety present on the album, spanning from house to broken beat, brit-funk, Brazilian, jazz-funk, Back & Forth is a magnanimous demonstration of Nikitch & Kuna Maze’s vision and musicality. As an example, lead-single “La Di F…Da” accentuates the duo’s flirtation with house music. Furthermore, “Engatinhar” is a jazz-funk collaboration with João Selva and “Sauce Brazil” an intense polyrhythmic palette of Brazilian percussion, one of the regular footnotes throughout the record. The record expands on the musical styles previously expressed by the duo, integrating fragments of ideas that were present on the creative process. Back & Forth is a sublime jazz-electronic album that is now available on vinyl, via Tru Thoughts.
“We have to go back and forth regularly to keep this musical journey moving, and for us to live this life making music.”