Kamixlo is a young British producer of Chilean origin who has become a familiar face in the experimental electronic club scene in Brixton and London, thanks to the Endless parties he’s been throwing with Endgame, Blaze Kidd, Uli K, and Lexxi. But apart from a bunch of tracks on SoundCloud and a couple of collaborations, Kamixlo hadn’t put out a proper release until now. He just dropped his debut EP Demonico, through Berlin label PAN’s sub-imprint CODES, run by new grime heavyweight Visionist.
Demonico is a brutal and hard-hitting soundtrack to a wild night out. The EP begins with “Otra Noche,” the calm before the storm; it’s thick, dark, and just the right amount of creepy. The rhythm here displays Kamixlo’s love for Latin music in a subtle way, but it doesn’t prepare us listeners for the sonic assault we’re about to encounter. “Paleta” quickly follows, and it’s an exhilarating, drum-heavy track where he samples the Wisin y Yandel and Daddy Yankee collaboration of the same name. Machine gun drums, cold beats, bass saturation, and grime with a Latin twist characterize the rest of the EP and Kamixlo’s sound overall. It’s violent and haunting territory that toes a middle ground between the UK’s underground and Latin America’s mainstream.
That description also fits “Splxcity” like a glove. The song has a more explicit reggaeton influence in terms of rhythm, but with hints of hardcore as well. “Lariat” is his dancehall-tinted last track. Kamixlo took the name from a wrestling move, which is fitting, not only because of the repetition of “toma toma,” but because it sounds like being punched over and over again, producing an unmistakable feel-good masochism. Closing Demonico, there’s a Visionist remix of “Lariat,” and he fulfills the grime promises made throughout the EP. It’s a lot sparser and definitely not as violent, but still highly rhythmical and deliciously crafted. Kamixlo manages to stand out, with only four tracks painting a detailed picture of a sound that the Chilean-British producer can already call his own.