Kamixlo’s 2015 Demonico EP did justice to its name: it was a brutal and hellish sonic assault suited for demented dancing. So, logically, a follow-up EP titled Angélico must sound airy and light, right? Wrong.
Instead of once again tapping Visionist’s CODES label for this release, Kamixlo dropped Angélico on the Bala Club imprint, the transformative London club collective he founded with brother Uli K and Endgame.
As Kamixlo told THUMP when the project dropped, Angélico is a sonic representation of the death of the demon and a rebirth as an angel. But apparently, this angel has continuous flashbacks to a previous life; rhythmically and sonically, this EP sounds like an additional chapter in the same body of work. “Bloodless Y” samples a melodic reggaeton acapella and turns them into the chant of an apocalyptic dancehall march. Evian Christ also flips the song, providing both the most heavenly and devilish moments on the EP. “Xtremetonterias” references reggaeton more explicitly, transporting us to an alternate dimension of perreo on the surface of a scorched planet.
Gnarly distortion, gritty metallic sounds, and fat low-end are the key ingredients on Angélico, along with a dash of icy dembow riddims. In the club, Kamixlo is no angel.