Fouk With Lazers EP

Fouk are finally back on Heist after their great ‘Kill Frenzy’ EP in 2014 and have taken Mount Liberation Unlimited along for a remix. We’ve been waiting patiently for new material, challenging the guys to take the signature ‘Fouk’ sound to the next level. Fouk’s brilliance has been obvious on recent work for their own label Outplay and Razor ‘n Tape, as well as their respective solo projects. We’ve kept a close connection, teaming up whenever possible for Heist showcases, with highlights in Amsterdam’s “Claire” and Paris’ “Concrete". Seeing their work and enthusiasm made it abundantly clear that it would only be a matter of time before they’d show us what the next step would look -or better yet- sound like. Anticipation ran high but boy, do Fouk deliver. The excellent ‘With lasers’ EP still very much portrays their own style of loose, live percussion and many layers of funk, but they’ve expanded their vision and even toughened up a bit. Their new taste for grit and an interest in the heavier side of funk is probably most evident on the opener ‘F3000′, where a thunderous arpeggio is supported by distorted drums and lush cosmic synth stabs. Title track ‘With lasers’ is more of a classic Fouk track, combining a lovely walking disco bassline and their signature drum programming with… erm… lasers. Lots of them. The B side ‘See you on the other side’ sets a different pace, carefully blending guitar licks, rhodesy chords and vocal chops into a lovely groove that feels just as carefree and improvised as it feels exciting. Swedish synth nerds “Mount Liberation Unlimited” ran with it and transformed it into a dreamy -Pepe Bradock goes balearic- track where airy echoed guitars take turns with some equally dreamy and evocative pads.