It’s been a busy few years for Kyodai, the Spanish sibling duo that first burst onto the scene via 2011’s Mi Rhumba EP on Freerange. It was a release that established the pair as players to watch—but in reality, it’s been a long trip to get where the pair are today: They spent the ’00s crafting Latin-tinged, jazz-drenched, and occasionally disco- and funk-flecked tunes under the Wagon Cookin’ moniker, with albums popping up on labels like Compost, Om and their own Appetizers. But by the time of the Mi Rhumba, the brothers had settled on deep house as their genre of choice, with the Latin influence manifesting itself more subtly; it was party music, alright, but party music with a exquisitely restrained edge.
Since then, via a steady output of EPs on Poker Flat, the aforementioned Freerange and, especially, Local Talk, the duo has largely continued in that mode—though the percussion-led Latinisms have largely receded, that feeling of restraint has usually held steady, with the occasional burst of sonic energy providing that feeling of beautiful release that deep-house aficionados know and love. But with the title track of Kyodai’s latest, out on Andre Crom’s OFF Recordings (the label’s 111th release), the brothers let loose: “Marea” is a tidal wave of a tune, with a driving rhythm, growling minor-key synths runs, and cavernous effects all working to give the cut a relentless, dark, near-epic feel. It’s perhaps the biggest-sounding number we’ve heard yet from Kyodai.
It’s not only a big number, it’s a hot one too—albeit of a sort we don’t usually hear from the producers. As if to reassure their devotees that they haven’t abandoned their deep-house ways, flip-side number “Palma” sees Kyodai reverting to build-release form. It’s still more propulsive than what we’ve come to expect from Kyodai, but while “Marea” grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let got, “Palma” slowly amps the tension, gradually building to a glorious shimmer, then pulling back before hitting its crescendo—twice, for good measure. It’s a gem of a track, one that should satisfy their fans while attracting a few new ones as well.
