Kanénas El Mago

Singer and producer El Mago debuts on YNFND with a 4 track gatefold LP entitled `Kanénas ́. Based half in Thessaloniki and half in Berlin, he ties between two identities as greek and german. Transfusing the roots of urban Greek music `Rembetiko ́ with modern electronica, he symbolises his personal journey with the connection of his two cultural identities. On entrance we start with `Gígantes ́, a fusion of vibrant humming, synthetic pops, crackles and the poetic voice of Plastelini. From the get-go we witness a vocal story written about the relationship with your demons, and how to live beside them. Interrupted by erratic gun- shots and bass-heavy shuffles, the message provokes a somewhat conflicting reaction. Stepping into what seems like a distorted cave, `Thálassa ́ takes us into tripped beats, off-time glitches and synthesised brush strokes. Swaying between looming hums and a pull and release of echo as it comes to it’s end. As we flip the record, a dissonant sample leads us into `Filakí ́, with what can be described as ancient bass. Vocal fragments shout but whisper as they are broken up by explosions. By the time the song reaches climax, you sense the origin of El Mago’s roots. The finale entitled `Potámi ́ boasts delicate guitar strings, followed by laid-back rhythms and El Mago himself on vocals. A bygone tale comes to mind as Potamós embraces Mago’s musical past as a performer in the more traditional sense, an ode to Rembetiko once again. You may think that `Potámi ́ marks the end of his musical odyssey, but in truth it is just the start. He is not Kanénas* yet. *translated as `Nobody ́ The release is accompanied by 4 tarot-themed cards depicting each track with poems written by Lina Rococco, alongside 1 secret track on vinyl only.