EP Review: ARPRAXIS – VEK

VEK, the new EP from London-based vinyl DJ and musician ARPRAXIS, is based on the theme of freedom, and its three tracks take full advantage of that.

For ARPRAXIS, who has been making music since the 90s, that meant taking the risk to go against the demands of the algorithm and how it moulds what we hear and see. Once you hear ROCKERS, you’ll be glad they did. Filled to the brim with summer funk and a guitar melody that applies Latin and 60s grooves to an indie sound, the track contains enough ideas – and energy – for an album.

The groove is so strong that you might not immediately notice how dynamic and shifting the track’s textures and sounds are. An instrumental number, you’ll quickly find yourself up on your feet, getting down to the beat.

The title track, VEK – Very Exciting Kinetics – is equally inventive, though the arrangement leavens that summery funk sound with nods to acid jazz and some wonderfully retrofuturist textures. But from left field, you are taken too by a very club-focused approach to city pop – a soundtrack for glamorous cars and even more glamorous nights.

The final track on the EP, ESP, also invents its own world – house music that draws from funk and techno, with that Latin sound again making its presence known on the guitar. In keeping with the previous two tracks, it’s full to the brim with ideas, tonal shifts, and hooks, certain to entice you with its sophisticated club energy.

It takes guts to go against the grain, as ARPRAXIS does here, and create what could be classed as club music that doesn’t confine itself to one genre. It’s more that music for dancing to, however: this EP is the work of someone who knows and appreciates the history of music and is able to fashion that knowledge into something exciting and energising.

VEK was released on the 1st of May, and its tracks are available to download on Bandcamp and Amazon Music, as well as streaming on Spotify. Keep in the loop with ARPRAXIS by following them on Bandcamp or Instagram.