Thee Koukouvaya - Ancient Race of Techno-Voyagers

  by Katie Anderson

published: 17 / 10 / 2016

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Review

Great title! Opening with the sombre 'We Walked Out of Mexico Loaded' Thee Koukouvaya immediately cement their mysterious identity with a sense of foreboding. It is a Grails like track with an almost post-rock feel that consists of great dynamics and strange whispering noises. On first listen, you can miss these nuances. 'Suspicion Breeds Confidence' follows and broods menacingly. A throbbing industrial beat develops into electronic bubble and squeak before achieving lift off. 'The Modern Beige' is bouncy and full of dance floor energy, and a delightful melodic composition. Whereas 'The Mythology of Modern Death' appeared meditative and chilled out this new record explores a more percussive and darker territory. Germanic beats ebb and flow, sometimes pounding relentlessly while 'Nauplia', for example, is a gorgeous soaring composition that is simply beautiful and has you floating through space. 'Ancient Race' holds a wonderful ability to surprise and intrigue. Electronic music can suffer from repetitive boredom but that is not the case here. Combining an experimental edge with some classic electronica and soundscapes, Thee Koukouvaya intelligently sidestep cliché with techno beats, hypnotic percussion and ambient drones woven together resulting in an impressive showcase for their imaginations. I began the album with a sense of being trapped in Lang’s 'Metropolis' but as the final notes of 'Aged to Conformity' drifted away it was obvious that the Techno-Voyagers had transported me to “Ten Forward“ on deck 10 of the USS Enterprise! A clever and intoxicating album.

Track Listing:-

1 We Walked Out Of Mexico Loaded
2 Suspicion Breeds Confidence
3 The Modern Beige
4 Planetary Archive
5 Limbic Crisis For Sparkle And Foam
6 Nauplia
7 Pluto Heart
8 Margaritas By The Pool
9 Aged Into Conformity

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/theekoukouvay
https://twitter.com/theekoukouvaya