San Francisco’s ambitious imprint Untitled & After welcomes the return of vocalist Kevin Knapp and in-house production outfit Never Knows for a provocative collaborative single titled “Black Enough.” The track has been brewing for a while, with Never Knows’ dramatic music accompanying a personal and political message from Knapp, giving it a somewhat complicated history. Some have been enthusiastic and supportive of “Black Enough” while others are hesitant at approaching controversy from the dance floor. Regardless, Knapp has been performing “Black Enough” live in sets with the likes of Inxec, Matt Tolfrey, Kate Simko and Audiojack only to find people swarming him afterwards wanting to know about “that ‘Black Enough’ track.”
Never Knows and Kevin Knapp provide two versions, with both featuring almost theatrical synth chords over the sparse four-on-the-floor rhythm, accentuating while leaving ample room for Knapp’s spoken vocal to cut through. The Young, Gifted, and Black Version minimizes the arrangement just a tad, with a driving bass throb and snappy rhythm sound helping Knapp’s message hit its target. On the remix comes the London-based Inxec (Rekids, Crosstown Rebels) who admirably twists things into a pulsating and funky deep techno interpretation. Knapp’s vocals are effected to an almost otherworldly flavor, somehow giving weight to the words rather than obscuring the message. This is an impossible-to-ignore slice of slinky business, primed and ready for dark, late night dance floor excursions.
Kevin Knapp has been making waves by contributing vocals to tracks from Matt Tolfrey, Kate Simko, Audiojack, Inxec, Burnski, and more. His track “Hindsight,” a collaboration with Safeword’s Marc Smith for Untitled & After, is a particular highlight of this steadily rising artist’s oeuvre. Never Knows is the latest project from Untitled & After’s Marc Kate, focusing on deep, dark-tinged techno with a variety of influences outside of dance music. Never Knows has already turned heads with tunes contributed to Trip Show, Modyfier, as well as the distinctive “Fear Of The Unknown”/”Poe” debut for Untitled & After. There’s much more to come from these two acts as they continue to experiment within San Francisco’s flourishisng electronic music community.
John Selway - “The Inxec remix sounds really cool.”
Dubfire - “Deep stuff!”
Chris Fortier - “Inxec twists it out!”
Chloe (Kill The DJ) - “Good release … will play!”
Oliver Klein (Mutekki / Kling Klong) - “The original for me!”
Tuomas Salmela (Phonogenic) - “The Inxec Version works for me.”
Orde Meikle (Slam) - “Nice original and remix.”
Motorcitysoul - “That Inxec version is super cool!”
Justin Harris (Freaks) - “Love this … lots!”
The Glimmers - “Deep and dark … nice one.”
Erik Rug - “The original is a cool track … works for me.”
Johnwaynes - “Good stuff. The Inxec version my favorite.”
Adam Collins (Omni A.M.) - “Sounds Cabaret Voltaire and Kraftwerk enough … and I like that.”
Severino (Horse Meat Disco) - “Deep and raw.”
Andrew Grant (Circoloco) - “Original and Inxec for me.”
Tony D’Onghia (Radio Koper-Capodistria) - “All the 3 versions made me think of the darkest shades of Detroit techno which is always a good thing.”
TJ Norris (Resident Advisor) - “These are dark times and this is the soundtrack.”
Available now from Juno Download and Beatport.