a few weeks ago for some reason i started relistening to a lot of my lex records collection from the time when the label teamed up with the anticon colletive, this meant i dug out all my subtle, prince po, dangerdoom, dj signify, and yes, kid acne albums.
so, when i found out that kid acne was about to release a new album, the timing could not have been more perfect.
hauntology codes is the second full length album that kid acne has made with beats and sounds provided by chicago based producer, spectacular diagnostics, with the first being ‘null & void’ from a couple of years back.
personally, i think they make a brilliant double act.
since their last album, spectacular diagnostics has been very busy.
he released an amazing psychedelic instrumental hip hop album (yeah, let’s use the phrase ‘trip hop’), ancient methods that became one of my most listened to albums of 2021, and then earlier this year, he put together a full on boom bap, samples heavy hip hop album, raw lessons (both released via the rucksack records label), featuring all manner of guests, including kid acne of course who features on a track alongside sonnyjim from wasted white girl, who also just happens to appear on the final track on this album, ‘east coast stomp‘.
for each of these releases, spectacular diagnostics has brought in specific sounds, samples, and beats that hit the necessary requirements.
for this album, he has crafted beats+samples that both make the head nod in a classic boom bap style, but with an extra layer of spooked out weirdness, no doubt to match the albums title.
so, while kid acne is telling his tales of his trials and tribulations, bbc, chips and the battered bits, in his trademarked south yorkshire accent, the music matches the needs perfectly.
whether that’s using a sample from vic & bobs ‘big night out’ that actually sounds like it has been sourced from a devil worshipping scene in a 70s hammer horror film, ‘eranu uvavu‘, or, the theremin excess of ‘quicksand‘, things are always going on in the detail – lifted film vocals, and extras from soundtracks are used several times adding to the overall atmospheric grooves.
end result : one of my favourite albums of the year.
more detail : kid acne – – spectacular diagnostics