Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals

Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals’ inexhaustible creativity has already gifted us 2020’s Dear, Sudan - a kaleidoscopic, unpredictable joyride of late night channel-hopping - and 2021’s brutal post-George Floyd manifesto Rhino XXL, but newest album King Cobra is a new experience still. It is a masterfully executed expression of both ferocity and joy. ”Not a checklist of all the ills in the world,” says the band, “but it feels like darkness”. An expansively ambitious record, full of fire, and a thrilling new step from artists on a crucial mission.

More than a pure hip-hop producer, Infinity Knives (aka NPR composer-in-residence Tariq Ravelomanana) frequently demonstrates his oft-discussed love of contemporary classicists such as Max Richter and Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hidden deftly amongst the hard-hitting beats and Ennals’ lyrical dexterity are moments of blissful orchestration that betray an abundance of musical talent. The precise control over the cleverly formed layers of melody and harmony provides a relentlessly inventive backdrop for Brian Ennals’ righteous poetry of vitriol, rage, philosophy, humour and myth-making