Reviews
November: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Month's listening sorted
M A N I K 'Undergroundknowledge' (Ovum)
M A N I K is a proud New Yorker, and this new album pays testament to that. It’s his second on Ovum, and finds the producer telling a musical tale that goes through many shades of house, with hip hop and jazz influences also colouring the grooves. The years since his debut have served him well, as the music here is thoroughly out-of-the-box and lovably loose: smart variation in the drum programming (which always provides the essence of each track) bolsters raw, to-the-point cuts such as ‘Devil’s Dance’, as well as the smoother, balmier sounds heard on ‘That Hustle.’ Freewheeling Rhodes chords help smudge the edges of many pieces, and an endearingly brash New York attitude also characterises the LP’s party-starting jams. Kristan J Caryl
8/10
