Coki breaks down ‘Coki Meets Trixx Part 2‘ EP

‘Coki Meets Trixx Part 2‘ EP was created as a cross-continental partnership. Trixx works from the confines of his home studio in Jamaica and was a pioneering force back in the jungle era. Coki is a Dubstep Producer, DJ and MC from London, UK. He’s also part of Digital Mystikz and together with Mala (4) and Loefah he runs the DMZ label.

Thousands of miles apart, the pair intertwine sonically to create one harmonious body of work and a shared expression of their feeling for home.

Following vocal singles ‘Fullness‘ and ‘What You Do‘ with Tallulah Blue and Donovan Kingjay which dropped leading up to the full release, ‘Superman Riddim’ kick starts the EP’s tracklist, coming in from the get-go with its upbeat rhythmic salute to Carnival’s return to London. ‘Savanna La Mar’ flows next, paying homage to Westmorland, Jamaica, the homeplace to Coki’s father and a place where he spent much of his formative teen years, often digging through CDs across market stalls, from Bashment to Reggae and honing his musical interests. ‘Lion’s Mane’ draws on well-being and energy felt in the natural spaces, reflecting in its anthemic rifts the sense of recharge and vitality. On the other hand, ‘Hardship’ delivers the emotional flipside, conjuring up the frustration and exhaustion of late-night studio sessions, full of driving repetitions and subdued lulls. ‘Hill And Gully’ is a beguiling love letter to family origins, combining sonic memories of Westmorland with the mountainous Clarendon, his mother’s hometown.

‘Coki meets Trixx Part 2‘ is a feat of musical storyboarding. Trixx’s mesmeric trumpet punctuates poignantly throughout the EP as the pair pay tribute to their deeply connective and personal memories of the Island. Make sure you grab a copy from here!

We asked Coki to give us a little breakdown of the EP with the thoughts and situations behind each track…

Savanna La Mar

The idea came about to build this E.P when I spoke to Trixx who was in Jamaica at the time in a place called Savanna La Mar. Hence this is where the name of the first track on the E.P came from. We went for a chilled out dubby vibe on this one.

Superman Riddim

Superman Riddim was built in the spirit of carnival. We decided to build something that sounded anthemic and powerful but not overpowering. 

Lion’s Mane

I was humming a trumpet line. I worked out the scale from there and played the chords and bass. Trixx then replayed the trumpet to which added life to the track.

Hardship

I decided to start the song in the key of E minor with a piano chop. I then played around with a couple melodies and sent it to Trixx, who improvised with a solo before the chorus. 

Hill and Gully

I started with the drums first. Not something I normally do. I wanted it to be more up tempo so I wrote the groove around the drums. Once I had a loop I sent it to Trixx for him to play a melody and send it back to me to finish the arrangement.

Fullness

I never expected Donovan Kingjay and Tallulah Blue to record what they did. I sent them both the track which they wrote to then I arranged the track around their vocals. 

‘Coki Meets Trixx Part 2’ is out now via Don’t Get It Twisted and can be purchsed here!