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GAIKA's "PMVD" Is Another Compellingly Dark Reflection of Reality

The London-based producer/singer will issue 'Security' on Mixpak on April 21.
CJ
Gaika's 'Security' album cover

Since emerging from the depths of London's underground electronic scene, the Brixton-born producer/singer who goes by GAIKA has surrounded himself with darkness. Both in the way he presents himself—almost always masked—to the dripping refractions of dancehall, noise, and abstract composition that make up his music, he's set upon reflecting, as he put it in an interview with Dazed, "the darkness of reality." It's a moving, if unsettling notion, and one that continues today as he announces a new mixtape called SECURITY, due April 21 on Mixpak.

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Though he appears on the cover of the record sans mask, the first track he's releasing, "PMVD," signals a continuation of his twilit aesthetic. Centered around a lonely pinging sample, GAIKA and fellow Londoner Mista Silva wind cooly around a refrain that preaches literal darkness ("Turn out the lights"). It's decidedly more pop-oriented than his peers at NON Worldwide, who issued one of his early singles, but it still feels akin in spirit, a compellingly distressing vision of the chaotic world around them. And it makes sense, shortly after the release of SECURITY, he'll head out on a lengthy tour, one stop of which will be with NON at Red Bull Music Academy's NON vs. NAAFI event on May 20. Check out all of Gaika's upcoming tour dates below, alongside a stream of "PMVD."

Since emerging from the depths of London's underground electronic scene, the Brixton-born producer/singer who goes by GAIKA has surrounded himself with darkness. Both in the way he presents himself—almost always masked—to the dripping refractions of dancehall, noise, and abstract composition that make up his music, he's set upon reflecting, as he put it in an interview with Dazed, "the darkness of reality." It's a moving, if unsettling notion, and one that continues today as he announces a new mixtape called SECURITY, due April 21 on Mixpak.

Though he appears on the cover of the record sans mask, the first track he's releasing, "PMVD," signals a continuation of his twilit aesthetic. Centered around a lonely pinging sample, GAIKA and fellow Londoner Mista Silva wind cooly around a refrain that preaches literal darkness ("Turn out the lights"). It's decidedly more pop-oriented than his peers at NON Worldwide, who issued one of his early singles, but it still feels akin in spirit, a compellingly distressing vision of the chaotic world around them. And it makes sense, shortly after the release of SECURITY, he'll head out on a lengthy tour, one stop of which will be with NON at Red Bull Music Academy's NON vs. NAAFI event on May 20. Check out all of Gaika's upcoming tour dates below, alongside a stream of "PMVD."

SECURITY tracklist:

1. Security (feat. Fallacy and Gretz)
2. GKZ
3. Buta (feat. Serocee and Miss Red)
4. PMVD (feat. Mista Silva)
5. Knuckleduster (feat. Trigga)
6. Keith Richards
7. World Star (feat. Bipolar Sunshine)
8. Last Dance At The Baby Grand (feat. August+Us)
9. In Between
10. White Picket Fences (feat. 6Cib)

Gaika tour dates:

April 9 - Oaxtepec, Mexico - Ceremonia Festival
April 21 - Mixtape Launch Party - Boiler Room
April 22 - Prague, Czech Republic - Neone Club
April 23 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
April 28 - Zagreb, Croatia - Zedno Uho Festival
April 29 - Krems, Austria - Donau Festival
May 4 - Berlin, Germany - Berghain Kantine
May 7 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
May 14 - Moscow, Russia - Club Archive
May 19 - Paris, France - Secret Location
May 20 - New York, NY - Red Bull Music Academy Festival @ Tropical
May 21 - New York, NY - Location TBA
May 24 - Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen W/ Grey
June 1 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Rust @ Distortion Festival
June 10 - London, UK - Tropical Waste X Grey

SECURITY tracklist:

1. Security (feat. Fallacy and Gretz)
2. GKZ
3. Buta (feat. Serocee and Miss Red)
4. PMVD (feat. Mista Silva)
5. Knuckleduster (feat. Trigga)
6. Keith Richards
7. World Star (feat. Bipolar Sunshine)
8. Last Dance At The Baby Grand (feat. August+Us)
9. In Between
10. White Picket Fences (feat. 6Cib)

Gaika tour dates:

April 9 - Oaxtepec, Mexico - Ceremonia Festival
April 21 - Mixtape Launch Party - Boiler Room
April 22 - Prague, Czech Republic - Neone Club
April 23 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
April 28 - Zagreb, Croatia - Zedno Uho Festival
April 29 - Krems, Austria - Donau Festival
May 4 - Berlin, Germany - Berghain Kantine
May 7 - Glasgow, UK - Stereo
May 14 - Moscow, Russia - Club Archive
May 19 - Paris, France - Secret Location
May 20 - New York, NY - Red Bull Music Academy Festival @ Tropical
May 21 - New York, NY - Location TBA
May 24 - Manchester, UK - Soup Kitchen W/ Grey
June 1 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Rust @ Distortion Festival
June 10 - London, UK - Tropical Waste X Grey

Tagged:Red Bull Music AcademyGaikaListennon worldwideThump
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