Ikonika – Aerotropolis

Emerging onto London’s bass scene with 2010’s Contact, Love, Want, Have, Ikonika (aka Sara Abdel-Hamid) presented an infectious amalgamation of 80s retro-futurism, chiptune, dayglo synth washes and uptempo garage rhythms. That distinctive combination remains in evidence on Aerotropolis, although some of Contact’s rougher edges have been tidied up. There’s a crisp, poppy edge here, particularly on Ikonika’s first track to feature vocals, courtesy of Jessy Lanza: the soulful, house-inflected Beach Mode (Keep It Simple).

What makes Aerotropolis a different listening experience to Contact, however, is not any kind of radical development in sound, but a sense that the context has changed. Where Abdel-Hamid’s debut was an early indicator of the shift into an increasingly fragmented post-dubstep landscape, the follow-up consolidates her approach; bass music continues to change at a bewildering rate, but Ikonika deliberately limits her sonic parameters. In doing so, she illustrates the value of maintaining a long-term focus. [Sam Wiseman]