New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 'Blame' is a poignant, downtempo track that feels like a dirge in some distant land where empathetic robots parade to mourn their dead. It's a haunting tune with ghostly, dissonant strings. Its mysteriously soulful pleading fades-away at the end to reveal some eternal wonder.
Exhilarating. Ebullient. Seismic. The music of NKRIOT is powerfully dynamic in ways both unexpected and satisfying. Virtual
Climax Recording (V.C.R.) (NKRIOT Productions) is out now.
Nothing about Kristopher Escajeda is ordinary. As a multi-media artist, he is constantly absorbing, processing, evaluating and formulating new methods for conveying his unique audiovisual message. Walking through the multi-sensory playgrounds of Electric
Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las
Vegas this month, NKRIOT found himself pulled onstage onto one of EDC's whimsical Art Cars and handed a live microphone. NKRIOT wholeheartedly embraces music - and the electronic dance music festival and club culture, specifically - as an integral part of life and youth culture. The new E.P., Virtual
Climax Recording (V.C.R.), embodies NKRIOT's lust for life in an exquisitely packaged sojourn that feels like riding a bullet train while high on acid.
"Chromium 5" is a disco-infused, glitchy celebration of technology and the glorious human condition. "Alt Ion 33" is a high-energy, thumping, electro track with an icy-cold 4/4 beat and digitally-enhanced, energetic vibrations that incite the urge to move. "
Justify" was named for the winner of this year's Kentucky Derby, a horse that also won the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of horse-racing's triple-crown. "Morning Eclipse" is perhaps the track most akin to NKRIOT's previous single, "Reality Pages," from the album, Riot. Cyber-punk synthesizers work through chord progressions as distorted horns lead the track forward through filthy production and out onto a darkened dancefloor. "Shogun 8.0" is a future-trap tune that spotlights NKRIOT's processed vocals for a disembodied effect. As the first single off the album, "Shogun 8.0" sounds at once retro and futuristic, with synthesizers in the punk-electronic vein. "
Blame" is a poignant, downtempo track that feels like a dirge in some distant, exotic land, a world where empathetic robots parade to mourn their dead.
Heart wrenchingly beautiful, "
Blame" is a haunting tune with ghostly, dissonant strings. Its mysteriously soulful pleading fades-away at the end to reveal some eternal wonder.
1. NKRIOT, "Chromium 5"
2. NKRIOT, "Alt Ion 33"
3. NKRIOT, "
Justify"
4. NKRIOT, "Morning Eclipse"
5. NKRIOT, "Shogun 8.0"
6. NKRIOT, "
Blame"
NKRIOT is an electronic music pioneer and inventor and a founder of the music genre known as "goji." Hailing from Boyle Heights, California, NKRIOT champions a unique, kinetic sound based around an ever-evolving custom rig of hardware known as the RIOTLAB. When performing live, the artist known as NKRIOT (real name, Kristopher Escajeda) wears his signature hand-made mask. This mask is not merely a prop; it's a working electronic instrument that allows the artist to interface with the original music he's performing live, for example by allowing him to process his own vocals in real-time while singing.
Little of the music performed during live NKRIOT's shows is pre-recorded. NKRIOT performs his compositions with instruments, using electronic effects controllers, an electric guitar, drum pads, synthesizers and other elements to create a wholly unique experience. NKRIOT's first full-length studio album, Riot, spawned the single, "Reality Pages," an idiosyncratic track that caught the attention of corporate brands like LinkedIn and Jarritos and caused them to sign Escajeda as a brand ambassador, tapping into his authenticity as an artist. The follow-up album, Virtual
Climax Recordings (V.C.R.) was released in May of 2018 with the first single being "Shogun 8.0."
