Listen: Ponche Kascabel – CAXIXI

Ponche Kascabel’s debut EP is a tight basket-weave of rhythm and texture. Distorted synths and dreamy guitars flow between intricate layers of percussion. Pulsing waves of bass carry static grit through electro-organic rhythmicon feedback circuits. Familiar sounds take unfamiliar shapes as they collide, drift apart, collide. The whole effect is like nothing I’ve ever heard before.

There’s something uniquely exciting about encountering a new kind of sound. There’s something uniquely exciting about CAXIXI. Kascabel describes her sound as Aruba Waltz Mermaid. In her own words, "she calls on a plethora of Black Caribbean and West African popular music genres to patchwork together lush psychedelic soundscapes. She waltzes with exploration of nomadic life, isolation, euphoria, rebirth and new ways of imagining sound." The result dances like ocean waves. CAXIXI is movement within movement within movement, a shifting collage of aural textures.

Featuring mixes from Haunt Ya Crib and BENII, this is one for your headphones. There’s so much going on in these tracks, but the mix never feels chaotic. Details blend together without getting lost in the depths. Complexity builds without overwhelming. There is a striking, seemingly impossible equilibrium to it all. I’ve had CAXIXI on repeat, and every time I listen I hear new sounds, new currents, something new to explore.