Karma Kid returns with FREEDOM!

The first release under his solo moniker since 2016’s breakthrough ‘Man Of The Year’

On revered tastemaker label Greco-Roman Records founded by Joe Goddard rom Hot Chip

BBC RADIO 1 – ANNIE MAC ‘HOTTEST RECORD IN THE WORLD’

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST ADDS:

NEW MUSIC FRIDAY UK (780,000)

UK HOUSE MUSIC (670,000)

NEW DANCE REVOLUTION (58,000)

SUBSOUL YOUTUBE ADD (981,000 subscribers)

LISTEN HERE: https://smarturl.it/KarmaKid-Freedom

Artist and super-producer Sam Knowles returns as Karma Kid with Freedom (Never Let You Go), an EP spanning a soulful headrush of classic vocal house, an oddball edit from A-lister Mella Dee and skittish B-side Can I Play. It’s Knowles’ first outing under his charming super hero moniker since 2016’s Man Of The Year EP and, like its predecessor, comes via Greco-Roman, the stable responsible for unearthing Tirzah, Joe Goddard, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and countless others.

Knowles has spent the last four years behind the scenes; production and writing sessions with Octavian, Aquilo and being one half of Shy Luv saw him co-craft some of the catchiest hooks of latter-day British electronic pop. Drawing upon that creative experience like a utility belt, Karma Kid’s return to the frontline represents what is, without doubt, the producer’s most immediately infectious record to date. No mean feat, given that his 2016’s Man of the Year was championed by Annie Mac, eventually landing on the BBC Radio 1 playlist.

Freedom (Never Let You Go) strips house music down to its rawest form, all soaring strings, glistening synths and thunderclap percussion, constantly refining until brilliance is reached via simplicity. It’s not a complicated track and Knowles is canny enough to know it needn’t be:

“When I made Freedom it was one of those eureka moments where a vocal sample and a bass line I had been working on for ages just clicked in perfect harmony straight away. And I feel like the sentiment behind the vocal rings so true at this moment in time! I think we all take each other for granted and it’s in moments like we’ve all found ourselves in this year that we need to come together and show love. I can’t wait to get back in the clubs with everyone”

Perhaps most striking about Freedom (Never Let You Go) is that remarkable vocal. Group cries of “Freedom!” appeal to something innate, something primal in all of us: a deep-held longing to sack it all off and let loose. It’s an electrifying, once-in-a-career hook that’s timeless for its infectiousness, and timely for its promise that we’ll all be together soon, revelling in that unique freedom that only dancefloor emancipation offers.

Talking of dance  floors, Mella Dee’s interpretation is all the more serious, the tempo raised and an emphasis placed on tension as Dee flirts charmingly with a synthier, sleazier strain of techno.

B-side Can I Play sees Knowles recycle some tricks that enamoured us with Karma Kid in the earlier 20-teens. It’s a downtempo, over-swung deep house number that uses synths and pianos sparsely, only to accentuate the ferocity of its rhythm section.

Freedom (Never Let You Go) is out NOW on Greco-Roman