More about: Lokoy

Lasse Lokøy, recognised previously for being the bassist in the Norwegian punk outfit Sløtface, has released his highly anticipated debut album, badminton, under the alias of Lokoy. Flicking through too many genres to count, badminton focuses on one thing: fun. It consistently sounds feel-good, whilst masking superb sadness behind complexly layered lyrics. Leaving his punk roots behind him, Lokoy has created an extremely established and perplexing body of music, and at only 33 minutes long, you can put it into every situation.

Coming straight off the back of a string of gorgeous singles, badminton has everything and more. A product of Lokoy’s newly found producer background, having produced tracks for the likes of girl in red and Jimi Somewhere, badminton is a breath of fresh air. Lokoy fuses diegetic sounds and other elements of ambience to create unique and fragrant production combining everything from disco to house, allowing for badminton to be truly unique in its field, a stunning achievement for any collaboration heavy debut. 

‘classic city girl’ kicks off the album in an explosive fashion. It’s more experimental pop than electric but it sets the tone for the rest of the album. It’s quirky and upbeat, with a fantastic steady bassline taking control of the tracks instrumentals.

‘relay’ is the first collaboration on the album, featuring the wonderful Nils Bech. ‘relay’ oozes the “internet sound” Lokoy has said he wanted to be felt in the album. Using Afrobeat rhythms and dulcet pop vocals, this song embodies heat, whether it feels like a summer missed or one yet to come is up to the listener.

‘[weak soup]’ is the first of several interludes that utilises a conversation Lokoy had with an uber driver in L.A. who introduced him to the idea of electronic life, a concept that the album owes itself to heavily. The other interludes contain beachy escapes, (‘[young boy]’), explosions of experimental electronics fused with ambient conversation (‘[freaking disaster]’) and what appears to be a conversation with close friends or family, (‘[stekt bacon]’). These interludes don’t break immersion but rather make the record feel a lot more personal.

Rapper Safario lends his signature vocals to ‘both eyes’, a track that flow wise sounds somewhere in between Beastie Boys and Brockhampton. Again, aside from the vocals, the bass takes centre stage. It’s positive to see that Lokoy has adapted and evolved his bass-playing ability to something so incredibly fluid and versatile. ‘a mistake’ features the wonderful Emilie Østebø. It’s one of the albums more mellow moments initially, but it soon manages to keep in line with the rest of the record. With multiple progressive synths and warm breaks from the beautiful chaos, it’s most certainly a standout track.

Throughout the rest of the album we’re offered huge house-esque disco sounds, (‘murder on my mind’), sadness veiled behind a wondrous caucophany of synths (‘never missed you like i do now’) and synth-pop masterclasses (‘glitter’), it’s an album composed of perfectly unique twists of a plethora of styles, it’s one of those happy instances where copious experimentation pays off.

Throughout badminton, it becomes clear that this is an album based on a passion and love for both music and production. Each song provides its own individual element that makes it special. It’s a rare and profound record, where the care and joy found in its creation is prevalent in every note.

badminton is out now.

More about: Lokoy