Sometimes I come across an artist whose ideas are wild and unhinged in the best possible way. Mikado Koko definitely fits that bill. She is an avant-garde poet and producer and her new project called “Songs To Our Other Selves” has a lot going on. It’s a continuation of Penny Rimbaud’s 1984 album “Acts of Love”. That was a 50 track album containing 50 short poems, arranged to modern classical music with 50 collages provided by Gee Vaucher. The original album is an absolute masterpiece of visceral haunting music, performed by Eve Libertine and Paul Ellis. I hadn’t heard it until I came across this project and it is the definition of anti-easy listening! The album is available on YouTube and recommended for those with stout hearts and a love for the haunted only.
When listening to the album, Mikado Koko thought of the idea to remix it but not in a normal way of adding beats, synths or anything standard. Mikado has aggressively chopped up the originals, tape chewed them, added glitchy effects and turned 20 of the songs into a nightmarish fever dream. The intensity of “Track 01”, the lead single for the project, is unrivalled. Whilst a lot of that is due to working with some sensory overloading source material, Koko has an expert ear for accentuating the terror in a sound. I have lots of thoughts on how this cut up, chewed up and spat out remix comments on modern-day culture but I’d rather you form your own opinions below.
“Songs To Our Other Selves” releases on the 9th of September and is available to pre-order. For more info on all things Mikado Koko, visit her Twitter.
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