The radio edit of Ikto’s debut single from their first studio album could be considered more of a teaser to the full version of the piece. Peculiar, haunting, and piercingly ingenious, Ikto are shaping up to become one of early 2024’s more exciting experimental acts.
There is little reason to be found within Acte I of Ikto’s Le Voyage, but a lot of rhyme. The Parisian 8-member group could be considered more of a collective than a conventional band, masterminded by pianist Bruno Rougevin-Baville. The group has got roots drenched in experimental jazz, and their way of stringing blasting rhythms with delightfully challenging harmonies and blistering performances is a display of masterful musicianship. For their radio edit of ‘Le Voyage – Acte I’, the group assembled a teaser populated mainly by Rougevin-Baville’s creeping piano arpeggios and the instantly memorable chanted melody performed by Calypso Larrazet-Llop and Lola Payen, alongside a small sample of the chaos, which can only be truly explored in the full, unhinged, 11-and-a-half minute version.
Perhaps we will leave the wonders of the full version for you to discover on your own, as the edit proved to be easily compelling enough to send us to fully explore what the whole composition has to offer. And it has an absolute lot to offer. With an album dropping in late January, Ikto’s debut album has immediately become one of my more anticipated listens for the upcoming months.
