Gaika – DRIFT [2xLP RED VINYL IMPORT] - New LP

2LP 140g Red Vinyl, 12x12 Insert, Artwork & Layout By Gaika

Brixton-born artist, rapper and producer GAIKA is due to release his forthcoming album DRIFT – the most stylistically accurate representation of his personal tastes to date – on Big Dada on 8th September 2023. Available on 2LP red colour vinyl with artwork by GAIKA himself.

Drift is non-conforming and genre blending. Whilst hard to neatly fit in a box, the record feels like an avant garde blend of Electronic, Hip-Hop, Punk and Grunge music featuring soundscapes recorded from GAIKA's travels abroad. Shapeshifting and cinematic in style, GAIKA draws inspiration from musical greats; Prince, Wu Tang Clan, Massive Attack, and John Coltrane. With his approach akin to the Pink Siifus, A$AP Rockys, and Dean Blunts of this world.

GAIKA’s sound spans from grime, dancehall, R&B, electronic, and beyond, often weaving in political commentary through his lyricism. New album Drift is an ensemble record with GAIKA as the central writer working with collaborators bbymutha, KIDÄ, Azekel, Charlie Stacey, Chamber 45, Brbko, The Narrator (Amber Joy), SAMANTHA, and more.

GAIKA is an active presence in the art scene. Previous projects and residencies have included Future Shock at 180 the Strand, Now Gallery, and the ICA, to name a few. His newest ventures will take place at Southbank and Hayward Gallery. Forthcoming A/V installations include Sonar Festival and Pic Nic Affair (in addition to a live performance).

Thrashing drums and droned out guitars take immediate effect on “LADY” but it’s the two mavericks' electrifying chemistry that is the driving force of this track. Enlisting KIDÄ (Yves Tumor) on production with additional contributions from Azekel (Gorillaz) and Max Winter, alternative rock and audacious rap come crashing together as GAIKA and bbymutha flex their lyrical prowess, unapologetically expressing their devotion to their lovers on this twisted, feverish affair.

Newly signed to Big Dada Recordings, home to Roots Manuva, Yaya Bey, Kae Tempest, Brian Nasty and more, GAIKA jumps back into music with new invigoration after delving into work as a composer to unveil Drift - his most expansive work to date. The visionary invites listeners on a high-speed journey where love, pain, brutality and beauty collide to produce a vivid and provocative cinematic masterpiece. The sonic universe of Drift is the most stylistically accurate representation of GAIKA’s personal tastes to date, stitching musical influences past and present such as Prince, Wu Tang Clan, Massive Attack, John Coltrane, Pink Siifu and A$AP Rocky to land on a gritty, distorted sound pulsating with an unwavering, formidable energy that’s disruptive yet timeless.

Drift is 14 tracks of nostalgic escapism, a shape-shifting body of work with hip hop and club music cultures at its core, as those simply run through the veins of GAIKA. Analogue and retro in feeling, Drift’s psychedelic feel is formed by incorporating 90s grunge, dark wave, post-punk and alt-rock into its tapestry. It’s a representation of his heritage and environment, featuring calypso steel pans to gospel vocals, reverberating dub to frenetic rap and elements of sound design taken from recordings of the real world. GAIKA’s music transcends borders and his nomadic nature means he simultaneously belongs and doesn’t, his music cannot be confined to just one genre and this unique new record further cements him as one of the most progressive artists of our time, telling the tale of modern day renaissance man driving away from the economic hierarchy he doesn't believe in.

GAIKA endeavoured to create a waking dream by constant participation in communal art making, removing the separation between art and life, his imagination and community and breaking the boundary between real life and any spectacular representation of it. He set up a number of situational arts facilities in the heart of London including shows at ICA, 180 the Strand, Now Gallery and as the world reopened, created pop up galleries, studios, exhibitions and raves with the intention to enhance the experience of real life by dreaming. To achieve this coherently and authentically the process became akin to a form of psychological examination of memories made before music “mattered” to GAIKA - before becoming commodified, individualised and his name capitalised.

Drift became the term used to describe the creative happenings in these spaces and the name for the collective of people who made this record. GAIKA is the central writer and composer working closely with KIDÄ on production and a group of classically trained musicians with contributions from Azekel, Charlie Stacey, Brbko and The Narrator over an extended period of time where they recorded music late into the night, night after night.