Arca: KiCk ii [XL]

Why you'll love it

This XL pressing is made in Germany. KiCk ii was nominated for the Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and the Libera Award for Best Latin Album, and "Rakata" turns reggaeton inside out.

This edition

• Pressed in Germany
• Stereo mix

About the album

Arca promised that each instalment of her Kick series would have its own personality, and she described this one in advance as heavy on backbeats, vocal manipulation, mania and craziness. The Venezuelan producer and singer delivered exactly that, three days ahead of schedule, at the end of November 2021.

Where Kick I roamed, KiCk ii mostly dances. "Prada" and "Rakata" came out as a double single and bend reggaeton rhythms through her trademark glitch and distortion, and "Born Yesterday" builds a towering pop song around a leaked Sia demo vocal. Elsewhere "Tiro," "Femme" and "Muñecas" stretch and warp her voice, and "Doña" opens the album with a jolt. Frederik Heyman photographed the cover, a striking image that suits the music's half-human, half-machine feel. Arca had already said goodbye to the previous era by remixing her own songs one last time, so this album arrives with a clean slate and a lot of energy.

Critics welcomed it warmly, and it set up the run of Kick albums that followed, each one a different side of the same restless imagination. It's club music from a parallel universe, and it sounds superb on a proper system.

Also at Kops: more Arca on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On XL Recordings (cat# XL1212LPE), a reissue of the 2021 album.