Khmu Thidin by Ayankoko

Multi-instrumentalist Ayankoko is releasing Khmu Thidin, his second album on Chinabot following the well-received album ‘Kia Sao ກ້ຽວສາວ’ in 2019. Mixing free jazz, glitch noise, IDM, psychedelic guitar and extreme computer music, Khmu Thidin is a joyful and noisy roller-coaster through Ayankoko’s unique sonic universe. Laid back and playful, Khmu Thidin reflects his spontaneous and collaborative approach to music. Weaving together the different threads of the album is his skilled guitar work, on both electric and acoustic instruments.

A true experimenter, Ayankoko gathers together sounds and genres like a magpie, decontextualizing them and using them to construct his own musical landscape. The drum’n’bass and breakcore mashup influences in Dude exist happily alongside Desert Storm, which draws on gnawa, sub-Saharan religious music. The album finds moments of quiet amid the freewheeling palimpsest – closing track Skinny Cat and Pull evoke the sparkling calm of Eno.

The album includes samples from the Khmu people of Laos, who can be heard on tracks Muang Xeun and Inside Hole. The Khmu were one of the first inhabitants of Laos, and remain the country’s largest ethnic group; Khmu Thidin translates as The Land of the Khmu in the Laotian language. For the album, Ayankoko was also inspired by Nick Drake, Merzbow, Bill Orcutt, Derek Bailey.

"Although I studied music, I learned a lot about production techniques, workflow and inspiration during DIY tours in Europe, Asia and Africa," says Ayankoko. A natural collaborator, he worked with vocalist Aude LP, German avant garde jazz saxophonist Klangbuero and bass player J.L. Lehr. Mostly improvised work, Khmu Thidin is a tribute to exploration, spontaneity and the associative flow of raw creativity.

"A masterpiece between free jazz, glitch noise, breakcore, and psychedelic guitar" Couvre x Chefs

"In his new album, the Laotian producer mixed free jazz, glitch noise, breakcore, psychedelic guitar and extreme computer music, creating a cheerful and boisterous turbulence in his sonic universe." Mixmag

About AYANKOKO

Ayankoko is the solo musical effort of French-Laotian multi-instrumentalist and composer David Somphrachanh Vilayleck; a fusion of jazz, sound design, traditional, noise, ambient, computer music, and classical. He studied at the French conservatories of Perpignan and Strasbourg and has a PhD in jazz guitar, improvised music and composition. Vilayleck has been working for 20 years in the fields of jazz, dub and experimental music. Ayankoko is an ever-evolving project which questions the ear about sound perception, its raw nature, the definition of music and the concept of ugly-beauty. Ayankoko uses syncopation, abnormal time signatures, and polyrhythms to explore new conceptual frameworks and create an overwhelming feeling of weightlessness. On his first album with Chinabot, ‘Kia Sao ກ້ຽວສາວ’, Ayankoko advanced his technique, from complex abstraction to blissful bursts of melody.

Chinabot is a platform and collective created to change the dialogue surrounding Asian music.

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