knox is the band brainchild of brother-sister duo nic and eliza coolidge. hailing from boston and new york, the siblings released their second ep, here, on december 3rd, and it is a big step forward for the band. formed less than two years ago, in march 2011, knox finds themselves working with the likes of john tejada and kuxxan suum on this release, and the outcome is stunning. here is five-song set full of ice and echoes. it runs as close to the third rail of impersonation, but flies away so quickly that knox sounds contextual and perfectly fresh. the influences from james blake is clear: the swooping, bomber bass and half-timey compressed dub beats, here could also easily be an inventive b-side to the latest how to dress well album. but, with the limited scale, interspersed remixes and foundling status in the scene, i would say it is likely a more impressive feat. the ep as a whole is desolate. expansive spaces filled with cold little beats and vocal washes, exploring in the course of five songs an icescape aesthetic with a sense of place usually reserved for full-length albums. the remixes blend so seamlessly that i didnt even realize they were during my first, casual listen.

miles has been releasing material on modern love for a decade, first as one half of pendle coven, then on his own as mlz, and eventually pairing up with sean canty to record as demdike stare. in between he has also pursued more experimental terrain under the suum cuique moniker, produced jungle for the hate project and (together with andy stott) taken on the occasional release as millie & andrea for modern love sublabel daphne. he is also an admired, exhilarating dj, his sets have been known to span a broad spectrum of electronic music, from the obscure uk techno of labels like radioactive lamb and irdial, to classic chicago house, detroit techno and - most importantly - early 90s jungle and breakbeat, feeding into his love of the most uncompromising end of the italian experimental movement, musique concrète, synthwave and contemporary noise.