Nihiloxica’s debut LP is ‘Kaloli’ – intense drum workouts by Uganda’s Nilotika Cultural Ensemble, with UK duo Spooky J and pq

Hailing from Uganda and the UK, electro-percussion group Nihiloxica release their debut album on June 12th on Crammed Discs – it’s called Kaloli and first single Tewali Sukali sets out their stall perfectly. UK duo Spooky J and pq, with Uganda’s Nilotika Cultural Ensemble, form this intense production and live outfit.

This is an unmissable journey through two cultures of dance music – traditional percussive rhythms that meet cold, hard and intense analog arrangements.

The album takes its name from the Luganda word for the marabou stork. Kaloli are carrion birds that feed on rubbish around the country and are notorious in Ugandan capital, Kampala. These strangely large birds are riddled with toxicity and thrive on decomposing matter. The analogous links to the outfit’s music are hopefully apparent – positively parasitic, unrelenting, raw, savage, as well as beautiful when this bird and music glide and soar.

Recorded with Ross Halden, at Hohm Studios, directly after a concert supporting Aphex Twin, Kaloli captures the energy of Nihiloxica’s live performances and magnifies it with pq’s powerful production. The album was recorded over five days in September 2019, in Bradford, UK. Nihiloxica harness different tribal rhythms – Busoga from the east of Uganda, Bwola from the north, and Gunjula from the central region, Buganda.