Ikonika (a.k.a. Sara Abdel-Hamid) delivers her first proper release on another label outside of Hyperdub. Planet Mu gives "Smuck" a home alongside a remix of Eero Johannes for this 12-inch single--and what a pair they make. "Smuck" continues Ikonika's tradition of sweet and sour, curdled sounds. Ever-changing, off-key melodies and metallic synth guitar lines fly over sweet chilled chords in a sophisticated take on eight-bar grime. Her remix of Johannes's "We Could Be Skweeeerooos" on the B-side simply switches up the tempo of the original and makes the rhythm nice and bouncy. Ikonika tightens up the track by adding some trademark bent melodies and a see-sawing bassline. The end result is a linear, melodic tune somewhere between Wiley and Aphex at their sweetest.
