Thursday 6/25: Arca—"KLK" (Feat. Rosalía)
Today, we share our thoughts on "KLK" (Feat. Rosalía) by the Venezuelan experimental artist Arca.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on "KLK" (Feat. Rosalía) by the Venezuelan experimental artist Arca.
Arca—“KLK” (Feat. Rosalía)
Eric Bennett:
“KLK” is the latest in a series of excellent singles from Arca’s upcoming record KiCk i, out tomorrow. The track allows her to put her own spin on reggaeton, and is based on a solid foundation of classic, infectious rhythm. It doesn’t take long for it to undeniably become an Arca song, though, full of shiny, jarring fits and starts. Having Rosalía feature goes over well, as it falls perfectly in line with her distinct brand of flamenco pop. Plus, her delivery of the hook gives it some needed structure. “KLK” pulls off the difficult task of being both an accessible dance track, ripe for remixes, as well as being the right amount of avant garde, something for more joyless critics to bat around. Arca has been an artist I’ve wanted to love for awhile, but have felt a distance from. “KLK” and its preceding singles make up a lot of ground in that regard.
Eli Enis:
In the past, Arca has been hired on as an eclectic contributor when mainstream auteurs want to get weird. Kanye enlisted her for some Yeezus production, and Frank Ocean worked with her on his abstract Blond(e) companion, Endless. Here, the Venezuelan experimental icon flips the script and brings on the Spanish popstar Rosalía for an otherworldly club anthem of her own. The noisy production, squelchy synths, and booming bass would make for one helluva dancefloor rager in its own right. But having the“Con Altura” star’s chopped-up croons bouncing around in the mix works surprisingly well. It’s definitely stretching the edges of what constitutes a pop song, but for an artist as challenging and left-field as Arca, this is practically ear candy.