Kanka (born 1977 as Alexis Langlois)[1] is a dub musician from Rouen, France. The name "Kanka" is of Turkish origin and means "buddy" or "best friend".
Career edit
Kanka became percussionist of French reggae band Kind Riddim in 1997.[2] In 2003 he produced his own album called Every Night's Dub... and released it on behalf of his own which led to renowned French dub label Hammerbass (The Rootsman, Vibronics) signing him and releasing several of his tracks on French dub compilations. In 2004 he again teamed up with King Riddim for an album. From 2005 to 2011 he released solo albums on Hammerbass. In 2010 he released a dubstep album under the name of Alek6. In 2012 he played at the Vieilles Charrues Festival, the biggest music festival in France.[3]
Style edit
Within the dub universe Kanka serves the dub stepper subgenre.[4][5] He cites British and Jamaican dub as influences.[6] When performing live he is usually accompanied by singer MC Olivia, techno DJ Chris B as bass player and additional guest musicians. Kanka himself plays keyboards, synthesizers, drums and bass.[7] Dubmassive.org calls Kanka's music "heavy, consistent compositions" with "hard crushing" basslines.[8]
Discography edit
with King Riddim edit
- La Jungle (2000, Act)
- Positif (2004, Nocturne)
Solo albums edit
- Every Night's Dub... (2003, no label)
- Don't Stop Dub (2005, Hammerbass)
- Alert (2006, Hammerbass)
- Sub.Mersion (2009, Hammerbass)
- Dub Communication (2011, Hammerbass)
- Watch Your Step (2014, Dubalistik Records)
as Alek6 edit
- Inside (2010, Hammerbass)
External links edit
- Official Website
- Kanka on Discogs
References edit
- ^ Discogs page of Kanka
- ^ Artist profile on Reggaefrance.com
- ^ Entry on OpenAirGuide.net
- ^ Review on Irieites.de (German)
- ^ Genre definition on Dub-Connection.net
- ^ Homepage (PDF; 335 kB)
- ^ Artist profile on Dub-Connection.net
- ^ Album review on Dubmassive.org
[[Category:Dub musicians]] [[Category:French electronic musicians]] [[Category:1977 births]]