nolimit - Knock2

Knock2 isn't here to be the most unique, or the most complex, or the most technical. He's just here to have some fun. This is no limit music.

I think that pretty much summarizes what "nolimit" is all about. Knock2 has blown up in popularity recently, becoming one of the key players in the festival house scene, and take one listen to any of the songs off this project and you'll quickly realize why. Addictive lead melodies, boppy house production, and an everpresent enthusiastic energy — "nolimit" is infused with the lifeblood of the partygoer and the joyousness of the carefree. What it's also infused with is sampling. There are very few artists, not just in bass house but in the entire electronic scene, who possess an uncanny ability to paint vocal samples across the canvas of their tracks like it was the easiest thing in the world, and Knock2 is one of those artists. And he sure knows it. Aside from the vocal features, Knock2's sampling is incredibly adept. He threads samples through each track in places you barely consciously notice and yet always subconsciously are aware of. He sprinkles energy, creates memorability, adds intensity, even provides hooks, through mere vocal samples, mere phrases, frequently dotted in each track and yet always well-timed. Don't be fooled though, because it's not technically flawless — and that's the point. Because if the production was flawless, and the technical aspects were absolutely spotless, "nolimit" would lack that inherent dirtiness that makes it an absolute blast to listen to. When it comes down to it, "nolimit" is quite simple, really — just a mood-consistent collection of tunes that would go off in a club setting, befitted with a more grounded and emotive backsection to keep the tonality interesting and the record feeling somewhat cohesive. Perhaps, though, in the former (the clubby focus), therein lies the flaw. To go for a clubby feel is to risk falling into some generic tropes, and "nolimit", despite doing a reasonably good job of avoiding those tropes, still doesn't quite make it through unscathed. But surprisingly, the problem, to me, comes from the flipside. In an attempt to avoid said tropes, Knock2 adds some alternative genres to the mix, and I simply just don't think they work. Branching out for the sake of branching out doesn't quite work for "nolimit", and most of the weak tracks come from an alternative idea that ended up being a dud.

OK, the trap is most likely the main culprit for that final flaw, since it's the genre Knock2 seems to default to for his switchups. And not all the switchups are bad, don't get me wrong, like the DnB roller of "select@" or the slamming techno kicks of "shyne 4 me", just that I think the mood could be a lot more consistent if the switches didn't feel forced. It's true that "nolimit" brings nothing new to the table, but that's where its beauty lies — pure energy — and when it tries to be different, that's where it falls down.